Opinion ID: 3171884
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Summary of the Cab Driver’s Testimony

Text: At approximately 1:00 a.m. on January 17, someone driving a white Ford Mustang began honking at the cab driver while he was dropping off a customer. After the cab driver received his fare from the customer and drove to the nearest intersection, the white Mustang pulled up next to him and the Mustang’s driver began cursing at him. The cab driver ignored the white Mustang and continued driving. But, at a red light, the white Mustang pulled up to him again. The Mustang’s driver exited the Mustang, walked to the cab, and began banging on the cab’s window. While banging on the window, the Mustang’s driver threatened to shoot the cab driver. The Mustang’s driver then returned to the Mustang and retrieved a silver pistol, which he pointed at the cab driver. After the light turned green, the cab driver drove away and proceeded to search for police officers. The cab driver found police officers at a local restaurant and informed them about his altercation with the Mustang’s driver. The cab driver told the officers that the Mustang was white and had a Florida license plate. He also reported to the officers that the Mustang had an Italian flag near the dashboard. The cab driver described the Mustang’s driver as Caucasian with short hair and a clean shaven face. In addition, he stated that the Mustang’s driver was wearing a gray sweater. 3 Case: 15-10694 Date Filed: 01/25/2016 Page: 4 of 20 The officers then told the cab driver to stay nearby until they located the Mustang. Shortly thereafter, the officers directed the cab driver to a gas station. The officers had an individual handcuffed at the gas station. The white Mustang was also at the gas station. The officers asked the cab driver if the handcuffed individual was the Mustang’s driver, and the cab driver responded affirmatively. 1 The individual was Mariano. 2 2. Summary of Apprehending Police Officer’s Testimony Shortly after receiving the cab driver’s description of the Mustang and its driver, the police officer found a white Mustang at a gas station and saw an individual fitting the description provided by the cab driver leaving the gas station. The officer requested assistance and for the cab driver to come to the gas station. After the cab driver identified Mariano as the individual who had threatened him with a silver pistol, the officer searched Mariano’s person. The officer found car keys for a Ford Mustang in Mariano’s pockets. The keys matched the white Mustang parked at the gas station. The officer and another officer then searched the Mustang and found a silver pistol. The Mustang also had an Italian flag hanging from the rearview mirror near the dashboard. 1 This identification procedure is known as a “show-up.” 2 Relevant to Mariano’s claim that the district court erred by refusing to offer a jury instruction on cross-racial identification, the cab driver is of Egyptian ethnicity. Prior to trial, Mariano proposed a jury instruction regarding the inaccuracies of cross-racial identification. The court declined to provide the instruction, finding that the Eleventh Circuit’s pattern jury instruction on identification was sufficient. 4 Case: 15-10694 Date Filed: 01/25/2016 Page: 5 of 20 3. DNA Evidence Related to the Silver Pistol At trial, the prosecution proffered an expert witness to testify about DNA evidence obtained from the silver pistol. The evidence was derived from testing done by the police department’s crime lab. The results of the testing were inconclusive—the pistol had a mixture of DNAs on it. However, according to the expert witness, Mariano’s DNA could not be excluded as a possible “contributor” to the mixture.3