United States v. Wilson

146 F. Supp. 3d 472, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159498, 2015 WL 7574471
District Court, E.D. New York·Decided November 25, 2015·No. 11-CR-770-2 (WFK)·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WILLIAM F. KUNTZ, II, United States District Judge:

Before the Court is a motion to vacate a conviction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 by Petitioner Wayne Wilson' (“Petitioner”). Dkt. 107-1 (“Mot.”). On July 31, 2013, Petitioner was convicted by a unanimous jury of one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one.count of attempted possession- of marijuana with intent to distribute. Dkt. 57 (“Jury Verdict”). Petitioner seeks to vacate his conviction claiming six instances of ineffective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment. Mot. at 3. For the reasons discussed below, Petitioner’s motion to vacate his conviction is DENIED in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Offense Conduct

Petitioner was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and attempted possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. See Jury Verdict. According to the evidence presented at trial, Petitioner, along with Lori Allen and Coretta Wom-ack, two postal employees, conspired to steal parcels of marijuana sent through the United States Postal Service and sell the stolen marijuana. Dkt. 108 (“Response”) at 2. Petitioner received the parcels from Allen and Womack and sold them to other drug traffickers. Id. Petitioner and his co-conspirators successfully engaged in this scheme for approximately six months before Petitioner’s co-conspirators were arrested. Id. Ms. Womack implicated Petitioner in her post-arrest interview and arranged a fake marijuana pickup with Petitioner. Id. During the fake pick-up, Womack-met Petitioner, who gave her money, took a parcel from her trunk, and placed the parcel in his trunk. ..Id. at 2-3. Petitioner was then arrested.- Id. at 3.

Petitioner’s Trial

Petitioner was convicted of one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and one count of Attempted Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute after a three day jury trial was held before this Court on July 29, 30, and 31, 2013. See Juiy Verdict; Dkt. Entry 7/29/2013; Dkt. Entry 7/30/2013; Dkt. Entry 7/31/2013.

During the trial, the Government presented the following witnesses during its case-inchief: Postal Inspector Randy Jimenez, Special Agent Steven DeMayo, Postal Inspector Richard Gutierres, Customs and Border Patrol- Officer Victor Khzam, Diane Duncan (the manager of the Rose-dale Post Office at the time of the conspiracy), and Sherry Golson (an employee at the Rosedale Post Office). See Dkt. Entry 7/29/2013; Dkt. Entry 7/30/2013. The Defense rested without presenting any evidence or witnesses. See Dkt. Entry 7/30/2013; Dkt. . 117 (“Tr. II”) at PDF 163-64. The juiy returned a unanimous verdict finding Petitioner guilty of both Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Attempted Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute. See Jury Verdict; see also Dkt. 118 (“Tr. Ill”) at PDF 150-53.

On February 3, 2015, Petitioner was sentenced to thirty-three months’ imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, three years’ supervised release, and the mandatory $200 special- assessment. Dkt, 94 (“Sentencing Minute Entry”); Dkt. 107 (“Affidavit”) at ¶ 2. Petitioner began servr [477]*477ing his sentence on June 30, 2015. Dbt. 103 (“Order Denying Adjournment”).

Instant Motion to Vacate Petitioner’s Conviction

On June 30, 2015, Petitioner, represented by appellate counsel, filed a motion to vacate his conviction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See Mot. Petitioner argues his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel was violated when trial counsel (1) failed to move to suppress Petitioner’s post-arrest statements; (2) failed to formulate a trial strategy; (3) failed to review and investigate evidence; (4) failed to discuss and review a plea offer with Petitioner; (5) failed to call certain individuals as witnesses at trial; and (6) failed to cross-examine the Government’s witnesses. Id. at 3-8; Affidavit at ¶ 4. Petitioner also requested the Court hold an evidentiary hearing on the motion. Dkt. 109 (“Reply”) at 4-7.

On October 15, 2015, this Court held a non-evidentiary hearing on Petitioner’s request to vacate his' conviction on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Dkt. 119 (Non-evidentiary hearing minute entry). At the hearing, the Court reserved its decision on Petitioner’s motion to -vacate his conviction. The parties were required to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law by November. 20, 2015. Dkt. 115 (“Scheduling Order”); Dkt. 120 (Defense Response); Dkt. 121 (Government Response).

Based on the Court’s non-evidentiary hearing, the materials submitted by both parties, and for the reasons discussed directly below, Petitioner’s motion to yacate his conviction pursuant to 28 Ú.S.C. § 2255 is DENIED in its entirety.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), sets forth the relevant federal law governing ineffective assistance of counsel claims. “Under Strickland, in order to prevail on an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, a [petitioner] must meet a two-pronged test: (1) he ‘must show that-counsel’s performance was deficient’ ... and (2) he must show that ‘the deficient performance prejudiced the defense[.]’ ” Bennett v. United States, 663 F.3d 71, 84 (2d Cir.2011) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052). “It is the accused’s ‘heavy burden’ to demonstrate a constitutional violation under Strickland.” Moreno v. Smith, 06-CV-4602, 2010 WL 2975762, at *15 (E.D.N.Y. July 26, 2010) (Matsumoto, J.) (quoting United States v. Gaskin, 364 F.3d 438, 468 (2d Cir.2004)).

Under the first prong, “[j]udicial. scrutiny of counsel’s performance-must be highly deferential^] ... a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance; that is, the [petitioner] must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the chai-, lenged action might be considered sound trial strategy.” Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. 2052 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

Under the second prong, to establish prejudice, “[t]he, [petitioner] must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. In making the determination whether the specified errors resulted in. the required prejudice, a court should presume, absent challenge to the judgment on grounds of evidentiary insufficiency, that the judge or .jury acted according to law.” Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052.

[478]*478A district court need not conduct an evidentiary hearing where the record is sufficient to deny the petition. As the Second Circuit has stated:

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United States v. Wilson, 146 F. Supp. 3d 472, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159498, 2015 WL 7574471 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

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