State of Louisiana Versus Brennan A. Harris

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 27, 2023
Docket23-KA-233
StatusUnknown

This text of State of Louisiana Versus Brennan A. Harris (State of Louisiana Versus Brennan A. Harris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Louisiana Versus Brennan A. Harris, (La. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 23-KA-233

VERSUS FIFTH CIRCUIT

BRENNAN A. HARRIS COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF LOUISIANA

ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 19-6018, DIVISION "F" HONORABLE MICHAEL P. MENTZ, JUDGE PRESIDING

December 27, 2023

FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER JUDGE

Panel composed of Judges Fredericka Homberg Wicker, Marc E. Johnson, and Scott U. Schlegel

CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED; SENTENCES ON COUNTS TWO, THREE, AND FOUR AFFIRMED; SENTENCE ON COUNT ONE AFFIRMED, AS AMENDED FHW MEJ SUS COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr. Thomas J. Butler Andrea F. Long Douglas E. Rushton, Jr.

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, BRENNAN HARRIS Kevin V. Boshea WICKER, J.

Defendant, Brennan Harris, seeks review of the trial court’s denial of his

motion to withdraw his guilty pleas in connection with his convictions for

manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and possession of a firearm by a convicted

felon. For the following reasons, we find that the trial judge did not abuse his

discretion in denying defendant’s motion, and we affirm defendant’s convictions.

Upon an errors patent review, we find defendant’s sentence for manslaughter is

illegally harsh and we amend that sentence to remove the restriction on benefits.

In all other respects, we affirm defendant’s sentences.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On December 19, 2019, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury indicted defendant,

Brennan A. Harris, with second degree murder in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1

(count one), obstruction of justice in violation of La. R.S. 14:130.1 (counts two and

three), and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of La. R.S.

14:95.1 (count four). Defendant was arraigned on December 23, 2019, and pled not

guilty to all charges.

The matter was set for trial on August 15, 2022. On that date, the State

amended the indictment only as to count one to reduce the second degree murder

charge and to charge defendant with manslaughter in violation of La. R.S. 14:31.

Immediately thereafter, defendant withdrew his pleas of not guilty and pled guilty

to the amended manslaughter charge (count one), the obstruction of justice charges

(counts two and three), and the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge

(count four).1

The following day, August 16, 2022, defendant appeared in court for

sentencing and made an oral motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, which the trial

1 Pursuant to the plea agreement, the State agreed not to file a multiple offender bill against defendant and further agreed to enter a “null proseque” in two unrelated trial court cases, Case Nos. 20-1765 and 22- 0909.

23-KA-233 1 court denied. After a conference in chambers, the trial court withdrew its ruling

and ordered the matter set for a contradictory hearing.

On October 13, 2022, defendant filed a written motion to withdraw his

guilty pleas. The court ordered the State to show cause why defendant’s motion

should not be granted at a contradictory hearing on December 15, 2022. The

hearing was continued on December 15, 2022, and again on January 19, 2023. On

February 1, 2023, the court held a contradictory hearing on defendant’s motion to

withdraw his guilty pleas and denied defendant’s motion.

On that same date, the trial court sentenced defendant to twenty years

imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of probation or suspension of

sentence on his manslaughter conviction (count one) and to fifteen years

imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension

of sentence on his possession of a firearm by a convicted felon conviction (count

four). As to his obstruction of justice convictions (counts two and three), the trial

court ordered, “ten years at hard labor in Department of Corrections[.]”2 The court

ordered that all sentences run concurrently. This timely appeal followed.

FACTS

Because defendant pleaded guilty, the facts surrounding his convictions

were not fully developed at trial. However, the amended indictment alleges that

defendant violated La. R.S. 14:31 in that he did commit the manslaughter of victim

Cornell Hampton (count one); obstruct justice by tampering with evidence, to wit:

the intentional alteration, movement, removal, or addition to the rear bumper of a

2017 Chevrolet Impala Premier vehicle used during the commission of the

homicide and the removal of a 9 mm handgun from the scene of the homicide; and

have in his possession a firearm, having been previously convicted of the crime of

2 See errors patent discussion.

23-KA-233 2 possession of cocaine, in violation of 40:967(C), under case number 14-3013,

Division “J” in the 24th Judicial District Court.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, defendant argues that the trial judge abused his discretion in

denying the motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. Defendant asserts that he did not

have the opportunity to discuss the plea offer with his family prior to accepting the

plea offer and that, upon reconsideration, he does not feel comfortable accepting a

guilty plea for a crime he did not commit. Defendant argues that the motion to

withdraw his pleas, filed prior to sentencing, should have been granted because his

decision to plead guilty was a “spur of the moment thing” that he agreed to “right

before we were about to start picking a jury” on the day of trial.

The record reflects that, on August 15, 2015, defendant and the State entered

into a plea agreement. On that date, the trial judge entered into a colloquy with

defendant wherein he explained on the record that, pursuant to the plea agreement,

the State would agree to reduce defendant’s second degree murder charge to a

manslaughter charge, and to dismiss two pending unrelated criminal cases against

defendant. Moreover, pursuant to the plea agreement, the State would agree not to

file a multiple offender bill against defendant. The transcript of the Boykin3

colloquy with defendant reflects that defendant understood that he was pleading

guilty to one count of manslaughter, two counts of obstruction of justice, and one

count of possession of a firearm by a felon. The transcript further reflects that the

trial court advised defendant of the sentences he would receive for each conviction

and that defendant acknowledged and understood that he would be sentenced to

twenty years imprisonment for his manslaughter conviction, ten years

imprisonment for each obstruction of justice conviction, and fifteen years

3 Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969).

23-KA-233 3 imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for

his felon in possession of a firearm conviction.

During the guilty plea proceeding, the State recited a factual basis for the

plea as follows:

If the State proceeded to trial it would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about the 10th day of September 2019, the defendant Brennan Harris violated Louisiana Revised Statute 14:31 relative to the manslaughter of Cornell Hampton.

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Related

Boykin v. Alabama
395 U.S. 238 (Supreme Court, 1969)
State v. Weiland
556 So. 2d 175 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
State v. Beatty
391 So. 2d 828 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1980)
State v. Campbell
15 So. 3d 1076 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State v. Curtis
679 So. 2d 512 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Sanders
876 So. 2d 42 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2004)
State v. Collins
890 So. 2d 616 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)
State v. Guzman
665 So. 2d 512 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Hebert
846 So. 2d 60 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Oliveaux
312 So. 2d 337 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1975)
State v. Shaw
108 So. 3d 1189 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)
State v. Garcie
242 So. 3d 1279 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
State v. Raines
788 So. 2d 627 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)

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State of Louisiana Versus Brennan A. Harris, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-louisiana-versus-brennan-a-harris-lactapp-2023.