United States v. Thomas

981 F. Supp. 2d 229, 2013 WL 5834450
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 30, 2013
DocketNo. S3 12 Cr. 174(WHP)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 981 F. Supp. 2d 229 (United States v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Thomas, 981 F. Supp. 2d 229, 2013 WL 5834450 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

WILLIAM H. PAULEY III, District Judge:

Due process requires the Government to provide a criminal defendant with favorable material evidence in its possession. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 86, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). The Brady rule safeguards the fundamental principal that a trial is a search for the truth. It also protects the Government’s unique interest in a criminal prosecution “not [to] win a case, but [ensure] that justice shall be done.” Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88, 55 S.Ct. 629, 79 L.Ed. 1314 (1935). When Brady material is withheld, the Government’s case is “much stronger, and the defense case much weaker, than the full facts would have suggested.” Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 429, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995).

[233]*233Defendant Dwayne Thomas moves pursuant to Rules 29 and 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for a judgment of acquittal or a new trial. Thomas contends that the Government suppressed Brady material relating to the robbery of Blundy Jean Jacques (the “Jean Jacques robbery”) and that he suffered impermissible spillover prejudice on the other robbery charges. Thomas also asserts that the Government offered insufficient evidence to sustain the kidnapping conspiracy charge. For the following reasons, Thomas’s motions are granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

I. The Verdict

On May 2, 2013, a jury convicted Thomas of robbery conspiracy (Count 1), the robbery of the Magic Pot Bar on October II, 2008 and firearm possession in relation to that crime (Counts 2 and 4), the robbery of Blundy Jean Jacques on January 12, 2012 and firearm possession in relation to that crime (Counts 3 and 5), firearm possession while being a convicted felon on January 13, 2012 (Count 6), and kidnapping conspiracy (Count 7). The jury acquitted him of kidnapping and possessing a firearm in relation to that crime (Counts 8-9). Because Thomas’s motions related to Counts 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 do not raise substantial issues, a more fulsome description of the facts relating to those crimes is unnecessary.

II. . The Jean Jacques Robbery

On January 12, 2012, two men robbed Jean Jacques and his cousin, Albert Remy, at gunpoint. Jean Jacques and Remy were home together that evening. At some point, Jean Jacques left the house and was accosted by two armed men. The robbers did not bother to cover their faces. Over the next few minutes, they forced Jean Jacques back into his home, where they robbed Jean Jacques and Remy, taking cellular telephones, jewelry, and shoes packaged for resale overseas. Detective Elaine Jenkins and her partner, Detective Michael Parchen, were assigned to investigate that robbery. After the robbery, Jean Jacques provided detailed physical descriptions of the robbers. But exactly what those descriptions were, formed the basis of the defense theory at trial. And to whom he gave them, spawned this post-trial motion.

From the outset, Thomas sought to attack the reliability of Jean Jacques’s identification of Thomas as one of the robbers. Thomas moved pre-trial to suppress Jean Jacques’s identification of him. At a suppression hearing, the Government called Jenkins as a witness. Jenkins testified about the identification procedure she used with Jean Jacques. She also testified about the descriptions of the perpetrators that Jean Jacques purportedly gave her on the night of the robbery. After hearing Jenkins’s testimony, this Court informed the Government that it would have to call “other witnesses,” because it “ha[d]n’t come close” to meeting its burden. (Hearing Transcript dated Sep. 11, 2012 (“9/11/12 Tr.”) at 87.) The Government elected to call Jean Jacques.

According to Jean Jacques’s testimony, six days after the robbery, she asked Jean Jacques to come to the precinct to view photographs in an effort to identify the perpetrators. After he. arrived at the precinct, Jean Jacques “accidentally” saw a single photograph of Thomas- — whom he identified as one of the robbers. Then, Jenkins showed Jean Jacques a single photograph of Kenton Russell — whom Jean Jacques identified as the second robber. By Order dated November 14, 2012 (the “November Order”), [234]*234this Court found the single-photograph identification procedure unduly suggestive. See United States v. Russell, No. 12-cr-174 (WHP), 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172206, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2012). The Second Circuit has “consistently condemned the exhibition of a single photograph as a suggestive practice, and where no extenuating circumstances justify the procedure, as an unnecessarily suggestive one.” Mysholowsky v. New York, 535 F.2d 194, 197 (2d Cir.1976).

Nevertheless, Jean Jacques’s identification of Thomas was independently reliable. Russell 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS, at *27; see also Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 198-201, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972). To summarize, this Court found that: (1) Jean Jacques had an extensive opportunity to observe Thomas during the crime; (2) his attention was directed at the robbers during the crime; (3) he accurately described the robbers immediately after the crime to Jenkins; (4) identified Thomas with “100 percent certainty” during the identification procedure; and (5) identified Thomas only six days after the robbery. Russell 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172206, at *25-27.

Prior to the suppression hearing, the Government provided exhibits it would seek to introduce at the hearing as well as 3500 material for Jenkins.1 Among those materials were the following pertinent documents:

Complaint Report and Handwritten Notes: This report — produced as Exhibit 3501 — S-contained a typed narrative summary of the offense as well as handwritten notes on the last page. Jenkins made the handwritten notes, which included the following description of the robbers: “Perp # 1: M/B/20s (Jamaican) 5'7", approx. 160 lbs., Braids (cornrows), Black hoody — Blk Jeans, armed with 2 firearms (1) black revolver, (1) black semi-automatic. Perp #2: M/B/ 20s (Jamaican) 5'9"-10" approx. 160 lbs, Black Jacket and Blue Jeans, armed w/ 1 black semi-automatic.”
DD5 Follow-Up No. 1: Jenkins authored this report, which was produced as part of Jenkins’s 3500 material and marked as Exhibit 3501-C. It includes the following description of the robbers: “Perp # 1 M/B/20s 5/7", 140 lbs, dark skin, black hoodie and blue jeans, had black revolver and black semi-auto handgun. Perp #2 M/B/20s 5'9"-10", 160 lbs, medium skin, braids (cornrows) black jacket and blue jeans, had a black semi-auto handgun.”
DD5 Follow-Up Nos. 4 and 7: These reports were included in Jenkins’s 3500 material and produced together as Exhibit 3501-F. DD5 Follow-Up No. 4 memorializes an interview of Jean Jacques on the night of the robbery.

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Bluebook (online)
981 F. Supp. 2d 229, 2013 WL 5834450, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thomas-nysd-2013.