Jones v. Head

Filing 112

ORDER denying 88 Motion for Hearing; finding as moot 93 Motion Requesting Ruling on Petitioner's Motion for Evidentiary Hearing ; granting 106 Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages. Signed by Judge William T. Moore, Jr on 5/25/17. (trb)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOlt""

THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GE0RGIA'?ni7

WAYCROSS DIVISION

Anhr^.S
cir.

ASHLEY LYNDOL JONES,
Petitioner,
V.

CASE NO.

CV502-116

BRUCE CHATMAN, Warden Georgia
Diagnostic and Classification
Center,

Respondent.

ORDER

Before the Court is Petitioner's Renewed Motion for an

Evidentiary Hearing.

(Doc. 88.) For the following reasons.

Petitioner's motion is DENIED.
Motion

Requesting

Evidentiary

Hearing

Respondent's
(Doc.

106)

Ruling
(Doc.

Motion

for

on

As a result.

Respondent's

Petitioner's

93)

is

Leave

Motion

DISMISSED

to

File

for

AS

MOOT.

Excess

Pages

is GRANTED.
BACKGROUND

I.

FACTUAL HISTORY

The facts of this case were set forth by the Supreme
Court of Georgia.

Jones
the

and his

crime

co-defendant,

Allen Bunner,

spree which led to the

began

death of Keith

Holland on the night before the murder, when they
stole four cases of beer from a

convenience store

in Ware County. The co-defendants fled in an
automobile with three other companions, who were

waiting

for

them

outside

the

store.

The

group

spent the remainder of the night driving aroimd
aimlessly and drinking the stolen beer, until
their car broke

the

others,

down, • and Jones

stating

they were

and Bunner

going

to

left

find

a

truck.

The CO-defendants stole a Ford tiruck, belonging
to Rudolph Melton, which was parked in front of
Melton's
residence.
After driving around for
several more hours in the stolen truck, they
arrived at the home of the victim,
Bunner

knocked

approximately

Mamie

for

5

on

a.m.

Holland's

and

assistance,

truck's battery was dead.
husband,

asked

on

the

Keith Holland.

front

door

Holland's

pretext

at

wife

that

and he went outside to assist Bunner.

Holland was

leaning over to

compartment of the truck,

the

Mamie Holland woke her
As

look in the engine

Jones strxick him in the

head from behind with a sledge hammer.
Mamie

Holland

witnessed

the

first

blow

from

her

dining room window and reacted by screaming for
Jones to stop and by banging on the window. Jones
turned and looked at her but continued to pound
the victim, inflicting at least six blows to the
head and face,
all of which were potentially
fatal. Prior to leaving in the victim's truck,
Jones got out of the vehicle and hit the victim

again,

while

workers

he

arrived

defendants'

was

lying

within

on

the

minutes

ground.

after

the

EMS
co-

departure. Because of the injuries to

the victim's face,
EMS
perform CPR or intubate

workers were unable to
the victim, and he died

before reaching the hospital.
Jones

and Bunner drove

to

Florida

in

the victim's

truck. They tossed Holland's personal belongings
out of the tDTuck along the way, and pawned two
chain saws belonging to Melton. Police learned of
their whereabouts through telephone calls made by
the co-defendants to a friend in Georgia, and
they were arrested at a welcome station south of
the Georgia-Florida line.
The victim's truck,
which Jones

and Bunner had burned,

the woods a short distance away.

was

foiand

in

Jones

V.

State,

267

Ga.

592,

592-93,

481

S.E.2d,

823-24

(1997).
II.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Petitioner was

1993.

Seven

Court

of

days

Ware

arrested on the afternoon of March 31,

later,

Coionty,

he

was

Georgia

jnurder,

armed

robbery,

property,

for

and theft by taking.

He pled not guilty.

(Doc.

indicted
malice

interference

96,

in

(Doc.

Superior

murder,

with

96,

Attach.

the

felony

government

Attach.

1 at 14.)

2 at 133.)

His jury

trial began on June 8, 1995.^ (Doc. 24 at 13.) On June 10,
1995,
at

he was convicted of all charges.

133.)

(Doc.

Four

days

later,

he

was

(Doc.

96, Attach.

sentenced

to

2

death.

24 at 13.)

After a
motion

March

for

10,

a

hearing,
new

1997,

the

trial.

the

(Doc.

Georgia

convictions and sentences.

S.E.2d 821

trial

court denied Petitioner's
98,

Attach.

Supreme

Jones v.

Court

State,

8

at

29.)

affirmed

267 Ga.

592,

On

his
481

(1997). A petition for writ of certiorari to the

United States Supreme Court was denied on November 3,
Jones V. Georgia,

522 U.S.

953

1997.

(1997).

^ Allen Bunner was arrested with Petitioner and charged as a
co-defendant.
He
sentence of life
conviction.

was
tried separately and received a
without parole. He did not appeal his

On

February

5,

1998,

the

trial

court

signed

an

execution warrant and scheduled Petitioner's execution for

the

time period between February 24

(Doc.

99,

Attach.

6 at

7.)

In

and March 3,

response

to

1998.

the

death

warrant. Petitioner filed a state habeas corpus petition in

the Superior Court of Butts County.

(I^) The state habeas

court conducted an evidentiary hearing on March 15,

1999

(Doc. 100, Attachs. 1-4; Doc. 101, Attachs. 1-5; Doc. 102,
Attachs.
amended,

1-3),

and

ultimately

on January 7,

2000

denied

(Doc,

the

petition,

103, Attach. 1) .

as

Further

attempts to appeal were unavailing.

After filing a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition in this Court

(Doc. 5), Petitioner filed a Motion for Discovery seeking
the opport\anity to depose his trial and sentencing jurors
(Doc.

31).

The Court

addressed Petitioner's

ultimately denied his motion,
claims

requesting

an

filed

a

Motion

evidentiary

for

(Doc.

an

hearing

37.)

Petitioner

Evidentiary

on

similar

Hearing

claims

those for which he had requested discovery.

(Doc.

Court

Petitioner

dismissed

resiabmit

his

Petitioner's
(Doc. 58)

and

that

motion

request.

second

ordered

and

ordered

(Doc. 54.)

motion
the

and

concluding that many of his

were procedurally defaulted.

sxibsequently

request

for

an

parties

The

50.)

to
The
to

Court

denied

evidentiary

hearing

to

file

supplemental