Bellon v. State

117 P.3d 176, 121 Nev. 436, 121 Nev. Adv. Rep. 45, 2005 Nev. LEXIS 60
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 11, 2005
DocketNo. 41984
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 117 P.3d 176 (Bellon v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bellon v. State, 117 P.3d 176, 121 Nev. 436, 121 Nev. Adv. Rep. 45, 2005 Nev. LEXIS 60 (Neb. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

Per Curiam:

Robert Linzy Bellon appeals from his judgment of conviction. Bellon was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, with an equal and consecutive term for the use of a deadly weapon.

Bellon argues on appeal that the district court erred by admitting the testimony of Louisiana police officers regarding threats that Bellon made against them after his arrest.1 Bellon argues that the statements do not properly fall within the res gestae exception permitting the admission of such evidence. We agree and conclude that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the arresting officers’ testimony. In addition, we conclude that the error was not harmless and therefore reverse Bellon’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 8, 1995, the victim, Frank Troy Dunlap, Jr., left his mother’s house in Las Vegas planning to visit relatives. He wore his Rolex watch and carried a Taurus 9mm handgun. At some point in the afternoon, Dunlap arrived at the home of his relative, Hilda Blaylock, who shared her home with two men named Rodney [439]*439Crosby and Lorenzo Elliot. Bellon and Everett Andre Flowers, aka Benzo, arrived at the residence at approximately the same time as the victim. The group planned to “hang out” and “kick it” for the evening.

After an evening of drinking, including multiple trips to the store to get beer, the group discussed going to the Crazy Horse club to see a friend who worked there. Elliot asked Dunlap to drive himself, Bellon, and Benzo to the club. Dunlap reluctantly agreed. Dunlap drove the vehicle, with Benzo in the front passenger seat beside Dunlap, Elliot in the backseat behind Benzo, and Bellon in the backseat behind Dunlap. According to Benzo, Dunlap had his gun with him when he got into the car.

According to Elliot’s testimony at trial, as Dunlap backed up he saw someone and asked if it was an individual named “Trim.” Elliot looked out the rear view mirror and replied that it was not “Trim.” At that exact time, Bellon handed Elliot a bottle of alcohol, and as Elliot checked to see if the individual was “Trim,” he heard a loud pop. Elliot looked over, saw Bellon hunched over Dunlap, and heard another pop. Following the gunshots, Elliot and Benzo exited the vehicle and began to run away. As they ran, Elliot heard Bellon suggest that they take the car.

Crosby testified at trial that he had seen Bellon, Dunlap, Elliot, and Benzo in his apartment when they were getting ready to go to the Crazy Horse club. He said that shortly after the group left, Elliot returned to their apartment and told him that Bellon had shot Dunlap. Crosby testified that Elliot told him that as the car backed out of the parking lot, Bellon grabbed the back of Dunlap’s head, around his neck, and shot him twice.

Benzo testified at the trial. Benzo did not recall telling Elliot about Dunlap and Bellon shooting their weapons on a ride to the store. After reading his statement and refreshing his memory, Benzo recalled telling police that Bellon had a chrome .380 and Dunlap had a 9mm. Benzo recalled that Dunlap was giving Bellon, Elliot, and himself a ride to the Crazy Horse. He sat in the front passenger seat, Elliot sat behind him, and Bellon sat behind Dunlap, who was driving the car. He said that Dunlap had his gun with him when he got into the car. He remembered Dunlap asking about another vehicle. Benzo testified that next he heard gunshots and saw a gun in Dunlap’s left hand, pointed out the window. Benzo said that he heard the shots but did not see the shooting. At that point, he jumped out of the car and ran toward Elliot’s house. He did not know anyone had died as a result of the shooting until he saw it on the news the next morning.

The first officer to arrive at the scene of the murder found a male slumped behind the wheel of a car. Police searched the vehicle and found a spent .380 casing on the floorboard of the vehicle, [440]*440an empty holster for a large-frame handgun, a bullet fragment, and a 40-ounce malt liquor bottle.

Police also recovered Dunlap’s wallet, which contained a gun registration card for a 9mm Taurus, model PT92AF, with the serial number TND70395. The police did not recover a firearm or watch from the scene. Elliot’s fingerprints were found on the vehicle’s exterior passenger window and door, and Bellon’s fingerprint was found on the back of a bottle of Old English 800. In July 2002, the police examined and retested the bullet fragment found at the scene. A firearms examiner testified that the bullet fragment is consistent with a .380 automatic and could have been fired from guns produced by several manufacturers but not from a 9mm Taurus.

Dr. Giles Green of the Clark County Coroner’s Office performed the autopsy on Dunlap. Dr. Green testified that Dunlap had been shot twice, once in the neck and once in the back, and that the shot in the back caused Dunlap’s death. According to Dr. Green, Dunlap’s wounds were inflicted at close range and were consistent with a .380 caliber weapon. Dr. Green concluded that Dunlap’s death was most probably a homicide. When questioned whether the death could have been accidental, Green replied that “one shot I can buy for an accident one in a thousand times, but not two.”

Lerry Dowell testified that he had known Bellon when he lived in Las Vegas, Nevada. In October 1995, Dowell moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, and in August 1996, almost one year after the shooting, Bellon visited Dowell in Louisiana. In early 1997, Bellon told Dowell about the shooting and showed him a 9mm Taurus handgun. Bellon told Dowell that he accidentally shot another man when the two had exchanged guns. He said the gun he was holding discharged because the vehicle hit a speed bump in the road. Bellon asked if he could use Dowell’s identity. Dowell agreed and gave Bellon his Social Security card and birth certificate. Dowell testified that Bellon had identification bearing Dowell’s name, but Bellon’s picture.

More than three years after the shooting, on November 20, 1998, Bellon was taken into custody in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on unrelated charges. Initially, Bellon gave officers several identities before finally revealing his true identity. At that point, officers in the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office discovered that Bellon had outstanding arrest warrants in the State of Nevada, including one for Dunlap’s homicide.

As a result, the sheriff’s office conducted an investigation. Bel-lon consented to a search of both of his residences in Lake Charles, Louisiana. When asked if the officers would find anything pertaining to the Nevada investigation, Bellon replied, “Like the [441]*441murder weapon or something like that?” In reply the officers said, “a murder weapon, anything that would pertain to that case.” Detective David Judice testified that Bellon “posed a question to me, pardon me, if I thought he was that fucking stupid to bring something like that down to Louisiana.” Detective Leslie Blanchard testified that the officers searched two residences, Bellon’s own and that of his father, and found 9mm ammunition at his father’s house, as well as Lerry Dowell’s Social Security card and birth certificate and contact information for Benzo.

In May 1999, in an event entirely unrelated to Bellon, Detective Michael Brady, an officer of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, responded to a call involving a fight at a hotel.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
117 P.3d 176, 121 Nev. 436, 121 Nev. Adv. Rep. 45, 2005 Nev. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bellon-v-state-nev-2005.