Lundy v. Superintendent

1

QUINCY LUNDY, Petitioner, v. SUPERINTENDENT, Respondent.

No. 9:21-CV-0899 (GTS-DJS)

United States District Court, N.D. New York

January 31, 2024

APPEARANCES:

JODI L. MORALES, ESQ. Attorney for Petitioner The Law Office of Jodi Morales

HON LETITIA JAMES Attorney for Respondent New York State Attorney General The Capitol

OF COUNSEL:

MICHELLE ELAINE MAEROV, ESQ. Assistant Attorney General

REPORT-RECOMMENDATION AND ORDER

DANIEL J. STEWART, United States Magistrate Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Petitioner Quincy Lundy (“Petitioner”) seeks federal habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Dkt. No. 1, Petition (“Pet.”); Dkt. No. 4, Petitioner's Memorandum of Law in Support of Petition. Respondent successfully requested an extension of time to file a response and permission to file an oversized memorandum of law. Dkt. No. 6, Letter Motion (requesting an extension); Dkt. No. 7, Text Order (granting request); Dkt. No. 9 (requesting permission to file an oversized memorandum); Dkt. No. 10, Text Order (granting request). Respondent submitted a reply. Dkt. No. 11, Response; Dkt. No. 11-1, Respondent's Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Petition; Dkt. Nos. 12-1-12-6, State Court Records; Dkt. Nos. 13-1-13-2, State Court Records. Petitioner requested an extension of time to file a reply. Dkt. No. 15, Motion (requesting an extension); Dkt. No. 16, Text Order (granting request). Petitioner subsequently submitted a reply. Dkt. No. 17, Traverse.

II. RELEVANT BACKGROUND

A. Indictment

In an Indictment filed May 9, 2014, Petitioner and Dron Lundy were charged with Murder in the Second Degree, in violation of N.Y. PENAL LAW (“P.L.”) § 125.25(1), and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, in violation of P.L. § 265.03(1)(b) and (3). Dkt. No. 12-1 at 188-90.^[1] The Grand Jury found, on or about October 19, 2012: Petitioner and Dron Lundy: “aiding and abetting and being aided and abetted by each other, intentionally caused the death of Walter Belle by shooting him in the chest[,]” and Petitioner “possessed a loaded firearm intending to use the same unlawfully against Walter Belle [and] . . . possessed a loaded firearm at a place other than his home or place of business, to wit: a handgun.” Id. at 188-89.

B. Pre-Trial

As relevant here, Petitioner moved for an order severing his trial from that of his codefendant, Dron Lundy. Dkt. No. 12-1 at 194. Onondaga County Court denied Petitioner's motion, finding Petitioner “ha[d] not shown that the core of his defense would be in irreconcilable conflict with his co-defendant, or that this conflict alone would cause a significant danger of leading the jury to infer their guilt” and there was no evidence of “a potential Bruton problem . . . [because] although both defendants gave statements to police, neither defendant have a statement that place[d] blame for the crimes charged on the other brother.” Id. at 195-96 (citations omitted).

C. Jury Trial

The joint jury trial of Petitioner and Dron Lundy commenced on October 14, 2014, before Onondaga County Court (“County Court” or “trial court”). Dkt. No. 13-1 at 111. A jury was selected and the parties delivered opening statements. See generally, id. at 341-60. The parties then presented their respective cases, the relevant portions of which are summarized below.

On October 19, 2012, around 8:00 p.m., Tamekia Hollister was in the hallway of her residence at 508 East Laurel Street smoking a cigarette with her mother, Beverly Laframboise. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 381-83. Hollister recalled they sat in front of two opened double doors to the outside facing the sidewalk and East Laurel Street. Id. at 383-84. Hollister testified she observed “[t]wo black males . . . walking by” on the sidewalk, one wearing “a camouflage hoodie” and the other wearing “a black hoodie[.]” Id. at 385-86. Hollister explained the two men were talking towards Catherine Street and she was able to see them with the assistance of a street light. Id. at 389-91.

Hollister identified Petitioner as the individual who walked by wearing the camouflage hoodie and co-defendant Dron as the individual who wore the black hoodie. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 391-92. Hollister remained in the hallway as they walked by and “[a]bout a minute or two later [she] heard gunshots.” Id. at 393. Hollister testified she heard “[a]bout five” gunshots “coming from down the street . . . towards Catherine” and she ran inside with Laframboise. Id. at 393-94. After two or three minutes, Hollister went back outside where she observed “the defendants running back up the street.” Id. at 394-97. Hollister testified the two “were running up the hill . . . Towards McBride” then entered “a white vehicle at the top of the corner” which she described as “a white Jeep with lettering on the side.” Id. at 397. The witness explained the vehicle had been parked on East Laurel Street at the intersection with McBride, then “started driving off and it did a U-turn and went toward[s] McBride.” Id. at 399.

