United States v. Pettiford

238 F.R.D. 33, 71 Fed. R. Serv. 354, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67055, 2006 WL 2691427
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedSeptember 20, 2006
DocketCriminal Action No. 06-162 (CKK)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 238 F.R.D. 33 (United States v. Pettiford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Pettiford, 238 F.R.D. 33, 71 Fed. R. Serv. 354, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67055, 2006 WL 2691427 (D.D.C. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Defendant Franklin H. Pettiford is charged with one count of unlawful possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(l)(B)(iii). Currently before the Court is the Government’s PreTrial In Limine Motion Regarding Rule 609 Admissibility (hereinafter, “the Government’s Rule 609 Motion”), which seeks permission to impeach Defendant — should he choose to testify at his forthcoming trial — with his previous convictions for second-degree murder while armed, in violation of D.C.Code §§ 22-2403 and 22-3202 (1989), and for carrying a pistol without a license, in violation of D.C.Code § 22-3204(a) (1989). Defendant opposes this request, contending that the Court should prevent the use of these previ[35]*35ous convictions because (1) “since the actual eonviction[s][are] so old, [they] should be treated as [] remote conviction[s],” Def.’s Opp’n at 4 n. 1; and (2) the prejudicial value of the convictions far outweigh their probative value, id. at 4.

Upon a searching examination of the Government’s Rule 609 Motion, Defendant’s Opposition, the relevant case law, and the entire record herein, the Court shall grant-in-part and deny-in-part the Government’s Rule 609 Motion. Specifically, the Court shall allow the Government to affirmatively impeach Defendant, should he choose to testify, with his conviction for second-degree murder while armed, but shall place certain limitations on this line of inquiry; however, the Court shall not allow the Government to affirmatively impeach Defendant based upon his conviction for carrying a pistol without a license. With respect to Defendant’s conviction for second-degree murder while armed, the Government may cross-examine Defendant — should he choose to testify — concerning the fact that he was convicted of a felony offense and previously sentenced in 1991 to a term of seven to twenty-one years imprisonment, but the Government may not elicit the nature of the offense or any details as to the offense.

I: BACKGROUND

A. The Alleged Facts in the Case at Bar

The following background discussion is based on the May 22, 2006 Detention Memorandum authored by Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in this case. Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) Officer Theodore Brosey, one of the two arresting officers in this ease, offered testimony relating to the facts surrounding Defendant’s arrest at the May 19, 2000 hearing before Magistrate Judge Kay. Like Magistrate Judge Kay, the Court shall rely on the testimony elicited at the May 19, 2000 detention hearing solely for the purposes of resolving this pre-trial motion.

On Monday, May 15, 2006, while conducting surveillance at the Eastover Shopping Center in Maryland, law enforcement officers observed what appeared to be a hand-to-hand covert drug transaction involving Defendant, Franklin H. Pettiford, and a pedestrian who was a known drug dealer at approximately 2:20 p.m. See 5/22/06 Detention Mem. Issued by Mag. Judge Kay at 2 (recounting the testimony of Officer Theodore Brosey). According to surveillance, the pedestrian leaned into the car and handed a white substance to Defendant, who in turn handed an unidentified item to the pedestrian. Id. When Defendant drove away from the shopping center, the officer who had witnessed this incident ran the vehicle’s tags and asked marked patrol units to assist in stopping the vehicle. Id.

Following this request, a marked MPD vehicle was dispatched to search for the 2003 Silver Ford Expedition bearing Virginia license plates that Defendant was observed driving. See id.; Crim. Compl., Ex. 1 (Stmt, of Facts) at 1. At approximately 2:25 p.m., the dispatched MPD vehicle saw the Expedition in the vicinity of the 4100 block of Livingston Road, S.E., near its intersection with Atlantic Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. Id. The two MPD officers in the dispatched vehicle then asked the dispatcher to run a registration check on Defendant’s license plates. Id. The registration check revealed that, contrary to the stickers on the license plate, the registration had expired on April 30, 2006. Id. The officers then conducted a traffic stop of Defendant’s vehicle in the 200 block of Atlantic Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. Id. The officers requested Defendant’s license and registration for the vehicle, and ran the vehicle tag. Id. The background search revealed that (1) Defendant did not have a valid license; (2) the car was registered to an individual other than Defendant; and (3) that — as believed — the registration on the vehicle had expired. Id.

Defendant was asked by the officers to step out of the vehicle, and was placed under arrest for operating an unregistered automobile. Id. The officers then conducted a search of the Expedition incident to Defendant’s arrest. Id. Their search of the vehicle’s front center console revealed a large clear sandwich bag containing a loose white rock substance, a 200-Z digital scale, and four medium-sized clear zip-lock bags containing loose white rock substance. Id. The white rock-like substance, which weighed approxi[36]*36mately 23.3 grams, later tested positive for cocaine base. Id. Upon this discovery, Defendant was also charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and transported to the Seventh District for processing. Defendant was formally indicted on June 13, 2006, in a one-count indictment charging him with unlawful possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(l)(B)(iii). See Indictment at 1.

B. Defendant’s Previous Conviction

On November 27, 1989, an individual named Luther Gavin was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. See Pettiford v. United States, 700 A.2d 207, 208 (D.C.1997). In March 1990, Defendant in this case — Franklin H. Pettiford — was arrested in connection with Gavin’s death, and charged with first-degree murder while armed in violation of D.C.Code §§ 22-2401 and 22-3203. Id. After waiving his rights, Defendant admitted to police officers that he was present at the murder scene and fired a gun into the air over the head of Mr. Gavin. Id. Defendant also admitted that he received a car as payment for his participation in the murder. Id. However, he maintained that another individual, Michael McIntyre, actually killed Gavin. Id. Subsequently, on September 14, 1990, Defendant pled guilty before the Honorable Ricardo M.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 F.R.D. 33, 71 Fed. R. Serv. 354, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67055, 2006 WL 2691427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-pettiford-dcd-2006.