The opinion of the court was delivered by: VICTOR BIANCHINI, Magistrate Judge
Petitioner, Michael Campbell ("Campbell"), filed this pro se
petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254
challenging his conviction in Monroe County Court on three counts
of second degree murder, one count of attempted second degree
murder, one count of first degree assault, and one count of
fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon. The parties have
consented to disposition of this matter by the undersigned
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Campbell's convictions arise from four shooting incidents
(three murders and one attempted murder) in the City of Rochester
between August 22, 1994, and April 15, 1995. All of the shootings
stemmed from an argument in which Campbell became involved, which
in turn led to a feud between Campbell and his associates on the
one side, and Levi Wright, a/k/a "Poochie", and his gang on the
other.
In mid-August 1994, Campbell was in the vicinity of Parsells
and Denver Streets when he received a message on his pager which
he wanted to answer. There was a pay telephone on the corner, but
a woman was using it. By Campbell's estimate, the woman had been
talking for about 45 minutes. Campbell asked the woman if he
could use the phone, but she refused. He informed her that she
had better get off the phone or he would hang it up. The woman
swore at him, which led to an altercation between Campbell and
the woman's boyfriend, who happened to be one of Poochie's
cousins. The fight escalated with more individuals becoming
involved, but no one was shot. Eventually, everyone dispersed.
Later that evening or early the next morning, while Campbell
and some friends were in the vicinity of Webster Avenue and
Ferndale Crescent, a group of armed individuals led by Poochie
emerged from the bushes at the end of a cul-de-sac and started
firing at Campbell. Campbell and his friends returned fire. Over
the next several days, Campbell had shots fired at him three more
times by Poochie or members of his gang.
On August 22, 1994, Campbell was shot at again, and this
apparently was "the straw that broke the camel's back." Campbell
took his gun and went out looking for Poochie. Upon seeing the
tan Honda Accord that Poochie normally drove, Campbell and
another man fired about ten rounds into the car, killing the two
teenaged occupants, Peniel Bedell ("Bedell") and Byron Whyte
("Whyte"), both of whom sold drugs for Poochie. Poochie, however,
was not in the car at the time. After the shooting, Campbell left
Rochester to lie low in Florida for a few months.
Shortly after returning to Rochester, on December 3, 1994,
Campbell went into a grocery store at the corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Clifton Streets to buy some beer. Upon entering the
store, Campbell, who happened to be drunk and stoned, spotted
Jeremiah Thomas ("Thomas") standing over a cooler. Thomas was a
member of Poochie's gang and one of the people whom Campbell
believed had been involved in the Webster Avenue gun fight and
subsequent attempts to kill him. Seeing Thomas refreshed the
memory of those incidents in Campbell's mind and, when Thomas
reached down into the cooler, Campbell fatally shot him.
The final shooting occurred at about 2:00 a.m. on April 15,
1995, when Campbell approached Michael Lewis ("Lewis"), a/k/a
"Tank", outside of the High Chaparral Club on Portland Avenue and
asked whether Lewis's cousins had made statements to the police
about Campbell. Lewis denied knowing anything about this
although, in fact, he was aware that his cousin had given a
statement to police implicating Campbell in the Bedell-Whyte
killing. During this conversation, a car operated by unknown
individuals drove by Campbell twice, nearly striking him.
Campbell reached under his shirt to draw his gun, whereupon Lewis
fled on foot. As Lewis was climbing a metal fence about a block away, Campbell
caught up to him and shot him five times, causing
life-threatening injuries and temporary partial paralysis. Lewis
survived, however, and filed a felony complaint with the
Rochester Police Department against Campbell.
Based upon the complaint and other information received
concerning Campbell, Investigator Sheridan of the Rochester
Police Department obtained a warrant for Campbell's arrest on
charges of second degree attempted murder and first degree
assault with respect to the Lewis shooting. The police executed
the warrant on June 2, 1995, bringing Campbell into custody at
about 10:00 p.m. that evening. Rather than immediately arraign
Campbell, Investigators Sheridan and his partner, Investigator
Schultz, interrogated Campbell for several hours. During this
time, Campbell gave a statement admitting to the murders of
Whyte, Bedell, Thomas, and the attempted murder of Lewis.
However, he advised the officers that he was "not going to sign
shit." Investigator Sheridan typed up this statement and had
Campbell read it over. True to his word, Campbell refused to sign
the statement.
The investigators then questioned Campbell about the August 14,
1994 murder of Akinwumi Vincent ("Vincent"). Campbell initially
denied responsibility, but he later admitted that he had a
problem with Vincent and shot him in the stomach. A second
statement was transcribed regarding the Vincent killing, but
Campbell refused to sign this one as well. Investigator Sheridan
then pressed Campbell about the killing of Eddie West, telling
him that the handgun used in that crime was the same one used to
shoot Lewis. Campbell consistently denied being involved in the
West killing, claiming that after he shot Lewis, he exchanged the
gun he had used for a 9-mm rifle.
Campbell subsequently was indicted by a Monroe County Grand
Jury and charged with three counts of second degree murder, one
count of attempted second degree murder, one count of first
degree assault, and one count of fourth degree criminal
possession of a weapon.*fn1 A hearing pursuant to People v. Huntley, 15 N.Y.2d 72, 78 (1965)
("Huntley"), was held before Judge Donald Mark in Monroe County
Court to determine the voluntariness and admissibility of
Campbell's statements to the police. Defense counsel argued that
Campbell's statements should be suppressed because Campbell's
right to counsel was violated by virtue of the fact that (1) a
felony complaint already had been filed against Campbell charging
him with the Lewis shooting; (2) Campbell was questioned
following his arrest instead of being arraigned immediately upon
the Lewis charge; and (3) the Whyte-Bedell-Thomas homicides were
related to, or inextricably intertwined with the Lewis shooting
for which Campbell's right to counsel had attached, making any
questioning regarding the uncharged incidents unconstitutional.
At the hearing, Investigator Sheridan testified that after
Campbell waived his Miranda*fn2 rights, they began
discussing, in general terms, the feud between Campbell's
associates and the gang led by Poochie and Lewis, as well as the
recent spate of gang-related shootings in Rochester. 1/8/96
Transcript of Huntley Hearing at 30. About thirty minutes into
the interrogation, Campbell spontaneously confessed to the murder
of Lewis. 12/15/95 Transcript of Huntley Hearing at 59. This
was the first murder to which Campbell confessed. Id.
Investigator Sheridan testified that neither he nor his partner
had asked Campbell any questions relative to the Lewis murder.
1/8/96 Transcript of Huntley Hearing at 60. Investigator
Sheridan talked ...