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

Heading: Burgess's and Brown's False Testimony

Text: Ponticelli's third and final Giglio claim alleges that the State violated Giglio by allowing Brian Burgess and Edward Brown to testify falsely at trial about the date they first met Ponticelli and whether they had ever seen Ponticelli use cocaine. [20] Burgess testified that his trial testimony was not completely accurate regarding the date he first met Ponticelli. At trial, Burgess testified that he first met Ponticelli around six or seven o'clock on the night the homicides occurred when Ponticelli appeared at Dotson's home and announced his intent to kill the Grandinettis. [21] At the evidentiary hearing, Burgess testified that he actually met Ponticelli at a cocaine party at Dotson's house that began Thursday night and continued into the early morning hours on Friday, the day the homicides occurred. Burgess testified that he, Brown, Ponticelli, and Turner left the party to purchase an eight-ball of cocaine from the Grandinettis' trailer, and when they returned, they all smoked some of it. Brown testified to very similar facts. He also acknowledged that, contrary to his trial testimony, the first time Ponticelli appeared at Dotson's was not after six or seven on Friday evening, but sometime Thursday night or early Friday morning at a party at Dotson's house. During this time, Brown, Burgess, Turner, and Ponticelli drove to the Grandinettis' trailer to purchase cocaine. Brown testified at the evidentiary hearing that on the way back from the trailer, they stopped to purchase an orange juice container, which either Turner or Ponticelli fashioned into a pipe to cook the cocaine in the car. This contradicted Brown's trial testimony in which he stated that he had never used cocaine with Ponticelli. Neither Brown nor Burgess testified that the State told him not to testify regarding Ponticelli's cocaine use, and Burgess testified that the rest of his trial testimony was truthful. The trial court denied this claim because it found no evidence that the State knew these witnesses testified falsely. In its November 1, 2002, order, the trial court stated: This Court does not find that the Prosecution either knowingly presented, or allowed to be presented, perjured testimony at trial. . . . Keesee, Brown and Burgess were adamant at deposition and at trial that they did not use drugs with the Defendant. Brown and Burgess were adamant at deposition and at trial that they did not meet Defendant until the evening of November 27, 1987, and that they did not use drugs with Defendant. This finding is supported by competent, substantial evidence. As explained above, there was no evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing that the State knew that Burgess or Brown testified falsely; in fact, Burgess and Brown testified at the evidentiary hearing that they never told the State they saw Ponticelli use cocaine the night before the crimes because they did not know this was an issue in Ponticelli's case. Furthermore, each of the West Virginia boys presented consistent testimony at trial. Ponticelli has not established the second prong of Giglio in respect to this claim. See Rodriguez v. State, 919 So.2d 1252, 1269-70 (Fla.2005) (finding summary denial of Giglio claim appropriate, in part, because the witness's testimony was consistent with other witnesses who testified at trial). For the reasons explained above, we deny each of Ponticelli's Brady and Giglio claims.