Opinion ID: 2686798
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Robbery and Murder, 1992

Text: In 1992, petitioner Mendoza asked an acquaintance, Humberto Cuellar, to help him rob Conrado Calderon, who owned a mini-market. Humberto agreed and recruited his brother, Lazaro Cuellar, to drive the getaway car. To plan for the robbery, Mendoza, Humberto, and Lazaro went to Calderon’s house in Hialeah, Florida, where they observed Calderon’s morning routine. 1 Before dawn on March 17, Mendoza and the two Cuellar brothers went to Calderon’s home and waited on Calderon to emerge. Mendoza had a .38 caliber revolver and Humberto carried a 9 mm automatic pistol. Around 5:40 AM, 1 We draw these facts from the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Mendoza’s direct appeal. See Mendoza v. State (“Mendoza I”), 700 So. 2d 670, 672–73 (Fla. 1997). 2 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 3 of 58 Calderon appeared at his front door, at which point, Mendoza and Humberto hid behind a hedge. Calderon left his house and walked toward his Ford Bronco. Humberto Cuellar and Mendoza approached Calderon from behind and held Calderon in his driveway between the Ford Bronco and a Cadillac, also parked there. A struggle ensued, during which Humberto hit Calderon on the head with his 9 mm pistol. Calderon pulled out a .38 special revolver and shot Humberto in the chest. Humberto, injured, retreated to Lazaro Cuellar’s getaway car. As Humberto ran to the car, he heard other gun shots. Less than one minute passed before Mendoza also arrived at Lazaro’s car. Mendoza told Humberto and Lazaro that he shot Calderon. Calderon died. Lazaro drove the car, with Mendoza and Humberto inside, to a nearby hospital. Mendoza instructed Humberto to say that Humberto was shot by a person trying to rob him. Police later arrived at the hospital and recovered Humberto’s fully loaded 9 mm pistol from the getaway car. Officers observed hair embedded in the slide, which was consistent with the gun having been used to hit someone in the head. The police took Humberto to the Hialeah police station where he gave a sworn statement. Humberto’s statement recounted how Mendoza planned the robbery and Mendoza shot Calderon. Humberto’s trial testimony was consistent with the statement. 3 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 4 of 58 Police investigated the murder scene, where they found, under Calderon’s dead body, a gun and a bank bag containing $2,089 in cash. They found additional cash in Calderon’s pockets and wallet. Police also discovered Mendoza’s finger and palm prints on the Cadillac parked in Calderon’s driveway. Calderon was killed by four bullet wounds, all of which came from a .38 caliber revolver—the type of weapon Mendoza had. Three shots were fired from point-blank range, with the last shot fired from less than six inches away. The bullet lodged in Humberto’s spine was consistent with being fired from the gun found beneath Calderon. One week after the murder, officers arrested Mendoza. By that time, Mendoza had shaved his head and moved out of his normal residence. B. Indictment, Appointment of Counsel, and Not Guilty Plea, 1992 On March 31, 1992, a state grand jury indicted Mendoza for six offenses, including the first-degree felony-murder of Calderon.2 The trial court appointed two experienced private attorneys, Arnaldo Suri and Barry Wax, to represent Mendoza. The Cuellar brothers were also charged in the same indictment charging Mendoza. Lazaro Cuellar pled guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy, and attempted 2 These other offenses were: (1) conspiracy to commit robbery; (2) attempt to commit armed robbery; (3) armed burglary of a dwelling; (4) use of a firearm during the commission of a felony; and (5) possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 4 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 5 of 58 armed robbery. He received a ten-year sentence. Humberto Cuellar pled guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy, attempted armed robbery, burglary, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He received a twenty-year sentence. Mendoza pled not guilty and proceeded to trial. C. Pre-Trial Mental Health Evaluations of Mendoza Prior to trial, Mendoza’s counsel had Mendoza fully evaluated by two mental health experts: Dr. Leonard Haber and Dr. Jethro Toomer. In the penalty phase, Mendoza’s counsel had Dr. Toomer testify, but did not call Dr. Haber. Although Dr. Haber did not testify, we include his report to show the completeness of trial counsel’s pre-trial investigation. We thus review what Dr. Haber reported and then what Dr. Toomer reported. During August and September of 1993, Dr. Haber, a licensed psychologist, examined Mendoza six times. Because Mendoza later argues that other mental health professionals should not have evaluated him in English, his second language, we note that Dr. Haber conducted his examinations in Spanish with the assistance of a trained bilingual interpreter. In his 1993 report, however, Dr. Haber noted “Mendoza understood English.” Dr. Haber reviewed police and medical examiner reports pertaining to Mendoza’s offense, the