Opinion ID: 3046757
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Cocaine Party

Text: Ponticelli also presented evidence at the first evidentiary hearing that the state had violated his right to due process by suppressing evidence, see Brady, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194, and by presenting false testimony, see Giglio, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S. Ct. 763, about an alleged cocaine party that took place at Dotson’s house the night before the murders. At the evidentiary hearing, Burgess and Ed Brown admitted that they had testified falsely at Ponticelli’s trial. Contrary to their trial testimony that they had first met Ponticelli on the evening of the 25 Case: 11-11966 Date Filed: 08/16/2012 Page: 26 of 90 murders, both admitted that they had met Ponticelli either late on Thanksgiving night or in the early morning hours of the next day. Both testified that there was a party at Dotson’s house on Thanksgiving Day and that they had smoked cocaine with Ponticelli at Dotson’s house until the party had ended at around 4:00 a.m. the next day. The two men admitted too that they had used cocaine with Ponticelli the next night, after Ponticelli had murdered the Grandinettis. Both men testified that they had not told the prosecution about the cocaine party. John Turner also testified about the cocaine party. He stated that he and Ponticelli had smoked cocaine with those present at Dotson’s house, including the Browns, Burgess, and Dotson. Turner testified that he had provided this information to Ponticelli’s trial counsel and to Munster. Munster testified about two notes that he had written, which Ponticelli argued proved that Munster knew that Ponticelli had attended the cocaine party. The first note stated, “Went to someone’s house to drop off girl. Both Tony and John are there. They are smoking coke out of an orange juice can.” But Munster could not remember to whom the pronoun “they” referred or on what night the incident allegedly took place. The second note stated, “At jail with Dennis Freeman. Thanks night. Tony says Tony and John and two guys from West Virginia, his cousin, went to Nick’s house. . . . Tony bought eight ball of coke that 26 Case: 11-11966 Date Filed: 08/16/2012 Page: 27 of 90 night. . . . Tony went back to Keith’s house afterwards.” Munster testified that he could not remember whether he disclosed the note to Ponticelli’s trial counsel and did not know if trial counsel would have thought that the note was material. The Supreme Court of Florida determined that the evidence did not prove that the prosecution knew about the cocaine party and that, “even if they did, Ponticelli has not established that the suppression resulted in prejudice.” Ponticelli III, 941 So. 2d at 1087. The court reasoned that the only “evidence tying the[] [first] note[] 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.” Id. at 1087–88. With respect to the second note, which allegedly proved that Ponticelli had told Freeman about the cocaine party, the court concluded that its suppression was not material because “Ponticelli refused to answer defense counsel’s inquiries regarding Ponticelli’s cocaine use at the time of the crimes” and “at trial, [the Browns and Burgess] contradicted this statement in their sworn testimony.” Id. at 1088. With respect to Turner’s alleged statement to the state investigator, the court reasoned that, even if Turner had made the statement to Munster, defense counsel had that evidence. Id. The Supreme Court of Florida also rejected Ponticelli’s argument that “the State violated Giglio by allowing Brian Burgess and Edward Brown to testify 27 Case: 11-11966 Date Filed: 08/16/2012 Page: 28 of 90 falsely at trial about the date they first met Ponticelli and whether they had ever seen Ponticelli use cocaine.” Id. at 1091. The court held that the finding of the trial court that the state did not know that the witnesses had testified falsely was “supported by competent, substantial evidence.” Id. The court determined that “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 . . . .” Id. at 1091–92.