United States Of America v. John Ray Bonds Et Al

12 F.3d 540 (6th Cir. 1993)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

David was gunned down in his van as he stopped at a bank to make a night deposit. The killers had no interest in the money that David was carrying. Three individuals were indicted for the crime. At trial, the government's theory was that the gunmen were members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang and had mistaken David's yellow van for an identical van driven by a member of a rival gang, the Outlaws. This hit was planned as retaliation for the shooting a Hell's Angel member by an Outlaw the previous year. Ds also claim that this is a case of mistaken identity, in that the government's evidence was flawed, circumstantial or both. The central issue was DNA evidence. As far as evidence was concerned the FBI was able to determine that the gun used to kill belonged to the roommate of one of the Ds; but that the defendant claimed it was stolen when his car was parked outside his apartment. Both the gun and the van were spattered with blood and tests showed that the blood was not David's and that rare enzymes left only 1% of the population a source of such blood. This blood was found in one of the Ds and that that D was also injured. Spent shell casings were found in one of the cars of Ds and blood was also found in that car that matched the blood on the gun and van. Fiber evidence also pointed directly to Ds as the culprits. A subpoena was issued for fingerprints and photos. When the FBI wanted to look at his legs and torso for wounds, this prompted an objection over Fourth and Fifth Amendment violations. The court ordered the examination. A blood and hair warrant was obtained, and D was taken into custody. The blood was DNA tested and found to match D's blood. A Frye hearing was conducted for six weeks to determine if the evidence should be admitted; it was. D's were convicted and appealed. Ds wanted to use a new report on appeal that was prepared one year after conviction and over two years after the Frye hearing. This report attacked FBI procedures and credibility regarding matching DNA patterns.