State v. Augustine

133 So. 3d 148, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0397, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 163, 2014 WL 530287
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 22, 2014
DocketNo. 2013-KA-0397
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 133 So. 3d 148 (State v. Augustine) 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. Augustine, 133 So. 3d 148, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0397, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 163, 2014 WL 530287 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

MAX N. TOBIAS, JR., Judge.

_JjThe defendant, Edward Augustine, appeals his convictions and sentences for second degree murder (a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1) of Aaron Williams, and attempted second degree murder (a violation of La R.S. 14:(27) 30.1) of Kimberly Williams for which he received, respectively, a life sentence at hard labor without the benefits of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence and 30 years at “hard labor.” Both sentences are to be served concurrently, with credit for time served. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I.

The state filed a bill of information on 24 March 2011 charging Edward Augustine (“Edward”) with one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted second degree murder. On 4 April 2011, he appeared with counsel and entered pleas of not guilty. On 2 March 2012, the trial court denied his motions to suppress evidence and identification, and on 24 April 2012, denied Edward’s motion for the state to turn over the unredacted statements of three witnesses. From that latter denial, he sought supervisory review from this court, which was refused. State v. Augustine, 12-0638, unpub. (La.App. 4 Cir. 6/1/12). Trial commenced on 26 November 2012 and ended on 28 November 2012 with the jury | returning guilty verdicts on both [151]*151counts. Edward filed a motion for new trial that was denied by the trial court. He was then sentenced as noted above.

II.

Testimony of Merlin Williams

Merlin Williams testified at trial that he was the father of the decedent, Aaron Williams (“Aaron”). He testified that on 8 December 2007, he was living with his wife and Aaron at 4300 Sullen Place in New Orleans. He stated that he was in his car when he received a phone call from his wife who told him that Aaron had been shot. Mr. Williams returned home, picked up his wife, and together went to Tullís Drive where he observed his son lying on the ground bleeding. He testified that some people who were on the scene told him who had shot his son. Mr. Williams also stated that he knew his son was friends with Terrance Augustine (“Terrance”), the brother of the defendant.

Testimony of Yolanda Haynes

Yolanda Haynes testified that she was a 911 operator for approximately three and a one-half years and worked in the communications department of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”), answering 911 calls and writing “incident recalls.” She testified as to the authenticity of the 911 reports made on the day of the crime.

Testimony of Charlene Smith

Charlene Smith testified that on 8 December 2007, she was returning home from work when she saw the decedent fighting with another boy. She stated that she went into her home, an upstairs apartment, looked out of the window, and witnessed a boy holding Aaron while Aaron fought with another boy. She testified that she yelled out of her window and instructed the other boy to let go of Aaron, | abut to no avail. Ms. Smith identified a photograph of an individual that she referred to as “T” (later identified as Terrance) as the person with whom Aaron was fighting. She explained that she went downstairs, brought Aaron upstairs to her apartment, and cleaned a cut on his chin. When Aaron left, she called 911 because Aaron was alone. She stated that shortly thereafter she heard gunshots. She testified that she knew Aaron and “T” from their hanging out in her area with the other boys who frequently hung out together. She stated that “T” and Aaron were friends.

Testimony of Sergeant Andre LeBlanc

Sergeant Andre LeBlanc1 testified that he was with the NOPD for thirteen years and that on 8 December 2007, he was assigned to the NOPD’s Fourth District Investigative Unit in the Property Crimes Division located in Algiers. He stated that on that day, he responded to a dispatch call of multiple gunshots in the 5900 block of Tullís Drive. When he arrived with his partner, Detective Kevin Bell, he observed that the scene had been secured by other officers. A man who had been shot several times was lying on the ground. He testified that EMS had already pronounced the man dead. Sergeant Le-Blanc, as lead investigator on the scene, stated that he immediately started talking to the people who were standing around. He was able to speak to a lady who was willing to cooperate with him, so he transported her to the police station. In addition to that witness, he testified that Terrance and James Green were also taken in for questioning. The sergeant testified that he learned that Terrance had been in a fight and that it was physically apparent from his appearance. He stated his investigation revealed that the victim |4had been in a fight shortly before his death and that [152]*152one of the individuals involved in the fight was Terrance. He stated that the only-possible suspect he knew of from an anonymous witness went by the name of “D-Murder” and that “D-Murder” was Terrance’s brother, whose real name was Damian Red. However, through investigation and talking to witnesses, including Terrance and James Green, Sergeant LeBlanc stated that he was able to positively determine that Edward was the shooter. The sergeant testified that Edward was apprehended in Colorado months after the shooting.

Testimony of Detective Kevin Bell

Detective Kevin Bell testified that he partnered with Sergeant, then detective, LeBlanc and corroborated Sergeant Le-Blanc’s account of the events.

Testimony of Don Hancock

Don Hancock, a telecommunications telephone supervisor for the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, testified that he receives requests from different agencies to turn over recorded inmate phone calls and that, in the instant case, the District Attorney’s Office asked him to turn over the phone records of Edward in the form of a CD. He stated that the CD contained inmate-identifying information (specifically a PIN2 number) and that the CD offered into evidence at trial matched Edward’s phone calls made from prison. Mr. Hancock testified that he listened to the calls and that he was able to verify that it was Edward making them.

Several transcribed phone calls made by Edward appear of record: On 9 April 2008, he and the person on the phone talked about “them” watching and that they were going to tell “them” that he, Edward, was out of town. On 22 April | ,2008, Edward told the person to whom he spoke that he would most likely be out of jail in sixty days if no witnesses came forward. Talking to his brother, Damian Red, Edward inquired as to whether his brother had spoken to a girl he chose not to name, inferring that he was inquiring about whether the girl was going to reveal information about the shooting. Lastly, on 11 May 2008, in a conversation with his brother Terrance, he indicated that there were “girls” who were willing to sign a paper to indicate that he was not involved.

Testimony of Tariyon Rose

Tariyon Rose, who initially testified on day two of trial, stated that she and Aaron were friends and that they attended school together. She stated that on 8 December 2007, she lived at 5981 Tullís Drive and that Aaron had spent the night with her the preceding two days. She stated that on that day she went to take a shower while Aaron went outside. As she was getting dressed, she heard banging on the door.

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Related

State v. Poree
166 So. 3d 372 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
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154 So. 3d 636 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
133 So. 3d 148, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0397, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 163, 2014 WL 530287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-augustine-lactapp-2014.