Opinion ID: 2319400
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr Long's Witnesses

Text: Mr. Long presented seven witnesses. [2] Their testimony variously focused on (1) an alleged statement by Mr. Tilghman showing that he and not Mr. Long killed Mr. Williamson; (2) the injury to Mr. Long's hand which allegedly made it impossible for him to shoot Mr. Williamson; (3) Mr. Long's dissatisfaction with his attorney, Mitchell Baer; and (4) an alleged conspiracy to harm Mr. Tilghman. Following is a summary of the testimony of Mr. Long's witnesses. Halim Flowers, who grew up with Mr. Long, stated that he had been in prison for eleven years, and that he had met Mr. Tilghman [3] in 1997, when they were incarcerated in the juvenile block at the D.C. Jail. Mr. Tilghman told him (Mr. Flowers) that he had committed a murder, or that he was going to beat the murder . . . by blaming it on another individual by the name of Meatball [Mr. Long]. Others who heard Mr. Tilghman's confession were Michael Plummer, Momolu Stewart, Dominique Littlejohn, and Michael White. Sometime between February 1998 and May 1998, Mr. Flowers and Mr. Stewart met with a defense lawyer or investigator and recounted what Mr. Tilghman had said. Mr. Flowers was impeached with his felony convictions (including first-degree murder and first-degree burglary while armed). Momolu Stewart also was incarcerated with Mr. Tilghman in the juvenile block of the D.C. Jail, in 1998. He was a co-defendant in a case with Mr. Flowers before the charges against him (Mr. Stewart) were dismissed. He acknowledged that Mr. Flowers, Mr. Plummer, Mr. Long, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Bellinger also were at the D.C. Jail in 1998. He became real close with Mr. Tilghman and talked with him [p]retty much like every other day about how Mr. Tilghman said he was going to put the case on Colie Long because somebody. . . said they was going to do something to his mother. Mr. Tilghman [b]asically said he committed the murder on [Mr. Williamson]. Mr. Stewart admitted that he had been convicted of first-degree murder in 1998, and he also acknowledged convictions on weapons offenses on more than one occasion. He stated that Mr. Tilghman had spoken to him [a]bout ten times concerning Mr. Long's case, but that he could not remember the details. Patrick Andrews described himself as an old friend of Mr. Long. Their families lived in the same neighborhood. In early 1996, Mr. Andrews saw Mr. Long with a hard cast on his right hand. [4] He spoke with Mr. Long again sometime in 1998; Mr. Long said he needed [Mr. Andrews] to be a witness for him. Mr. Andrews later talked with Mr. Long's counsel about Mr. Long's hand. Mr. Andrews did not testify on behalf of Mr. Long. He acknowledged that he was incarcerated in March 1998. Mr. Andrews admitted that he had been convicted in two separate cases for first-degree murder while armed and related weapons charges. Kevin Bellinger and Mr. Long are cousins. He was with Mr. Long at a club when a fight broke out and Mr. Long injured his hand. Later, Mr. Bellinger saw Mr. Long with a hard cast on his hand on more than one occasion within about a two-week period. Mr. Bellinger admitted that he was found guilty, in 1999 and 2002, of weapons offenses, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and assault with intent to kill while armed, with accompanying weapons violations. Lawrence Hunter was incarcerated with Mr. Long and Mr. Tilghman at the D.C. Jail, in 1996. While he was on the juvenile block, he heard Mr. Tilghman brag about killing [Mr. Williamson]. Mr. Hunter was not called as a witness at Mr. Long's trial, and he did not recall being in court on March 16, 1998, and invoking the Fifth Amendment, or being told that the government believed they had evidence that he [Mr. Hunter] [was] part of a conspiracy to harm [Mr.] Tilghman. Nor did he remember refusing to speak with Mr. Long's counsel on February 27, 1998, because Mr. Long advised [him] not to speak to his [Mr. Long's] attorney. Nor did he remember having written letters containing threats against Mr. Tilghman. Mr. Hunter admitted that he was convicted of first-degree murder in a 1996 case. On redirect examination, Mr. Hunter recalled being angry with Mr. Tilghman about his attempt to put Mr. Williamson's murder on Mr. Long, because it was wrong. However, he never told anyone about Mr. Tilghman's plan. He stated that he was never charged with threats against Mr. Tilghman or with obstructing justice in Mr. Long's case. Michael Plummer was incarcerated with Mr. Tilghman in the juvenile block of the D.C. Jail in 1997. He heard Mr. Tilghman say that he committed a murder but that he would put it on Meatball (Mr. Long). When Mr. Plummer turned 18, he was moved to the adult block where he met Mr. Long. Mr. Long had heard that Mr. Plummer had been on the juvenile block with Mr. Tilghman. Mr. Plummer gave testimony at Mr. Long's first trial. [5] Government counsel impeached Mr. Plummer with his convictions on charges of first-degree murder while armed and related weapons offenses. Mr. Plummer acknowledged that his own counsel advised him not to testify at Mr. Long's second trial; Mr. Plummer's own retrial occurred at the same time as Mr. Long's retrial. [6] On redirect examination at the § 23-110 hearing, Mr. Long's counsel tried to pose questions to determine whether Mr. Plummer