United States v. Wilson

493 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2163, 2007 WL 81935
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 9, 2007
Docket04-CR-1016 (NGG)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 493 F. Supp. 2d 491 (United States v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.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. Wilson, 493 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2163, 2007 WL 81935 (E.D.N.Y. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

GARAUFIS, District Judge.

A jury has found Ronell Wilson (‘Wilson”) guilty of two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, two counts of robbery conspiracy, one count of attempted robbery, one count of carjacking, two counts of causing death through use of a firearm, and two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence. These charges were based on, inter alia, Wilson’s execution of undercover New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Detectives Rodney Andrews (“Detective Andrews”) and James Nemorin (“Detective Nemo-rin”) (together, the “Detectives”), whom he was attempting to rob of the $1,200 they planned to use to purchase a firearm from Wilson and his fellow members of the Sta-pleton Crew 1 street gang. The Government will seek the death penalty against Wilson in a penalty phase that will begin on January 16, 2007.

Each side has filed motions in anticipation of the penalty phase. Wilson has moved the court (1) to preclude the Government from offering as an aggravating *494 factor the victims’ status as law enforcement officers; (2) to preclude the Government from offering evidence of Wilson’s alleged membership in the Bloods street gang as proof of Wilson’s future dangerousness; (3) to require the Government to disclose whether it will offer any evidence of Wilson’s alleged continuing pattern of violence and low rehabilitative potential, which are aspects of the “future dangerousness” aggravating factor, other than (a) the crimes for which Wilson was found guilty in this case and (b) Wilson’s juvenile criminal history; (4) to acquit Wilson under Fed.R.Crim.P. 29 of (a) the two counts of murder in aid of racketeering and (b) the one count of carjacking; (5) to require the Government to make an offer of proof regarding the testimony it intends to introduce to prove the “victim impact” aggravating factor, and to preclude the use of video footage of Detective Nemorin as proof of that factor; and (6) to order the Government to provide defense counsel with the written comments that peer reviewers sent Government expert Dr. Michael Weiner regarding his expert report.

For the reasons set forth below, the motion to preclude the victim-status aggravating factor is DENIED; the motion to preclude evidence of Wilson’s membership in the Bloods is DENIED, although such evidence will be limited in ways discussed herein; the motion for disclosure of evidence of future dangerousness is GRANTED to the extent described herein; the motions to acquit are DENIED; the motion for an offer of proof regarding the victim-impact aggravating factor is GRANTED to the extent described herein; and the motion for the written comments of Dr. Weiner’s peer reviewers is GRANTED.

The Government has moved the court to preclude Wilson from offering, during the penalty phase, the testimony of (1) Wilson’s friends and family members regarding their affection for Wilson, (2) Professor Yasser Payne, whom Wilson intends to call as an expert in hip hop culture, (3) Dr. Mark Cunningham, whom Wilson intends to call as an expert in prison-inmate misconduct, and (4) Donald Romine, whom Wilson intends to call as an expert in corrections management. The Government has also moved the court to order Wilson to provide to the Government any notes Dr. Cunningham took during his interview of Wilson.

For the reasons set forth below, the motion to preclude the testimony of Wilson’s friends and family members is DENIED; the motion to preclude the testimony of Professor Payne is DENIED; the motion to preclude the testimony of Dr. Cunningham is DENIED, although his testimony will be limited in ways discussed herein; the motion for Dr. Cunningham’s notes is GRANTED; and the motion to preclude the testimony of Mr. Romine is DENIED, although his testimony will be limited in ways discussed herein.

I. Background

Wilson, also known as “Rated R,” is a member of the Stapleton Crew, a criminal entei-prise that committed armed robberies, assaults, and drug sales in the area surrounding the Stapleton Houses housing project on Staten Island, New York in 2002 and 2003. (Tr. at 240-53, 260-64, 267-70, 281-88, 758-64, 766, 768, 785-86, 788-96.) Wilson was considered the Sta-pleton Crew’s most violent member. (Id. at 275.)

On March 3, 2003, Stapleton Crew senior members Michael Whitten (“Whitten”), Paris Bullock (“Bullock”), and Omar Green (“Green”) sold a firearm to Detective Nemorin. (Id. at 807-11.) At that time, Detective Nemorin was an undercover officer in the NYPD’s Firearms Investigative Unit, which was dedicated to investigating *495 and preventing illegal firearms dealing in New York City. (Id. at 54.) Whitten suspected, but did not know, that Detective Nemorin was a law enforcement officer. (Id. at 811.)

One week later, on March 10, 2003, those senior members of the Stapleton Crew discussed and executed a plan to commit an armed robbery of Detective Nemorin, who had agreed to purchase a semiautomatic TEC-9 firearm from them that evening for $1,200. (Id. at 290-96, 303-04, 811-17, 826-35.) Wilson and Jessie Jacobus (“Jacobus”) were assigned to carry out the robbery. (Id. at 303-04, 817, 827, 831.) The Stapleton Crew members who gathered at Green’s apartment to plan the robbery, including Wilson, considered the possibility that Detective Nemorin was an uncover law enforcement officer and agreed that Wilson might have to shoot Detective Nemorin in order to carry out the robbery. (Id. at 834, 839-40.)

Detectives Nemorin and Andrews arrived at the Stapleton Houses that evening in an unmarked Nissan Maxima driven by Detective Nemorin (the “Detectives’ car”). (Id. at 64, 304, 308-09.) Wilson, who had expected Detective Nemorin to arrive alone, was surprised to find him accompanied by Detective Andrews. (Id. at 309.) After a brief period of hesitation, Wilson ordered Jacobus to enter the Detectives’ car and to sit in the back passenger-side seat behind Detective Andrews. (Id. at 309-13, 328-30.) Wilson entered and sat in the back driver-side seat behind Detective Nemorin. (Id. at 311-13, 330.) Wilson ordered Jacobus to “pat down” the Detectives and told them that submitting to a pat-down was a pre-condition to transacting business. (Id. at 235, 328-29.) The Detectives refused to be patted down, and it is unclear whether Jacobus in fact patted them down. (Id. at 329.)

Although the Stapleton Crew did in fact own a TEC-9, Wilson and Jacobus did not have it in their possession when they met the Detectives. (Id. at 328, 331.) Wilson therefore instructed Detective Nemorin to drive to the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Corson Avenue, where, Wilson claimed, he would pick up the TEC-9. 2 (Id. at 330, et seq.) As they drove, Wilson commented that the neighborhood was “hot,” by which he meant that it was full of undercover law enforcement officers. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
493 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2163, 2007 WL 81935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-wilson-nyed-2007.