Florida Supreme Court

DC# 124052
DOB: 07/22/74

Seventh Judicial Circuit, Volusia County, Case # 9400723
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable S. James Foxman
Attorney, Trial: Michael Teal – Private Attorney
Attorney, Direct Appeal: James B. Gibson – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Ryan T. Truskoski - Registry

Date of Offense: 06/05/94

Date of Sentence: 02/16/96

Circumstances of Offense:

On 06/05/94, Bobby Allen Raleigh and Domingo Figueroa went to Club Europe in DeLand to confront Douglas Cox about allegedly slapping Raleigh’s mother.  

They confronted Cox in the parking lot of the club during which Raleigh’s mother appeared and started screaming at Cox.  Raleigh took his mother to his car and returned to Cox. He then apologized for his mother’s actions.  Raleigh and Cox shook hands and parted.

After leaving the club, Raleigh went to his home and retrieved guns.  With Figueroa, he then drove to Cox’s trailer.  With a gun in his hand, Raleigh went to the front door of Cox’s trailer. 

Ronald Baker, a friend of Cox’s, met the men at the door of the trailer and told them Cox was sleeping.  Raleigh and Figueroa drove down a nearby road and parked. After some time had passed, they returned to the trailer. 

Raleigh went to the back of the trailer and shot Cox three times in the head at close range.  Figueroa and Raleigh each shot Timothy Eberlin, Cox’s roommate, until their guns jammed.  Eberlin was screaming so Raleigh beat him with his gun until he was quiet.

After the murders, Raleigh and Figueroa went to Raleigh’s residence.  There they burned the clothes they had worn during the murders, dumped bullets into a neighbor’s yard, and hid their guns in a secret compartment within Raleigh’s Subaru. 

That evening, the police went to Raleigh’s home.  Raleigh agreed to speak with them, but denied playing a part in the murders.  However, after being informed that Figueroa had implicated him in the murders, Raleigh confessed to killing both Cox and Eberlin.  His confession was taped.

Additional Information:

Raleigh’s mother was 15 years old when she gave birth to him.  Raleigh, to this day, does not know who his biological father is.  At one point, he believed that he was born from an incestuous relationship that his mother had with her brother.  Raleigh’s mother, however, denies the claim.   

Raleigh moved around frequently while he was growing up.  For a while, Raleigh lived at his grandfather’s house.  While living there, Raleigh’s mother was sexually abused by her father as a form of payment for the accommodations.  While growing up, Raleigh was also sexually abused.  A doctor testified to medical evidence of Raleigh being molested by age four. 

Raleigh failed and repeated the seventh grade.  He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and eventually got his G.E.D.   

At 18 years old, Raleigh attempted suicide by taking pills and pesticides.  He was evaluated by a psychiatrist who noted that Raleigh had an adjustment disorder with a depressed mood, had problems relating to others, exhibited poor judgment and lacked impulse control.   Although the psychiatrist recommended treatment, Raleigh’s mother decided against it.

While Raleigh was in jail, a clinical neuropsychologist evaluated him.  The evaluation showed that he had deficiencies in judgment and acted out of emotion rather than positive planning.

The neuropsychologist also described Raleigh as depressed, tense, nervous and having difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality.  He stated that Raleigh had chronic feelings of insecurity, inadequacy and inferiority. The neuropsychologist also concluded that Raleigh is a passive person with low self-esteem who is easily manipulated by others. 

Raleigh also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse. 

Codefendant Information:

Domingo Figueroa (Volusia County Circuit Court #94-0724 

Domingo Figueroa, Raleigh’s codefendant, received three life sentences for his part in the events that took place on 06/05/94.  Figueroa was sentenced for three counts, two for first-degree murder and one count of armed burglary.

Trial Summary:

06/21/94          Raleigh was indicted on the following: 

Count I:           First-degree Murder (Douglas Cox)

Count II:          First-degree Murder (Timothy Eberlin)

Count III:         Armed Burglary

Count IV:         Shooting into Building

06/24/94          Raleigh pled not guilty.

06/06/95          Raleigh pled guilty as part of a plea agreement.

The defendant pled guilty to Counts I and II, and the State agreed to nolle prosse Counts III and IV.

08/15/95           Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death penalty on Counts I and II.

02/16/96           Defendant was sentenced as follows:

Count I:            First-degree Murder (Douglas Cox) – Death

Count II:           First-degree Murder (Timothy Eberlin) – Death

Count III:          Armed Burglary – Nolle Prosequi

Count IV:          Shooting into a Building – Nolle Prosequi

Case Information:

Raleigh filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/18/96 arguing a number of issues.  Raleigh argued that the trial judge failed to instruct the jury that he had no prior criminal history as a statutory mitigator.  Further Raleigh argued that the trial court erroneously advised the jury to view the pecuniary gain of the armed robbery as an aggravator and failed to give the requested instruction on the CCP aggravator.  Raleigh also claimed that a juror was dismissed without legitimate cause.  Next, Raleigh argued that several aggravators such as avoiding arrest were erroneously found to be true. 

He also contended that several mitigating factors were not given proper consideration.  These mitigating factors included such issues as being remorseful and cooperative and Figueroa receiving a life sentence.  Lastly, Raleigh argued that his death sentence is proportionate. 

The Florida Supreme Court found all fourteen of Raleigh’s claims to lack merit and therefore denied the appeal and affirmed the convictions and sentences on 11/13/97. 

Raleigh petitioned the United States Supreme Court for a Writ of Certiorari on 05/20/98.  The petition was denied on 10/05/98.

Raleigh filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on 11/17/98.  The motion was amended on 08/11/00 and 01/19/01 and subsequently denied on 03/24/03.

Raleigh filed a 3.851 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 04/17/03.  The court reviewed four claims made by Raleigh.  Raleigh claimed he received an inadequate mental health evaluation and had ineffective assistance of counsel. 

Further, Raleigh claimed that the State knowingly presented false testimonial evidence during his trial.  Lastly, he argued that his due process rights were violated by the State taking inconsistent positions during trial on who the principal actor in the murder of Eberlin was.  On 06/01/06 after finding insufficient merit in his claims, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Raleigh’s 3.851 Motion.

On 06/23/03, Raleigh filed a 3.851 Motion in the Circuit Court.  The motion was denied on 08/06/03.

On 12/30/03, Raleigh filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court.  Raleigh argued two claims both stating that Florida’s capital sentencing statute is unconstitutional.  His first claim regarded Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) and his second claim related to Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002). Raleigh’s petition was denied on 06/01/06. 

Raleigh filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari on 06/21/06.  The petition is currently pending.

Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us