did not testify at Mr. Long's second trial because of fear of an obstruction of justice charge, but the trial court sustained objections to the questions. However, the court allowed Mr. Plummer to respond to the question: Did you not testify at the second trial because you would get into trouble? Mr. Plummer responded, Yes. Government counsel inquired about the prosecutor's cross-examination of Mr. Plummer during his testimony at Mr. Long's first trial. The cross-examination included questions concerning whether (1) Mr. Plummer had authored a report in jail that people were pressing on [him], that is, people were violating [his] body; (2) he would do anything to keep them off of [him]; (3) a man named Gangster came up to [him and another man named Littlejohn], told [him] to go after [Mr.] Tilghman, [and] that's exactly what [Mr. Plummer] started to do; (4) he had stolen the shoes he was wearing in court from Mr. Tilghman, and (5) when Mr. Tilghman asked for his shoes back, . . . [he] t[o]l[d] [Mr.] Tilghman, `you better be glad that I just took your shoes, because we were supposed to kill you.' Government counsel used the March 13, 1998, transcript from Mr. Long's first trial to establish that the questions had been asked and that Mr. Plummer had denied the accusations. Government counsel then asked Mr. Plummer at the § 23-110 hearing, whether at Mr. Long's first trial, the prosecutor was accusing [him] of being involved in the conspiracy to kill Mr. Tilghman. The trial court sustained the defense objection to that question. After several more questions, government counsel inquired whether the substance of the [prosecutor's] question . . . [was] that [Mr. Plummer was] supposed to kill [Mr.] Tilghman? Mr. Plummer answered, Yes. Mr. Plummer acknowledged that in a 1997 case, he was convicted of first-degree murder while armed and weapons offenses. Mr. Long began his testimony at the § 23-110 hearing by explaining the reasons for his dissatisfaction with his trial counsel, Mr. Baer; Mr. Baer represented him at his first and second trial. Mr. Long's dissatisfaction included Mr. Baer's failure to personally investigate Mr. Long's case, his advice that Mr. Long not testify at the suppression hearing or at trial, Mr. Baer's lack of experience in trying murder cases, and Mr. Baer's alleged failure to call witnesses, including Tiffany Rauch. [7] With respect to the injury to his right hand, Mr. Long indicated that about three weeks before the shooting of Mr. Williamson, he broke the knuckle of his hand during a night club fight and it was still swollen at the time of the shooting. Mr. Heslep asked Mr. Long about Mr. Plummer's failure to testify at Mr. Long's second trial. He responded: He [Mr. Baer] said he did not put Mr. Plummer on the stand because of allegations that Mr. Plummer had stole [Mr.] Til[gh]man's tennis shoes and certain things and he said my association with [Mr.] Plummer makes me look bad because they're trying to say that I was sending guys to threaten [Mr.] Til[gh]man and trying to say obstruction of justice. So he said me being associated with the guys, he wouldn't call them for a witness. Mr. Long denied directing anyone to intimidate Mr. Plummer. When Mr. Heslep inquired whether Mr. Long had talked with Mr. Baer about the fact that he was not convicted at his first trial even though Mr. Plummer answered questions about the sneakers and intimidation, Mr. Long said he had and that Mr. Baer was adamant. . . that my being associated with this guy with allegations of me trying to witness tampering and threatening him, that he didn't want to put him on the stand. Furthermore, Mr. Long expressed dissatisfaction with Mr. Baer because he did not follow-up on information Mr. Long gave him about (1) government witness Angela Wheeler's visits to him at the jail and her assertion that she had lied during her testimony, and (2) the clothes found in his apartment belonging to Mr. Tilghman and not to Mr. Long, as well as the failure to examine the shell casings found at the scene to prove that Mr. Long's fingerprints were not present. During cross-examination by government counsel, Mr. Long confirmed that Ms. Rauch was related to him and that he hung out with her or she was in [his] circle of friends. In addition, counsel established that Mr. Long's family had hired a private investigator during representation by his first counsel, not Mr. Baer. Government counsel turned to the firing of Leroy Nesbitt, another attorney who had represented Mr. Long, and inquired why Mr. Nesbitt was fired. Mr. Long replied that Mr. Nesbitt wanted him to testify that Mr. Tilghman had killed Mr. Williamson. When asked how he knew that Mr. Tilghman had killed Mr. Williamson, Mr. Long maintained that he (Long) was in the apartment building when he heard shots and that Mr. Tilghman had run to the apartment and said he had killed Mr. Williamson. On the subject of Mr. Long testifying at his own trial, government counsel said: And the reason you didn't is because of the advice of your counsel that you would be impeached with the alleged confession you gave to the police when you were arrested; is that correct? Mr. Long answered: His exact words was they were going to find me guilty because the detectives will come in and say you confessed to it . . . and it will be your word against their word and the jury is going to go with the police. [8]