Johnson v. Parris

MAURICE JOHNSON Petitioner, v. MIKE PARRIS, Respondent.

Case No. 1:18-cv-204

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA

April 1, 2021

Judge Travis R. McDonough

Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This is a prisoner's pro se petition for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in which Petitioner challenges his convictions for three counts of felony murder. After reviewing the relevant filings, including the state court record, the Court finds that the record establishes that Petitioner is not entitled to relief under § 2254. Accordingly, no evidentiary hearing is warranted, see Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, Rule 8(a) and Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 474 (2007), the petition for habeas corpus relief will be DENIED, and this action will be DISMISSED.

I. BACKGROUND

In its opinion affirming Petitioner's three felony-murder convictions in the Bradley County Criminal Court before then-Judge Amy Reedy on direct appeal, the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals ("TCCA") summarized the relevant facts underlying those convictions as follows:

This case arises from the February 14, 1999 shooting deaths of Orienthal James ("OJ") Blair, Cayci Higgins, and Dawn Rogers ("the victims") in a townhouse in Cleveland. On October 8, 2008, a Bradley County grand jury indicted [Petitioner] and two co-defendants, Michael Younger and Twanna "Tart" Blair, for conspiracy to commit especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, and three counts of first degree murder in the perpetration of an especially aggravated robbery. The court severed their trials, and [Petitioner] proceeded to trial in August 2009.

On the morning of February 14, 1999, Twanna Blair placed a call to Bradley County 911, informing them that she had been shot and that three other people had been killed. Officers responded to the scene, a townhouse in Cleveland, and discovered three victims lying on the living room floor. Emergency personnel rendered aid to Twanna Blair, who was found in the upstairs of the townhouse. The three victims were all deceased as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and/or neck.

Eric Hampton was a detective with the Cleveland Police Department and was the lead investigator into the triple homicides for some time []. Upon arriving at the scene, Det. Hampton observed that the kitchen door had been forcibly opened and that there were items on the kitchen floor, including a knife, a cordless phone, and black wire "flex" ties. He further described the condition of the townhouse as follows: "There did not appear to be anything disarrayed or ransacked, . . . and upstairs was pretty much, if I can remember correctly, several bedrooms and nothing gone through or looked to be ransacked as well."

Raymond DePriest, formerly with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation ("TBI") and employed with the Nashville Police Department as the Forensic Quality Assurance Manager at the time of trial, testified that, at the end of processing a crime scene, the TBI "always" conducted a search for contraband. Agents look "through every drawer, every cabinet in the house, . . . go through the washer and dryer just looking for any evidence that may be present[.]" After searching the Cleveland townhouse, agents did not find any evidence of controlled substances being present in the residence.

TBI Special Agent Luke Mahonen, a detective with the Cleveland Police Department at the time of the murders, testified that, on February 14, 1999, he responded to the triple homicide call and shot the initial crime scene video. Agent Mahonen described what he would typically look for at a crime scene: "One would have looked for items of value missing, items of value being present, ways that entry could have been made, whether the doors were locked or unlocked, signs of struggle, wallets, purses, things of that nature, currency, jewelry, things of value." When asked if he recalled finding any money at the scene, Agent Mahonen replied, "I don't recall, no."

The TBI sent a mobile crime scene unit to the townhouse to collect any possible forensic evidence. Agents recovered numerous items from the residence: clothing found at the top of the stairs belonging to Twanna Blair, wire ties, a cordless phone, a kitchen knife, a beer bottle near the back door, a "latch plate" from the back door, a fired .22 caliber bullet, fired and unfired .22 caliber cartridge cases, and a 9mm caliber bullet. DNA testing on blood samples recovered from inside the house revealed that the three victims or Twanna Blair were the sources of the samples. Only one unidentified sample was found inside the house, DNA present on a stamp, and it was never matched to anyone.

As result of the ensuing investigation, officers learned of an altercation between [Petitioner] and OJ Blair just two days prior to the murder. Tamara Rhea testified that, on the evening of February 12, 1999, she threw a party at her residence in Sweetwater and that about 100 people were in attendance.

