Ramos v. Commissioner of Correction

Wilfredo Ramos v. Commissioner of Correction

No. TSRCV144005987

Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of Tolland, Rockville

August 22, 2017

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

John B. Farley, J.

The petitioner, Wilfred Ramos, seeks habeas corpus relief based on alleged deprivations of due process and alleged ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Mr. Ramos was convicted of murder and tampering with physical evidence after a jury trial, and given a total effective sentence of 65 years of incarceration. In his petition he alleges that he was deprived of his right to due process by virtue of the prosecutor's allegedly improper comments during the trial (Count One), and also by the prosecutor's failure to disclose alleged material exculpatory evidence pertaining to one of the investigating officer's internal affairs record (Count Two). Count Three alleges ineffective assistance of counsel based on a failure to investigate raise and pursue the issues associated with the alleged due process violations, as well as several other claimed deficiencies in the defense presented on his behalf. The court concludes that the petitioner has failed to sustain his burden on all claims and, therefore, the court denies the petition.

FACTS

In the early morning hours of October 4, 2011 around 2:30 a.m Linda Graveline was stabbed to death at her apartment in Waterbury. Immediately after the attack, a neighbor of the victim called the police. Lieutenant Michael Slavin, the on-call supervisor of the detective bureau that night responded to the scene along with other Waterbury police officers. Lieutenant Slavin and Officer Crea spoke to two neighbors at the scene, Elizabeth Bermudez and Lycell Johnson, who both stated that upon hearing the victim's screams they ran to her apartment and saw the petitioner whom they identified as the victim's boyfriend " Will, " inside the apartment covered in blood and holding a knife. They fled back to their apartment and called the police. Officer Crea reported that, upon obtaining this information, " [a] broadcast pickup was put out of the suspect Will, over the air as well as blue ink." Officer Crea memorialized these and other facts in a written report dated 10/4/2011 at 4:38 a.m. The cover sheet of the report indicates " No suspects" despite the above-quoted language from the body of the report.

At 3:05 a.m., shortly after the police responded to the scene, an anonymous person later identified as Mr. Ramos called the police department to report the incident as well. He spoke to Detective Baxter and claimed Ms. Graveline had been the victim of an assault with a knife perpetrated by a third party. He also reported that he had been stabbed in the leg when he attempted to intervene. The caller refused an offer of medical assistance. Detective Baxter relayed the substance of the call to Lieutenant Slavin. Though Ramos had provided his general location to Detective Baxter, the police were unable to find him in that vicinity. Following the 3:05 a.m. phone call the police attempted to call the number associated with the call and to identify the caller. The police soon learned that the phone number belonged to a woman who described herself as an ex-girlfriend of the petitioner and she told police the phone belonged to Wilfredo Ramos.

The petitioner's step-sister, Alma Jones, lived at the same address where Ramos resided. She testified that on the night of these events, between 3:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. she awoke to find eight police bars outside the house, police officers banging on the doors and windows and an officer yelling " Wilfredo Ramos! Open the door!" She recalls being interviewed by three detectives who were looking for Ramos. Anxious to locate Ramos, at 6:08 a.m. Detective Tirado submitted an " AT& T Exigent Circumstances Form" to obtain information regarding the phone, including information concerning the location of the phone Ramos had used to call the police.

Meanwhile, Ms. Bermudez and Mr. Johnson went to police headquarters to give statements. They also separately reviewed photo arrays and both identified a photograph of Mr. Ramos as the person named Will who they saw in the victim's apartment. Another witness, Teresa Mestey, also signed a photo array identifying the petitioner as " Will Ramos, " the victim's boyfriend, although she did not witness any of the events surrounding the assault. The statements and photo identifications were completed before 7:00 a.m. The photo arrays all identified Ramos as " the suspect." Detective Jackson, who obtained the Bermudez statement and conducted her photo array, testified that it was not typical to use a photo array to identify a victim or a witness. Detective Baxter, who obtained the other two statements and conducted two of the photo arrays confirmed Jackson's testimony that it was not typical to use a photo array to identify a victim or a witness. He also testified, however, that the reference to Ramos as " the suspect" was standard language used in all photo arrays and did not necessarily mean that the police considered Ramos a suspect at this point in the investigation.

