Maitland v. Gilmore

NIGEL ALI MAITLAND Petitioner v. ROBERT GILMORE, PA STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondents

Civil No. 3:16-cv-2044

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

September 4, 2019

(Judge Munley)

MEMORANDUM

Petitioner Nigel Ali Maitland ("Petitioner" or "Maitland"), a state inmate currently confined at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, files the instant petition (Doc. 1) for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, seeking relief from convictions of murder in the first degree, 18 PA.C.S. § 2502(a), criminal conspiracy, 18 PA.C.S. § 903, and a firearms violation 18 PA.C.S. § 6105, obtained in criminal case CP-67-CR-00003898-2009, in the Court of Common Pleas of York County, Pennsylvania. The petition is presently ripe for disposition. For the reasons set forth below, the petition will be denied.

I. Background

The facts underlying Maitland's convictions are contained in the June 19, 2012 decision of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirming his Judgment of Sentence which was entered in the Court of Common Pleas of York County on August 4, 2011. (Doc. 13-1). The facts are as follows:

In the early hours of May 10, 2009, [Maitland], Skyler Handy ("Handy"), Bradley Walker, ("Walker"), and several other young men from the Parkway area of York City, were at Cheers Bar on East Market Street in East York. The bar was located in a "neutral zone," i.e., not part of the Parkway area or the South Side area. A fight broke out at the bar, between members of the Parkway area and the South Side area over an incident that occurred a month earlier and involved [Maitland's] younger brother, Niam Johnson.

At trial, Fernando Valentin, Jr. ("Valentin"), who was originally charged with first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy along with [Maitland], testified for the Commonwealth in exchange for the Commonwealth's promise to drop all charges filed against him. Valentin testified that he arrived at the bar just prior to the fight. According to Valentin, someone pushed him to the floor while trying to get to [Maitland]. Bottles and stools were thrown during the bar fight and Walker was badly injured. As Valentin was getting up off the floor, he saw a group of young men rush toward him, [Maitland], and their companions. Valentin and [Maitland] fled the bar. [Maitland] left in a red Dodge Avenger. Valentin ran and called his cousin to pick him up down the street from the bar.

Valentin's cousin picked him up and took him to the Parkway area to meet up with [Maitland], Handy, and others. When Valentin arrived, he saw one of the young men from the Parkway area waving a gun and arguing with "Woody," who was from the South Side area, about the bar fight. Once Woody left the area, [Maitland], Handy, and some others came out of a house. Some of the young men got into a Ford Fusion, while others, including [Maitland], got into the Dodge Avenger. Although the two cars first stopped at the Holiday Inn on Route 30 in York, they proceeded to cross the street and rent a room at the Days Inn. At some point, Valentin went to get a soda. When he returned, only [Maitland] and Handy were in the room. At this time, Valentin observed an automatic handgun on the lower portion of a nightstand between the two beds, as well as a revolver in [Maitland's] shoe. [Maitland], Handy, and Valentin talked for a while, and then went to sleep. Sometime before noon, [Maitland] and Handy woke up Valentin, and the three checked out of the hotel.

[Maitland], Handy, and Valentin then drove in the Dodge Avenger to Lee's Store on Pershing Avenue in the Parkway area of York. At the store, the trio met others from the Parkway area and discussed the fight that occurred at Cheers. [Maitland] left at one point and returned to join the group. During that time, a silver Chevy Tahoe drove by the store. [Maitland] and Handy approached the Chevy Tahoe; shortly thereafter, the Tahoe left the area.

Around 2: 00 p. m., [Maitland], Handy, and Valentin entered the Dodge Avenger, with [Maitland] driving, Handy in the passenger seat, and Valentin in the back seat behind Handy. According to Valentin, they intended to finish smoking their marijuana and go to the mall to shop for Mother's Day presents. At some point, Valentin told [Maitland] to drop him at his sister's house, but [Maitland] drove in the opposite direction.

According to Valentin, the car was driving on Duke Street in an area of York that he knew "was outside of our territory." N. T., 3/ 8/ 11, at 511. Valentin then heard [Maitland] say, "Oh shit," and the car swerved and stopped. After ducking down in the back seat, Valentin looked up and saw Handy hanging out of the window of the vehicle with a semi-automatic gun in his hand. At that time, Valentin also heard the driver's side door open, followed by three to four shots being fired by [Maitland]. [Maitland] then got back into the car and the three fled the scene.

