Dominguez v. LeBlanc et al

Filing 28

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 . IT IS ORDERED that the federal application for habeas corpus relief filed by Eddie Dominguez is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon on 5/4/2017.(ajn)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

EDDIE DOMINGUEZ

CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS

NO. 15-2847

JAMES LEBLANC

SECTION: “S”(1)

ORDER
The Court, having considered the petition, the record, the applicable law and the Report
and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge, and the petitioner’s objection to the
Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, hereby approves the Report and
Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge and adopts it as its own opinion. The
petitioner objects to the entirety of the Report and Recommendation. Any unspecified objections
to the Report and Recommendation in general are overruled for lack of specific argument.
However, petitioner makes two specific objections to the Report and Recommendation, which will
be considered in turn.
First, petitioner argues that the jury could not have relied upon Shelby Lukes’
testimony because she was an admitted drug user, or the testimony of co-defendant Bryan
Rosales.

The Report and Recommendation properly addressed the issue of witness

credibility, and correctly found according to applicable jurisprudence that a federal habeas
court generally will not grant relief when a petitioner’s insufficient evidence claim is based on
arguments concerning witness credibility. See Rec. Doc. 24 (citations omitted).
petitioner’s objection regarding Lukes’ and Rosales’ testimony is overruled.

Therefore,

Second, petitioner argues that the United States Magistrate Judge and all other courts that
have reviewed his post-conviction petitions for relief failed to consider DNA evidence that
excludes him as the assailant. The DNA evidence to which petitioner refers was offered in the
trial court as a stipulation to the testimony of Sarah Serou, an Expert in the Field of Forensic DNA
Analysis. The stipulation stated that the petitioner was not the source of testable DNA samples
found on the gun used to commit the crime or under the victim’s fingernails. Simply because the
petitioner’s DNA did not match the testable samples found on the gun and under the victim’s
fingernails does not establish that petitioner could not have been the assailant. As noted by the
United States Magistrate Judge, the testimony of Bryan Rosales, Opal Lukes and Shelby Lukes
establishing that petitioner was known to have a gun, was engaged in a drug transaction with the
victim at the time of the shooting, the two engaged in a physical altercation, shots were then heard,
and the petitioner returned from the transaction with blood on his face and clothes was sufficient
for the jury to rationally reach the guilty verdict. Therefore, the petitioner’s objection regarding
the DNA evidence is overruled.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that the federal application for habeas corpus relief filed by Eddie
Dominguez is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

4th

May

New Orleans, Louisiana, this _____ day of _______________, 2017.

__________________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE