State v. Abdul

94 So. 3d 801, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 863, 2012 WL 1415104, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 555
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 24, 2012
DocketNo. 11-KA-863
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 94 So. 3d 801 (State v. Abdul) 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 v. Abdul, 94 So. 3d 801, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 863, 2012 WL 1415104, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 555 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

JUDE G. GRAVOIS, Judge.

| oDel'endant, Hassan A. Abdul, appeals his conviction of attempted second degree murder, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1. On appeal, he argues four counseled assignments of error, and three pro se assignments of error. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s conviction of attempted second degree murder, vacate defendant’s adjudication as a multiple offender and the enhanced sentence imposed in connection therewith, reinstate and affirm the sentence originally imposed on defendant as of result of his conviction of attempted second degree murder, and remand for further proceedings.

PROCÉDURAL HISTORY

On August 19, 2009, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Hassan A. Abdul, with attempted second degree murder (Count 1), in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count 2), in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:95.1. | ¿Defendant was arraigned the next day and pled not guilty. On April 4, 2011, the trial judge granted defendant’s request to represent himself. On May 2, 2011, the trial judge granted defendant’s motion to sever the two counts. Defendant’s motion to suppress identification was denied on May 3, 2011. On May 3 and 4, 2011, the matter proceeded to trial on the attempted second degree murder charge only, and a twelve-person jury unanimously found defendant guilty as charged.

On May 16, 2011, defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied that same day. The trial judge then sentenced defendant to imprisonment at hard labor for twenty-five years. The State then filed a multiple bill of information alleging defendant to be a second felony offender, and defendant denied these allegations. After a hearing on May 16, 2011, the trial judge found defendant to be a second felony offender. The trial judge then vacated defendant’s original sentence and resen-tenced him under the multiple bill statute to imprisonment at hard labor for twenty-five years without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Also on May 16, 2011, defendant withdrew his not guilty plea as to Count 2 and pled guilty as charged. The trial judge then sentenced defendant to ten years im- ■ prisonment at hard labor on Count 2 without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, to run concurrently with the sentence on Count 1 and any other sentence being served by defendant. On May 18, 2011, defendant filed a timely motion for appeal that was granted. On May 20, 2011, defendant filed a timely motion to reconsider sentence that was denied. Defendant also filed a timely pro se motion for reconsideration of sentence on June 3, 2011 that was also denied.

\VRACTS

Christopher Young testified that on May 24, 2009, he was working at Knucklehedz,1 [808]*808a bar he said was owned by him and defendant. After the bar closed about 2:45 a.m., Mr. Young went into the office and began “totaling out” the cash from the registers. Defendant was in the office as well. During that time, Mr. Young and defendant discovered that about $20.00 or $25.00 had been misplaced, and defendant became a little angry. Mr. Young then asked Jayven Tipado,2 the bartender, to come into the office so that he could question her about the missing money. Ms. Tipado complied with that request, and the problem was subsequently resolved. Afterward, defendant rudely asked Ms. Tipa-do to leave the office.

After she left, Ms. Tipado sent a text message to Mr. Young saying that she did not mind assisting at the bar, but she was not going to let anybody talk to her that way. After Mr. Young explained to defendant that they needed all the help they could get, defendant had Ms. Tipado come back into the office, after which he apologized to her and paid her more money. Defendant and Ms. Tipado continued their conversation while Mr. Young continued “totaling out.” At approximately 3:00 a.m., Mr. Young said it was getting late, and he suggested that defendant and Ms. Tipado continue their conversation the next day. Defendant agreed and asked Ms. Tipado to leave the office and wait outside.

When defendant turned around, he said, “Chris, you don’t think I’ll shoot you, huh.” When Mr. Young asked defendant what he meant, defendant pulled a gun out from his waistband. Mr. Young did not know if defendant was joking. He asked him to put the gun away. Afterwards, defendant shot Mr. Young. ^Defendant then ran out the door, got on his motorcycle, and left. Mr. Young walked out of the office into the bar area and screamed for somebody to call the police because he had been shot by defendant. EMS came and took Mr. Young to the hospital. Later on, Mr. Young gave a statement to the police. He also positively identified defendant in a photographic lineup and in open court.

Ms. Tipado testified that she did not remember too much about the night in question, and she did not remember when Mr. Young got shot. She further testified that she had a young child and was reluctant to come to court. Ms. Tipado gave two statements to the police, but she only recalled the second one. Both statements were played for the jury. In her first statement, taken on May 24, 2009 at 4:26 a.m., Ms. Tipado said that when she went into the office, Mr. Young, defendant, and a third person3 were arguing about money and the way defendant spoke to Ms. Tipa-do. Defendant, whom she testified was drunk, asked her to step out, and as soon as she did, she heard four shots. After-wards, Ms. Tipado saw defendant run out of the office with a gun in his hand and then run out the door of the bar. She subsequently heard defendant’s motorcycle pull off.

In her second statement taken on July 23, 2009, Ms. Tipado stated that defendant shot Mr. Young at approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 24, 2009. She explained that defendant and Mr. Young had an argument about a receipt and about the rude way defendant spoke to her. Afterwards, defendant asked her to step out of the office, and once she did, she heard at least four [809]*809shots. Defendant then walked out with a gun, and defendant’s wife brought the motorcycle “behind them.” Ms. Tipado further stated that she positively identified defendant as the 17perpetrator in a photographic lineup. She also positively identified defendant in open court.

Dr. Peter Meade, an expert emergency room trauma surgeon, testified that Mr. Young was shot seven times in his lower arm, left leg, abdomen, and buttocks. He further testified that no bullets perforated any organs or major blood vessels, but that all of the victim’s injuries were potentially fatal and could have caused permanent injury. Dr. Meade asserted that the victim tested positive for alcohol.4 Sergeant Michael Goodwin of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office testified that he recovered three fired cartridge casings from the office. Jené Rauch, an expert firearms and toolmark examiner, testified that all three casings were fired from the same weapon.

After the State rested its case, Hassan Alli-Abdul, defendant’s father, testified that he was the owner of Knucklehedz, and that Mr. Young was a bartender and not an owner. Deputy Demyrus Coffie testified for the defense that although he had testified during the State’s case that Mr. Young’s condition after the shooting was very severe, he testified at a preliminary examination that Mr. Young’s injuries were not life-threatening.

COUNSELED ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Keith C. Kisack
236 So. 3d 1201 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2017)
State ex rel. Abdul v. State
223 So. 3d 507 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2017)
State v. Moore
208 So. 3d 880 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2017)
State v. Bradstreet
196 So. 3d 876 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State v. Hall
172 So. 3d 61 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Lewis
169 So. 3d 685 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Baham
169 So. 3d 558 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Estes
168 So. 3d 847 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. McClure
165 So. 3d 998 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State v. Oliver
165 So. 3d 970 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State v. Abdul
131 So. 3d 365 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)
State of Louisiana v. David A. Nelson
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013
State v. Thompson
106 So. 3d 1102 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 So. 3d 801, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 863, 2012 WL 1415104, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-abdul-lactapp-2012.