State v. Amos

550 So. 2d 272, 1989 WL 105737
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 14, 1989
DocketKA-9027
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 550 So. 2d 272 (State v. Amos) 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. Amos, 550 So. 2d 272, 1989 WL 105737 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

550 So.2d 272 (1989)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Mark E. AMOS & Leroy Jackson, aka Joseph Wilson.

No. KA-9027.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

September 14, 1989.

*273 Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty. and Brian T. Treacy, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff/appellee.

M. Craig Colwart, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for defendants/appellants.

Before SCHOTT, C.J., and PLOTKIN and BECKER, JJ.

BECKER, Judge.

Mark Amos and Leroy Jackson, also known as Joseph Wilson, were charged by bill of information with one count of armed robbery and two counts of attempted first degree murder. After trial by jury, defendant Mark Amos was found guilty on the armed robbery charge and not guilty on the two counts of attempted first degree murder. Defendant Leroy Jackson was found guilty of armed robbery. He was found not guilty of the first count of attempted first degree murder, but guilty of attempted manslaughter on the second count. Amos was sentenced on the armed robbery conviction to twelve years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence with credit for time served. Jackson was sentenced to thirty-three years at hard labor, with credit for time served on the armed robbery conviction. Jackson received ten years at hard labor for the attempted manslaughter conviction. The sentences were to run concurrently. Defendant Leroy Jackson appeals his convictions and sentences relying upon eight assignments of error.

On June 8, 1985, three individuals, Leroy Jackson, Mark Amos and an unknown male, got out of a truck and entered the All American Jeans Store located on South Carrollton Avenue. The three men began stacking jeans on the floor. The employees began placing the jeans back on the wall rack and offering them assistance with their selections. Finally, one of the employees asked the three to leave which they did, only to return a couple of minutes later. Jackson and the unknown male reentered the store while Amos remained outside near the entrance. Again, they began to stack jeans on the floor. When one of the store employees tried to return the jeans to the shelf, Jackson pointed a gun at her and told her to get out of the way or he would blow her head off. The men then left the store with the jeans and drove away in the truck. The store employees immediately called the New Orleans Police Department. A broadcast was made to all police officers describing the get-away vehicle.

Officer David Dotson, after hearing the broadcast, spotted the truck near Carrollton Avenue and Jeanette Street. Dotson, following the truck, radioed in the truck's movement. Other officers joined in the chase which ensued through several uptown streets. Subsequently, Officers Gerard Kuhn and Robert Hecker parked their unmarked police vehicle across Leake Avenue to block the path of the truck driven by Jackson. The truck approached the police *274 car going sixty to sixty-five miles per hour. Anticipating a collision, Kuhn and Hecker exited their vehicle on either side. Immediately prior to the collision, the truck increased its speed and veered towards Hecker. Hecker dove out of the way and the truck collided with the police car. Jackson and the other men exited the truck and a chase ensued, after which Jackson and Amos were arrested. They were taken back to the All American Jeans Store where they were identified by store employers as the perpetrators of the armed robbery.

The defense contended at trial that Jackson and Amos went into the jeans store with a man named Big John. They were to show "Big John" the type of jeans they wanted. "Big John" and an unnamed friend of his were to steal the jeans and then sell them to Jackson and Amos. After they had shown Big John the jeans, the three of them left the store. Big John and his friend, who were both allegedly unarmed, then returned to the store and stole the jeans while Jackson and Amos waited in the truck. Big John, his friend, Jackson and Amos drove off in the truck dropping Big John's friend at a nearby Popeye's Fried Chicken Shop. The defense further argued that Big John was the driver of the truck when it collided with the police vehicle. The defense alleged that Big John, Jackson and Amos all exited the truck after the accident. They argued that Big John had simply avoided arrest.

The defendant, in his pro se brief, sought a review of the record for errors patent. A review of the record reveals that the trial court incorrectly imposed a sentence on Jackson for armed robbery without stating that the sentence was without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. As the State has not raised this issue on appeal, this court will not amend the sentence. See State v. Fraser, 484 So.2d 122 (La.1986).

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1 AND ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2—PRO SE

The defense contends that the trial court erred in restricting defense counsel's cross-examination of Michelle Morris, an employee of All American Jeans who witnessed the robbery, at the hearing of the motion to suppress the identification and in subsequently denying the motion.

To suppress an identification, a defendant must prove that the identification itself is suggestive and that there was a likelihood of misidentification as a result of the identification process. State v. Prudholm, 446 So.2d 729 (La.1984); State v. Chaney, 423 So.2d 1092 (La.1982). While one-to-one confrontation identification procedures are not favored, they are permissible under appropriate circumstances, as when a suspect is apprehended shortly after the crime, since they promote fairness "by assuring reliability and the expeditious release of innocent suspects." State v. Chapman, 410 So.2d 689, 709 (La.1981); State v. Maduell, 326 So.2d 820, 825 (La. 1976). Reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony. Manson v. Braithwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977).

The Louisiana Supreme Court discussed the Manson decision in State v. Davis, 409 So.2d 268 (La.1982), wherein it provided five factors to be considered in determining the admissibility of such testimony:

"The factors to be considered include the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime, the witness's degree of attention, the accuracy of his prior description of the criminal, the level of certainty displayed at the confrontation, and the time between the crime and the confrontation. Against these factors is to be weighed the corrupting effect of the suggestive identification. The court noted that the standard, after all, is that of fairness as required by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. In the final analysis, it must be determined whether under all the circumstances of a particular case there is a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification." Davis, supra at 270.

*275 The defense argues that the trial court limited its cross-examination of Michelle Morris such that it was impossible for the court to determine if the five indicia of reliability set out in Davis were fulfilled and thus that the trial court had no basis for denying its motion. A review of the trial transcript reveals that Ms. Morris was the only person to testify at the motion to suppress hearing, which was held at a break during the trial. Ms.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
550 So. 2d 272, 1989 WL 105737, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-amos-lactapp-1989.