Opinion ID: 1390030
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Canyon Corral Bar

Text: Petitioner contends his innocence is corroborated by the actions of others who likely were involved in the Ryen/Hughes murders. (Pet.¶ 60.) Petitioner focuses on the same personsthree white males at the Canyon Corral Bar the night of the murdersthat he tried to direct suspicion toward at trial. ( Id. ) The Court concludes that the Canyon Corral bar information does not undermine the evidence of Petitioner's guilt. None of the Canyon Corral bar witnesses are able to refute the physical evidence collected at the crime scene or the post-conviction DNA evidence linking Petitioner to the crime. The blood from the crime scene, A-41, recovered at around 12:25 a.m. on June 6, 1983 came from an African American individual, (93 RT 4424), and post-conviction DNA tests confirmed that it was Petitioner's blood (1 in 310 billion). ( See Supplemental DOJ Physical Evidence Exam Report dated Sept. 24, 2002 at 1-2.) None of the bar witnesses describe an inebriated African American individual with blood. As such, the evidence from the bar does not undermine Petitioner's guilt. Petitioner alleges that on the night of the murders three strangely acting patrons covered in blood were asked to leave the Canyon Corral Bar. (Pet.¶ 97.) At trial, the defense tried to cast suspicion away from Petitioner by calling bartender Ed Lelko to testify that three men entered the bar that night and later left without incident after being refused service for being too drunk. Lelko did not notice any blood on the men. In fact, none of the people known to be at the Canyon Corral bar on the night of the murders noticed blood. (Answer, Ex. 18, at 1; Answer, Ex. 22, at 1; Answer, Ex. 24, at 2; Answer, Ex. 28, at 1; Answer, Ex. 30.) Petitioner's support for his allegation comes from people who over twenty years after the fact allege to have been patrons in the bar: Lance Stark Mary Mellon-Wolfe, Christine Slonaker, Randy Mansfield and Al Ward. In order to address the issues raised by Petitioner's successive petition, the Court held an evidentiary where several people at the bar that night testified. These people had previously given police interviews the day following the murders and/or testified at trial. These included the bartender Edward Lelko, [38] the bar manager Shirley Killian, two waitresses, Virginia Mansfield and Kathleen Royals, and several bar patrons, including Lester Land, Linda Paulk and Pamela Smith. Lelko, Killian, Mansfield, Royals, Land, Paulk and Smith confirm their earlier statements and testimony that there were no men in the bar that night with blood on their clothes or faces and that the police did not come to the bar that night. The Court also heard testimony from Lance Stark, Mary Mellon-Wolfe, and Christine Slonaker. Deputy Rodney Ray Hoops who was on patrol the evening of the murders also testified. At the request of Petitioner, the Court heard from Alfred Eugene Ward, Sr., who testified that he was at the Canyon Corral Bar on the night before the murders, Friday, June 3, 1983, one night too soon to be relevant. He specifically recalls seeing three young white males wearing extremely bloody T-shirts. (8/25/04 HRT 37.) If Mr. Ward is credible, his testimony refutes Petitioner's theory and is consistent with Randy Mansfield's testimony that it was not unusual for patrons to come into the bar with blood on their clothes from the slaughterhouses in the area. a. Evidentiary Hearing Testimony of Bar Employees and Patrons Who Were Interviewed After the Murders and/or Testified at Trial Edward Lelko testified he was the bartender at the Canyon Corral Bar on the night of the murders. (6/25/04 HRT 5.) Lelko stated that he saw three men wearing Levi jeans. (6/25/04 HRT 18.) Lelko confirmed that one of the men was wearing a light colored T-shirt. (6/25/04 HRT 84.) The men were not wearing coveralls. (6/25/04 HRT 18.) Lelko did not call the police and did not see a police officer in the bar that night. (6/25/04 HRT 19-21.) Shirley Killian was the manager of the Canyon Corral Bar in June 1983 and recalled the three men at the bar. (6/29/04 HRT 106-09.) She was not working on the night of the murders but was at the bar. (6/29/04 HRT 106.) She did not see any blood on the men's clothing or their persons. (6/29/04 HRT 111.) One of the men was wearing a light colored T-shirt and blue jeans. (6/29/04 HRT 133, 140-41.) She did not call the police. (6/29/04 HRT 109.) Killian went outside when the three men left and she saw one get into a pickup and another one get into a smaller car. (6/29/04 HRT 108.) Kathleen Royals was a waitress at the bar in June 1983.(6/29/04 HRT 148.) She served the three men drinks. (6/29/04 HRT 153.) She described them as clean-cut men and recalled they wore jeans and one or two of them wore a T-shirt. (6/29/04 HRT 153.) She did not notice any blood on their clothing or their persons. (6/29/04 HRT 153.) She did not call the police, was not aware of anyone calling the police and did not see any officers in the bar that evening. (6/29/04 HRT 154.) Linda Paulk was a patron at the bar and testified that three clean-looking men entered the bar on the night of the murders. They looked like they were military personnel. (6/28/04 HRT 183, 187.) They all wore T-shirts and had short haircuts. (6/28/04 HRT 183.) One wore a white T-shirt. (6/28/04 HRT 184.) Ms. Paulk stated she did not notice blood on any of the three men. She did not see anyone with coveralls. (6/28/04 HRT 187.) Pamela Smith was a patron at the bar on the night of the murders. (6/28/04 HRT 202.) She noticed three men at the bar. (6/28/04 HRT 203-04.) The three men were in their 20's wearing T-shirt and jeans. (6/28/04 HRT 205.) One man had a T-shirt with a logo making Ms. Smith think he liked heavy metal bands. (6/28/04 HRT 204-05.) Ms. Smith stated that she did not notice any blood or stain on the three men's clothing. (6/28/04 HRT 209.) She did not see a police officer at the bar. (6/28/04 HRT 209.) After hearing about the murders, Ms. Paulk and Ms. Smith, contacted the Sheriff's Department regarding the three men at the bar. (6/28/04 HRT 187-88.) Virginia Mansfield is married to Larry Mansfield and the daughter in law of Shirley Killian, the manager of the bar. (6/29/04 HRT 81.) She was a waitress at the Canyon Corral Bar along with Kathleen Royal. (6/29/04 HRT 82.) On June 5, 1983, she reported to the police that one of the men wore a white short-sleeved cotton shirt (not an undershirt). (6/29/04 HRT 91.) She did not see anyone with clothing that had blood on it. (6/29/04 HRT 83.) She does not recall seeing a uniformed officer inside the bar that night and she was not aware of any problems in the bar that evening. (6/29/04 HRT 83.) Lester Land was the maintenance man, bouncer and sometimes bartender at the Canyon Corral Bar and was at the bar the night of the murders. (6/29/04 HRT 2-3.) Mr. Land remembered three men but did not remember what they looked like. (6/29/04 HRT 6.) He did not notice anyone with blood on their clothing and did not recall seeing a law enforcement officer inside the bar. (6/29/04 HRT 10.) Land's interview by Detective Wilson on June 5, 1983 was documented in a police report. (Resp't Evid. Hearing, Notebook 11, Ex. AAAA.) He stated that there were three white men that arrived around 9:00 p.m. They were in their 20's. One guy had very short light colored hair and wore a plaid shirt, the second male had short black hair wearing a light colored plaid shirt and the third male had shoulder length dark colored hair. He stated that they left the bar and returned a short time later pretty intoxicated. (Resp't Evid. Hearing, Notebook 11, Ex. AAAA.) The credible version of the three men in the Canyon Corral Bar comes from those who were interviewed at the time of the crimes. The two waitresses and bartender who were working the night of the murders, the manager of the bar who stopped by that night, as well as three patrons at the bar that night, were interviewed by authorities close in time to the murders. (6/05/04 HRT 17; 6/28/04 HRT 187, 196, 226; 6/29/04 HRT 3, 6, 89, 126.) Ed Lelko, the bartender was interviewed within three days of the murders. (102 RT 6526-27, 6529.) The bar's manager, Shirley Killian, was interviewed on June 5, 6, and 8, 1983. (106 RT 7649.) Lelko was called as a witness by the defense to cast suspicion on the three strangers in the Canyon Corral Bar for the Ryen/Hughes murders. At trial, he testified that around 9:00 p.m. three Caucasian men entered the bar who were not regulars. Each man had a short, military-style haircut, and all were wearing light-colored T-shirts and Levis; none wore coveralls. (102 RT 6530, 6536, 6538.) The men spent about 15 to 20 minutes in the bar before leaving. The three men returned around 11:30 p.m. One was noticeably inebriated. The waitress refused them service and they left the bar without incident. (102 RT 6531.) Lelko noticed no blood on their T-shirts. (102 RT 6533, 6544.) At trial, Killian was called as a rebuttal witness by the prosecution. She saw three young men with close-cut, military style haircuts. They wore light colored T-shirts. She did not see any blood or stains on their clothing. (106 RT 7641, 7645.) The men were cut-off from further drinks. They did not seem upset and left the bar around 11:30 p.m. (106 RT 7647.) b. Evidentiary Hearing Testimony of Lance Stark, Mary Mellon-Wolfe, Christine Slonaker, Randy Mansfield, and Al Ward The Court also heard from the descriptions of the men supposedly at the bar