At 7:10 a.m. the police received another phone call from Ramos, who did not identify himself, but repeated the story he had related to the police during the 3:05 a.m. phone call. Once again he refused the offer of medical attention and refused to provide his location. On this occasion, however, the police were able to identify the location of the telephone pursuant to the request for information from AT& T. Lieutenant Slavin sent Sergeant Ferucci, Detective Jackson and Officer Crea out to look for Ramos. All three plausibly had reason to believe that Ramos was a potential suspect in the Graveline murder. Detective Jackson had obtained the Bermudez statement and conducted the photo array identifying Ramos as a " suspect." Officer Crea had already prepared a report that referred to Ramos as a " suspect, " although his report also stated there were no suspects. Sergeant Ferucci was the on-call supervisor that night and was leading the investigation. He had witnessed the Bermudez and Johnson statements and was aware of the photo arrays.

The three officers located Ramos on the street and parked their vehicle in such a way as to facilitate a chase if Ramos fled. Officer Crea and Sergeant Ferucci approached Ramos on the street and Ferucci engaged him in a conversation there. Sergeant Ferucci identified himself, asked Ramos to identify himself, advised Ramos the police were conducting an investigation, asked about his injuries and offered to obtain medical assistance for him. Ramos declined medical attention. Sergeant Ferucci then asked Ramos, " How did it happen?" and Ramos responded by telling Ferucci he had been injured in a struggle at the address where Ms. Graveline had been murdered. Sergeant Ferucci testified that his question had been aimed at determining the nature of Ramos's involvement in the incident. While he testified he did not consider Ramos a suspect at that point, Sergeant Ferucci also acknowledged that he would have chased Ramos if he had attempted to run away during their discussion.

At the conclusion of this brief conversation with Ramos on the street, Ramos agreed to accompany the officers to the police station for further discussion. They patted Ramos down, handcuffed him and transported him to the police station. The pat down and use of handcuffs was done for the safety of the officers, not because Ramos was being arrested. He was not arrested at that point. Nothing of substance was discussed during the ride to the police station. When they arrived at the police station, Ramos was placed in an interview room and the handcuffs were removed. Nothing was said to him concerning his freedom to leave the station; the officers left the room and closed the door.

Detectives Tirado and Rivera were assigned to interview Ramos at the police station. They were aware of all the information that had been developed from the witnesses, that Ms. Graveline was deceased, that Ramos had made the two telephone calls and that he had refused medical attention. They testified at a suppression hearing prior to Ramos's criminal trial that, prior to the interview, they were unsure whether Ramos was a suspect or a victim. When they entered the room they saw Ramos was covered in blood. Detective Rivera asked whether he was okay and what had happened to him. Ramos told them he had stabbed himself. The detectives left to retrieve first aid materials and, based on his statement that he had stabbed himself, they decided to advise Ramos of his rights when they returned. They did so, Ramos waived his rights and the detectives proceeded to interview Ramos, ultimately obtaining a confession from him. He was advised of his rights again later in the process and he again confessed that he had stabbed Ms. Graveline during an argument with her.

Ramos testified in support of his petition that the police apprehended him by force on the street and took him to police headquarters against his will. He claims he was placed in an interview room, still in handcuffs, and then subjected to hours of physical abuse and interrogation. He asserts his request for a lawyer was ignored, he was never advised of his rights and he was in no condition to waive his rights because he had been drinking and using drugs for a day and a half before the incident. He maintains he never confessed to the police. He testified to much of this at his criminal trial as well. The court does not find his testimony credible.

At his criminal trial, Ramos sought to suppress his inculpatory statements. He was represented at that trial by Attorney Tashun Bowden-Lewis. At the suppression hearing Attorney Bowden-Lewis sought to...