Beverly Laframboise testified she observed two individuals walk by her home while she was smoking in the stairway with Hollister. Dkt. No. 13-2 at 328-30. Laframboise testified one of the individuals was “tall” and the other “looked young.” Id. at 333. Laframboise stated both individuals were African American but one had a lighter skin tone and the other a darker skin tone. Id. at 334.

Jason Acevedo testified he went by the nickname “Peso” and had been friends with Walter Belle, who went by the nickname “Esco” for four or five years. Dkt. No. 13-2 at 338399. Acevedo testified Belle resided at 644 Catherine Street in 2019, located at the corner of Catherine and Laurel Streets. Id. at 40. Acevedo stated he and Belle spent time with other friends at the residence, including “Ceto, Rock,” also known as “Shevacki Bloodworth” and “Q.” Id. at 41. Acevedo also identified “Murk” as his cousin, Alfred Thomas. Id.

Around 8:00 p.m. on October 19, 2012, Acevedo walked down Butternut Street towards Eliosco's grocery store, located at the corner of Laurel and Lodi, “[r]ight around the corner . . . maybe 15 feet” from the residence at 644 Catherine. Dkt. No. 13-2 at 42-43. As he approached the store, Acevedo “heard arguing around the corner” and recognized “[Belle] was arguing with Quincy.” Id. at 44. Acevedo identified Petitioner as “Quincy Lundy” and stated he was familiar with him from prior “altercations . . . on Butternut.” Id. at 44-45.

Acevedo testified he walked towards the intersection of Catherine and Laurel Streets and “s[aw] three people walking across the street and [Belle], he was arguing with them.” Dkt. No. 13-2 at 45. Acevedo stated “Shevacki” was talking with Belle in the driveway while Petitioner and the other two people stood in the street. Id. at 46-47. Acevedo testified the other two individuals were “wearing black hoodies” and one of the two “looked like [Petitioner's] brother Dron.” Id. at 47. Acevedo stated Petitioner was also wearing “[a] black hoodie . . . and dark pants.” Id. at 49.

Acevedo testified he “asked [Belle] if he was good and [Belle] said yeah” and Petitioner and the other two individuals walked “across the street . . . away from the house.” Dkt. No. 13-2 at 51. Acevedo clarified the three individuals crossed “Catherine” and proceeded “up the hill on Laurel” Street away from the intersection with Lodi. Id. at 51-52. Accordingly, Acevedo “starting walking back towards the store” when he “heard shots fired and . . . looked behind [him] to see who it was and [he saw] them firing down from the hill[.]” Id. at 52. Acevedo explained he saw “Quincy and his brother Dron and the third person” firing from up the hill and he “took off.” Id. at 52. Acevedo confirmed he saw guns in the hands of both Petitioner and the individual he believed to be co-defendant Dron which he described as “chrome, small like deuce deuce .22 calibers.” Id. at 53. Acevedo stated the individuals were firing shots from “the sidewalk” on Laurel “two or three” houses up the street from the corner of Laurel and Catherine. Id. at 54.

Syracuse Police Officer John Harkness testified he was dispatched to 644 Catherine Street at approximately 8:02 p.m. on October 19, 2012. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 361-63. Harkness stated he observed two males in front of the residence: one was “laying in the foyer . . . unconscious” and the other was “standing next to him.” Id. at 366. Harkness explained he learned Belle was the unconscious male and he had sustained “a gunshot wound to his upper left chest area just below his armpit.” Id. Harkness also learned the other male, “Shevacki Bloodworth[,]” had “a grazed gunshot wound to his right shoulder area” but was “conscious, alert, [and] sp[oke] to officers on scene.” Id. at 367.

Harkness recalled paramedics transported Belle to the hospital. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 367-68. Bloodworth was transported to the Criminal Investigations Division (“CID”). Id. at 369. Harkness assisted with a canvass of the surrounding area, the six hundred block of Catherine Street. Id. at 367. Harkness testified Belle was pronounced dead at the hospital at 8:50 p.m. Id. at 368.

Syracuse Police Detective Thomas Glauberman responded to 644 Catherine Street, at the corner of Catherine and Laurel, on October 19, 2012, in his capacity as an evidence technician and member of the crime scene unit. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 495-501. Glauberman documented the scene, capturing photographs which were admitted into evidence and used to generate a crime scene sketch. Id. at 503-09.

The following day, police collected “a 12-gauge shotgun” from the area at the top of the stairs inside of the residence at 644 Catherine Street. Dkt. No. 13-1 at 509. Glauberman testified the shotgun was loaded with five rounds. Id.

Syracuse Police...