Opinion ID: 1133717
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Statements Regarding the Cocaine Party

Text: Third, Ponticelli alleges that the State suppressed a number of pieces of evidence regarding the cocaine party that began the night before the homicides. [13] This allegation involves: (1) the state investigator's field notes following an interview with Timothy Letson in which Letson indicated that he had seen Ponticelli smoke cocaine in a manner consistent with that testified to by Burgess and Ed Brown at the evidentiary hearing; [14] (2) statements John Turner allegedly made to the state investigator indicating that he and Ponticelli used cocaine with the West Virginia boys the night before the homicides; and (3) Freeman's statements to the state investigator that Ponticelli had told Freeman he used cocaine with the West Virginia boys the night before the homicides. We agree with the trial court that Ponticelli has failed to establish a Brady violation in regard to any of these allegations. The trial court addressed the investigator's field notes following his interview with Letson in the same way it addressed the prosecutor's interview notes following her interview with Keesee. The trial court found that these notes did not clearly indicate the information Ponticelli now alleges and that, even if they did, Ponticelli has not established that the suppression resulted in prejudice. We agree. The state investigator's field notes indicate that Letson saw Ponticelli use cocaine but do not indicate the date on which Letson witnessed the cocaine use. The fact that Ponticelli used cocaine was well accepted at trial. In fact, Turner testified at trial that he was with Ponticelli all day, every day for three or four weeks immediately preceding the homicides and that Ponticelli smoked a bunch of cocaine all day long. There is no indication that the field notes would have indicated to defense counsel, much less that the State knew they would have indicated to defense counsel, that Letson saw Ponticelli use cocaine within the twenty-four hours preceding the homicides. Indeed, the evidence tying these notes to Ponticelli's cocaine use at the time of the crimes was Ed Brown's testimony, and at the evidentiary hearing, Brown denied telling the State about the cocaine party. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's denial of this claim. In regard to Turner's alleged statement to the state investigator, the testimony at the evidentiary hearing indicated that Turner testified about the cocaine party in his deposition taken by defense counsel. A defendant cannot show a Brady violation has occurred if the defendant knew of the existence of the evidence or in fact had the evidence. Knight v. State, 923 So.2d 387, 406 (Fla.2005) (quoting trial court's order). Finally, Ponticelli claims the State violated Brady by not disclosing a statement Freeman allegedly made to the state investigator indicating that Ponticelli told Freeman he was with the West Virginia boys on the night before the homicides. Even if this allegation is true, we find no reasonable probability that this statement was material. Ponticelli refused to answer defense counsel's inquiries regarding Ponticelli's cocaine use at the time of the crimes. Moreover, at trial, all three of the West Virginia boys contradicted this statement in their sworn testimony. We find no reasonable probability that cross-examining Freeman about an incident which he did not witness, but which was allegedly told to him by a defendant who refused to speak about this with his counsel, would have caused the jury to doubt the sworn testimony of three impartial witnesses at trial. Our confidence in the outcome is not undermined. Therefore, we deny Ponticelli's Brady claims.