Reginald Constant, OJ's cousin, testified that he was in custody being held as a material witness and that he had no criminal charges. Mr. Constant stated that he was at the February 12 party in Sweetwater, where he saw OJ Blair and [Petitioner] involved in an altercation. Mr. Constant and several others "broke up" the fight. While standing in the yard, the group heard gunshots. According to Mr. Constant, [Petitioner] then pulled out his gun and pointed it toward the porch. Mr. Constant said to [Petitioner], "No, man it ain't even worth it," to which [Petitioner] replied, "You are going to let them shoot at me and I can't shoot back." Mr. Constant responded, "Man, that's my cousin." [Petitioner] then got in his vehicle and left. Mr. Constant stated that he was never afraid of [Petitioner] because he had known [Petitioner] for nineteen years and did not think he would shoot him. After [Petitioner] left, Mr. Constant also left the party before the police arrived.

Charles Brewster, Jr., was also in custody, being detained for the purpose of testifying at [Petitioner]'s trial. Mr. Brewster was likewise in attendance at the February 12 party, where he witnessed two females get into a physical altercation. Mr. Brewster testified that he saw [Petitioner] and OJ Blair get into a verbal argument, overhearing the two men doing a "bunch of cussing[.]" When he again saw [Petitioner] on Saturday afternoon following the party, [Petitioner] said to him "[t]hat he had handled the situation. He retaliated and handled the situation."

Desmond Deane Benton also testified about his recollection of the February 12 party. He recalled that [Petitioner] and OJ Blair were "in each other's face. They was [sic] arguing and then all of the sudden they grabbed each other and they rolled out the front door off the porch onto the concrete, the driveway . . . . They started fighting and then shots broke out." According to Mr. Benton, when the shots were fired, everybody ran. Mr. Benton opined that OJ Blair was winning the fight.

Mr. Benton left the party and went to his girlfriend's house. Sometime later that evening, he returned to Tamara Rhea's apartment and saw Michael Younger at the trunk of his car, loading bullets into the clip of a black handgun. Mr. Benton stated that he had never seen [Petitioner] with a gun.

After shots were fired at the party, officers were called to the scene, which, according to Officer Kenny Wilkins with the Sweetwater Police Department, was known for its drug activity. As Officer Wilkins was traveling to the scene, he encountered Ke[rr]y Rogers, who had been shot at the party. Officer Wilkins stayed with Mr. Rogers until emergency personnel arrived to assist him. Despite a lengthy investigation, no one was ever charged with Mr. Rogers' shooting.

While Officer Wilkins waited with Mr. Rogers, other officers continued to the scene "where the party had taken place." Once at the party, the officers arrested [Petitioner] and took him to the local jail for questioning.

On February 14, 1999, around 2:00 a.m., Stacy Ann Clabough left The Party Zone, a club in Chattanooga, after Twanna Blair, OJ Blair, and Dawn Rogers failed to meet her there. When she returned to Cleveland, she went by the victims' townhouse to see why they had failed to attend. She knocked on the front door, and Twanna Blair answered. Twanna Blair told her that everyone was asleep, so Ms. Clabough returned to her car and left. As she was leaving the complex, she heard "a noise or something" that "caught [her] attention[.]" She turned to see someone sitting inside a dark, maroon vehicle. While she did not know [Petitioner] at that time, she was able to later identify him as the man inside the car; she claimed she was able to remember [Petitioner's] face due to the "shock." At the time of trial, Ms. Calbough was incarcerated for violating her probation on a prescription fraud conviction. Ms. Clabough also admitted that she had given several inconsistent statements to the authorities, that she had two forgery convictions, and that she had a tattoo commemorating OJ Blair's birth date.

Amy Lonas and [Petitioner] were in "a friend with benefits relationship" in February 1999. Ms. Lonas, then eighteen years old, stated that, on the evening of the 12th, she was present at the party with [Petitioner] and Michael Younger. She testified that she saw [Petitioner] with a gun that evening and, according to Ms. Lonas, [Petitioner] "always had a gun." When OJ Blair and Twanna Blair arrived at the party, [Petitioner] said to Ms. Lonas, "They could die right there." Ms. Lonas and others told [Petitioner] "No, don't do nothing like that." Ms. Lonas, who was underage and drinking and doing "a lot" of drugs, went back inside the house. After she heard gunshots, she left the party to avoid the police and returned to her apartment that she shared with Tiffany Gray.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on February 13, [Petitioner], Michael Younger, and Jason McGaughey came to Ms.

...