that night provided by Petitioner's witnesses. Lance Stark testified at the evidentiary hearing. (7/23/04 HRT.) He claims he was at the bar the night of the murders and saw three men come into the bar that night who were making inappropriate comments to some women sitting at the bar. (7/23/04 HRT; Pet'r Evid. Hr'g, Ex. 30.) As an initial matter, Stark was known to the defense at trial so that information may not be the basis of an actual innocence claim. See Schlup, 513 U.S. at 324, 115 S.Ct. 851; Thompson, 523 U.S. at 559, 118 S.Ct. 1489. At trial, Petitioner was provided information from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department (SBSD) that Stark claimed to have seen subjects in the Canyon Corral Bar on the night of the murders and that he talked to them and saw their vehicle. ( See 04-CV-656, NOL of Blue Slip Re Lance Stark, Doc. No. 202). During his testimony before this Court, Stark claimed to have initially seen two white men on the night of the murders, who were visibly intoxicated. (7/23/04 HRT 28.) Later, Stark stated that he saw three men leave the bar. (7/23/04 HRT 40.) The men appeared dirty looking and not clean cut. (7/23/04 HRT 60.) One of the men had a short military style haircut that was light and unkept, and was wearing a pair of blue jean Farmer John bib overalls with the top half down. (7/23/04 HRT 23-24, 85, 97.) Stark testified that the man in the Farmer John bib overalls also had a light T-shirt on with what appeared to be some grease or mud stains, and he had a tattoo on his right shoulder. (7/23/04 HRT 23-24.) Stark further testified that after he heard the men talking about how they were in a bar fight he thought that maybe the substance on one man's shirt he thought was grease or mud may have been blood, but he was not sure about the substance. (7/23/04 HRT 23, 64.) At the time, the incident did not stick out in Stark's mind and he thought it was not significant, even after he learned of the murders in Chino the next day. (7/23/04 HRT 95.) In fact, Stark stated that he had not thought about this incident beyond the day it happened until nearly twenty years later when a defense investigator came and visited him in early to mid 2004. (7/23/04 HRT 95.) Because of the twenty year gap between the incident at the Canyon Corral Bar and Stark's effort to recall, he is not even sure if the incident happened the night of the murders on June 4, 1983. (7/23/04 HRT 95-96.) He states that he knows on some date that these three men came to the Canyon Corral Bar but he cannot personally correlate that date to the night of the murders. (7/23/04 HRT 95-96.) At the evidentiary hearing, Mary Mellon-Wolfe described spots of blood on the front of one of the men's T-shirt and a small amount of blood on his upper lip. (6/28/04 HRT 123-24, 164-65.) Wolfe said his shirt was a light tan or white, off white shirt [] with jeans and that he had longer hair than the other two men, who had really short hair. (6/28/04 HRT 121-23.) One of the other men was wearing tan coveralls that were zipped down and thrown over down to his waist. (6/28/04 HRT 121-22.) The three were refused service shortly after arriving and they left without incident. (6/28/04 HRT at 125-26.) In contrast, Slonaker's declaration describes two white men with blond hair in their 20's. (6/28/04 HRT 21.) One was wearing a light colored T-shirt and jeans and the other man was wearing coveralls with buckles. (6/28/04 HRT 21-22.) They were all covered in blood. (Traverse, Ex. 212 at 2.) During her testimony, she described the man in a white or dirty T-shirt and jeans with blood [a]ll over him. It was on his arms. It was all over his face. It was on hisit was all over his shirt. It was on his feet and on his shoes. It was everywhere. (6/28/04 HRT 25.) She then testified that the men were refused service and left the bar. (6/28/04 HRT 26-27.) Both Mellon-Wolfe and Slonaker describe an incident where the men approached them at the bar and began hitting on their friend, who had on a low cut blouse. (6/28/04 HRT 23-24; 6/28/04 HRT 120-21.) Petitioner also presented the testimony of Randy Lee Mansfield, the son of the bar manager Shirley Killian. (8/25/04 HRT 87.) He said he worked at the bar practically every night back at the time of the murders. (8/25/04 HRT 81, 93.) Mr. Mansfield testified that a couple of men wearing butcher smocks with blood on them came into the bar on some day around the time of the murders, but that he could not place the men in the bar the day of the murders. (8/25/04 HRT 86-87.) Mr. Mansfield testified that these men were Hispanic with dark hair and appeared to work at one of the local slaughterhouses. (8/25/04 HRT 84-85.) The men came into the bar during the day and were wearing butcher smocks, the kind that tie behind the