indictment, Mendoza’s post-arrest statement, and a Cuban doctor’s summary of Mendoza’s clinical history from his childhood in Cuba. 5 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 6 of 58 Dr. Haber’s 1993 report described Mendoza’s “extensive and mixed substance abuse problem beginning at age 11 or 12.” In his 1993 interview with Dr. Haber, Mendoza reported that he started using crack cocaine four or five years earlier, and he “claimed to have used ‘acid’ for ‘almost a full year.’” Mendoza “experimented with [Q]uaaludes and ‘black beauties’ as well.”3 As to Mendoza’s mental state, Dr. Haber’s report noted that Mendoza “admitted to having entertained homicidal ideations” and “described having experienced visual hallucinations . . . while under the influence of drugs.” Mendoza experienced “auditory hallucinations since about age 7.” He told Dr. Haber that “the devil talked to him and that it tells him, ‘you have to do something wrong to somebody.’” Dr. Haber concluded that: (1) Mendoza was not a candidate for involuntary hospitalization; (2) Mendoza was a person “with a history of [a] major mental disorder since childhood,” which was not treated after his arrival in the United States; and (3) Mendoza “likely was acting with impaired judgment at the time of the offense due to his intake of alcohol and other illegal substances.” Mendoza’s drug use may have resulted from Mendoza’s desire to “self medicate in response to 3 The record here does not explain what Quaaludes and black beauties are. But we have stated that “Quaalude” is the brand name for the drug Methaqualone, “a non-barbiturate sedativehypnotic that is a general depressant of the central nervous system.” Hardwick v. Crosby, 320 F.3d 1127, 1168 n.159 (11th Cir. 2003) (quotation marks omitted). “Black beauties are the street name for a type of amphetamine drug.” Howard v. Moore, 131 F.3d 399, 421 n.20 (4th Cir. 1997) (en banc), abrogated on other grounds by Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231, 125 S. Ct. 2317 (2005). 6 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 7 of 58 distressing symptoms of mental disorder.” Dr. Haber indicated that Mendoza’s conditions—including his “long standing history of major mental illness and polydrug abuse”—“qualify for consideration as possible mitigating factors in a sentencing hearing.”4 During November and December of 1993, Dr. Toomer, a licensed psychologist, interviewed Mendoza four times in English. Dr. Toomer’s 1994 report stated: “On each occasion, there appears to be some deterioration in the subject’s overall mental status functioning as reflected by his increasingly depressed state, disjointed communication, responsiveness to internal stimuli, tearfulness and reports of auditory and visual hallucinations.” Dr. Toomer found that there was “evidence of a major affective and cognitive impairment, reflected in communication that [was] halting, sluggish, and impoverished and characterized by [Mendoza] having difficulty generating thoughts.” Mendoza’s performance on the Bender Gestalt Designs Test (“Bender Gestalt”) indicated “schizophrenia, as well as organic impairment.” Mendoza took the Carlson Psychological Survey, which indicated that Mendoza suffered “from feelings of inferiority, insecurity and poor self esteem.” Dr. Toomer opined that 4 On January 27, 1994, Dr. Haber evaluated Mendoza again after Mendoza’s attorneys requested, and the trial court ordered, a competency evaluation. Dr. Haber determined that Mendoza was “competent to proceed to trial.” Dr. A.M. Castiello, a psychiatrist, evaluated Mendoza on January 28 and likewise concluded that Mendoza “possess[ed] a factual as well as a rational understanding of the proceedings against him” and was “capable of assisting counsel in his defense and of standing trial.” 7 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 8 of 58 “[b]rain damage” could be a cause of such feelings, as well as “a history of drug and alcohol abuse.” In his pre-trial report, Dr. Toomer set forth Mendoza’s performance on these tests. At trial, Dr. Toomer explained more about what the tests measured or assessed. We discuss that testimony later on. Before trial, Mendoza’s attorneys asked the trial court to appoint a third mental health expert—Dr. Jules Tropp, an addictionologist. The trial court denied the motion. D. Guilt Phase, 1994 During the guilt phase of Mendoza’s 1994 trial, the evidence overwhelmingly established that Mendoza planned the robbery, participated in it, and shot and killed Calderon. Specifically, Humberto Cuellar testified that Mendoza shot Calderon.5 The four bullets from Calderon’s body were from a .38 caliber revolver like Mendoza’s. The hospital admissions clerk testified that Mendoza was with Humberto when he arrived with a gunshot wound on the morning of the murder. Mendoza’s finger and palm prints were on the Cadillac parked near Calderon’s body. On February 8, 1994, the jury found Mendoza guilty on all counts, including first-degree felony murder. 6 5 Lazaro Cuellar did not testify. 6 The felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm count was not submitted to the jury. 8 Case: 13-14968 Date Filed: 07/31/2014 Page: 9 of 58