Valentin further testified that, as [Maitland] was driving away from the scene, Handy was trying to unjam the semi-automatic gun and inadvertently pointed it at [Maitland]. [Maitland] yelled at Handy and told him to give the gun to Valentin. According to Valentin, [Maitland] said that he hoped "none of them bitches got hit that was over there." N. T., 3/ 8/ 11, at 515. As [Maitland] proceeded to drive up South Duke Street, someone appeared in front of them and threw a brick or rock at the side of the car. The impact knocked the passenger side mirror off the vehicle.

[Maitland] continued to head north to a small parking lot where he parked the Dodge Avenger. After checking the damage to the vehicle, the trio left on foot and proceeded to Smith Street. Once there, Handy got into the driver's seat of a silver Chevy Tahoe. Valentin got into the passenger seat, and [Maitland] entered the back seat. Handy drove the vehicle to Lee'sStore, where the three told some young men standing in front of the store what had happened. According to Valentin, they told them "to be careful in case [some] Southside dudes try to come around." N. T., 3/ 8/ 11, at 520.

Handy then drove to the West Manchester Mall in York. Valentin testified that they were going to stop at the Bon Ton, but instead went into the movie theater and bought some tickets. After they bought the tickets, however, Handy began to get some phone calls about the shooting. The trio then left the theater without watching the movie. Handy then dropped Valentin off, and he and [Maitland] left in the Chevy Tahoe.

Mariah Johnson-Skibber testified that she was in front of 537 South Duke Street playing with the nine-year-old victim and some other children. According to Ms. Johnson-Skibber, a group of about fifteen to twenty males, ages thirteen to twenty, were hanging out on the same side of the street. Ms. Johnson-Skibber heard one of the young men scream, "Oh, shit," and she then saw a red car coming up the street swerving and stop about five houses up from where she and the kids were playing. Ms. Johnson-Skibber then observed [Maitland] get out of the driver's side of the vehicle with a gun and point it in her direction. According to Ms. Johnson-Skibber, after she heard the first shot, she picked up one of the kids and hid behind a porch. She testified that she heard three to four shots coming from the same gun. After Ms. ]ohnson-Skibber saw the car drive away, she came out from behind the porch and saw the victim laying on her stomach in a pool of blood and asking for help. The victim's uncle ran outside, put the victim in his car, and drove to the hospital. The victim died a short time later from a gunshot wound to her back.

The Commonwealth also introduced a letter [Maitland] had written while he was incarcerated. Within the letter, [Maitland] wrote:

I'm sitting here reading your letter, and the shit brought me to tears because this shit hurts, and I know you just as sick as me, cuz, and the crazy thing about it was I was on my fallback, but them bitch ass niggas was taking it too far. They crossed the line when they fucked with [my younger brother]. Them bitch niggas sent some young boys to rob him just to get my [cell phone] number, then called me off of [my brother's] phone saying they kidnapped him. They didn't, but that was the last fucking straw. I was letting mad little shit slide, but I couldn't let thatrock. I just wish that lil girl didn't get hurt by a stray. That shit hurts on the inside because it wasn't intended for her.

Now I got this case to deal wit [sic], and on top of that, both of my [co-defendants] are telling. So, like I said, I just turn to God, but I keep my mouth shut, and you already know I'm on my shit. Win, lose, or draw, imma [sic] fucking rumble. I never been a bitch, and I'm damn sure not going to start now. N. T., 3/ 9/ 11, at 629- 30.

[Maitland] also testified at trial. [Maitland] explained that he was driving in the South Duke Street area when he saw a black male emerge from the side of the street and reach for a gun under his shirt. According to [Maitland], he then swerved and stopped the car, and shot at the male in an effort to defend himself.

On March 10, 2011, a jury convicted [Maitland] on all three charges. On April 7, 2011, the trial court sentenced [Maitland] to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder conviction, a consecutive term of twenty to forty years of imprisonment for the criminal conspiracy conviction, and a consecutive term of five to ten years for the firearm violation.

(Doc. 13-1, pp. 1-6).

Maitland filed a direct appeal raising the following issues:

I. Whether the trial court erred in concluding the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to sustain guilty verdicts on the criminal offenses of Murder in the First Degree and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Homicide?

II. Whether the trial court erred in denying [Maitland's] motion for judgment of acquittal on the basis that the weight of the evidence presented at trial showed that he did not possess a specific intent

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