back. Since there were several slaughterhouses in the area, Mr. Mansfield made the logical conclusion that these men were simply coming from work and that is why they had blood on them. (8/25/04 HRT 94.) He did not think anything of these men even after he learned of the murders. (8/25/04 HRT 84-85.) Moreover, Mr. Mansfield is not sure when he saw these men, but he does recall that he was not alarmed when he saw them and did not call law enforcement. (8/25/04 HRT 97-98.) The observations of the employees and patrons at the bar the night of the murders all confirm the trial testimony of Lelko and Killian, and contradict the accounts of Stark, Mellon-Wolfe, and Slonaker. The sworn declarations of a number of employees and patrons who were also at the bar that night contradict the information belatedly recounted by Stark, Mellon-Wolfe, and Slonaker. ( See Answer, Exs. 18 (Lelko Decl.); 20 (Killian Decl.); 22 (Mansfield Decl.); 24 (Royals Decl.); 26 (Paulk Decl.); 28 (Smith Decl.); 30 (Land Decl.).) The three belated and inconsistent accounts on which Petitioner relies are simply not credible evidence, let alone clear and convincing evidence that would rebut the presumption of correctness attached to the state courts' implied and express factual findings. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e). Petitioner requested an evidentiary hearing with Al Ward and learned prior to the testimony that he would not corroborate Petitioner's theory because he would testify that he was there on Friday night, a day too early to be relevant. Petitioner claims that the Court erroneously ordered Al Ward to testify. However, Petitioner's request for evidentiary hearing requests the testimony of Al Ward and Al Warren. (04-CV-656, Doc. No. 121 at 13.) The request specified that Al Warren was not there the night of the murders. (04-CV-656, Doc. No. 121 at 13.) Since Ed Lelko was the bartender on the night of the murders, he confirmed that Al Warren was not bartending the night of the murders. (6/25/04 HRT 5.) Al Warren had a stroke and is deceased. (4/22/05 HRT 45.) Mr. Ward, an African American individual, testified that he was at the Canyon Corral Bar on the night before the murders, Friday, June 3, 1983, and that he specifically recalls seeing three young white males wearing extremely bloody T-shirts. (8/25/04 HRT 46.) Mr. Ward testified that this was his only visit to the Canyon Corral Bar. (8/25/04 HRT 45.) Mr. Ward worked at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and that he would drive by the Canyon Corral Bar every weeknight on his way home. He did not work on Saturday, so he was not in the bar on the night of the murders. (8/25/04 HRT 42.) As a family man, he never stopped at the bar. (8/25/04 HRT 45.) On Friday night, June 3, 1983, Mr. Ward testified that he was driving home from work just before midnight, as he did every weeknight, when he came across a couple whose car had broken down on Carbon Canyon Road approximately eight miles from the Canyon Corral Bar. (8/25/04 HRT 42-43.) Mr. Ward gave the couple a ride to the bar and they invited him in for a drink to thank him for helping them. (8/25/04 HRT 44.) As he was walking in the bar, Mr. Ward testified that he saw three men coming from around the back of the bar that had unmarked T-shirts covered in blood. (8/25/04 HRT 46.) Mr. Ward testified that he was approximately ten feet from the men and they were covered all over in blood. It was on the front of their shirts and all over their arms and skin. (8/25/04 HRT 64.) The men also were all wearing similar khaki pants and similar shoes. (8/25/04 HRT 66.) Two of the men had blond hair and the third man had sandy brown hair. (8/25/04 HRT 48.) Two of the men had shorter hair while the third man with blond hair had longer hair tucked into the back of his T-shirt. (8/25/04 HRT 48.) Mr. Ward and the couple he picked up proceeded into the bar and Mr. Ward had one beer and left shortly after midnight. (8/25/04 HRT 45-46.) In total, Mr. Ward testified that he was at the bar twenty minutes. (8/25/04 HRT 45.) Both parties expressed doubt about the credibility of Mr. Ward. (4/22/05 HRT 45.) However, Mr. Ward's testimony may explain why Stark, Mellon-Wolfe, and Slonaker recall seeing men with blood on them at the bar. Yet Mr. Ward specifically recalls seeing the bloody men at the bar on Friday, a day too early for it to be relevant. Given that all of the bar employees and patrons interviewed contemporaneously after the murders and/or testified at trial and before this Court, recall no bloody men at the bar on the night of the murders, the Court concludes that the testimony of the witnesses from the trial have greater weight compared to the additional witnesses whose recollections over twenty years later are not as reliable.