State v. Barthelemy

726 So. 2d 1085, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2018, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 59, 1999 WL 25607
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 20, 1999
DocketNos. 97-KA-2018, 97-KA-2019
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 726 So. 2d 1085 (State v. Barthelemy) 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. Barthelemy, 726 So. 2d 1085, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2018, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 59, 1999 WL 25607 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

[iWALTZER, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On 22 August 1995, Anthony Barthelemy was charged by bill of information with one count of distribution of cocaine and one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, violations of LSA-R.S. 40:967(A)(1). On 11 September 1995, the State dismissed the distribution count. Barthelemy, through counsel, waived the reading of the information and entered a plea of not guilty to the possession count. On 13 September 1995, Barthelemy moved for speedy trial, bill of particulars, production of documents and for pre-trial discovery. He also moved to suppress identification, to suppress evidence obtained by execution of a search warrant, to suppress confession and other inculpatory statements and for a preliminary examination to determine probable cause. At the preliminary hearing on 3 November 1995, Barthelemy’s counsel marked his motions for bill of particulars and pre-trial discovery satisfied. He abandoned Ms motion for speedy trial and agreed to consolidation of his motions to suppress evidence, confession, and identification and for preliminary examination. Upon the testimony of Agent David Illg the trial court overruled the motion to suppress evidence, ruled the ^motion to suppress identification moot and found probable cause. The trial was set and continued several times on motions by the State and by the defense.

[1087]*1087On 28 May 1996, the trial court ordered the State to provide all relevant Brady material to the defense. The trial court denied the defense motion to disqualify the prosecutor, Charles J. B allay and noted that B allay would not be a witness before the jury. The jury was impaneled. The trial court denied the defense motion to reconsider its motion to suppress evidence.

On 29 May 1996 the trial court found Brady material in documents provided by the Plaquemines Parish Sheriffs Office internal affairs investigation of Jerry Manuel and ordered the State to provide the material to the defense. The trial court examined Agent Sam Bailey’s file from the Westwego Sheriffs Office in camera and found no Brady material. The trial court granted the State’s motion to exclude evidence of Barthelemy’s acquittal in a previous trial.

The trial commenced. The State objected to allowing Agent Bailey to testify. The trial court overruled the objection, whereupon the State applied to this Court for an emergency writ of review. We denied the State’s writ application, and trial continued.

At the conclusion of the evidence, neither party submitted a request for special jury instructions. The trial court instructed the jury, which retired to deliberate. Two hours later, the jury sent a message to the court that they were deadlocked. The jury returned to the courtroom, whereupon the trial court questioned each juror individually; each juror suggested that further definition of “possession” might be helpful in reaching a verdict. The trial court and counsel for both parties discussed the definition off the record, and the court instructed the jury further on “possession.” After twenty minutes of additional deliberation, the jury ^returned a verdict of guilty of possession of cocaine. Ten jurors polled in favor of the guilty verdict and two polled in favor of a not guilty verdict.

The trial court ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing for 18 September 1996. On 5 June the State filed a Bill of Information charging Barthelemy under LSA-R.S. 16:529.1 A(l) as a multiple offender. At Barthelemy’s request, the matter was twice continued. On 19 December 1996, Bar-thelemy moved for a new trial, the court granted the State a twenty-day extension to respond and granted five days to the defense for rebuttal.

On 23 January 1997, the trial court denied the motion for new trial. The State charged Barthelemy in No. 96-2561 as a habitual offender. The trial court sentenced Barthe-lemy solely on the habitual offender charge to serve seven years in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections with credit for time served since arrest. Barthe-lemy appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Testimony from the Hearing on Motion to Suppress Evidence

Agent Illg testified that as to Count I, on 22 April 1995 an undercover buy took place in the parking lot of Alice’s Bar. According to Agent Illg, Agent Bailey met with him and was advised to check out bars on the East Bank of the river at various “hot spots” as to which the Plaquemines narcotics office had received information. Agent Illg testified that Agent Bailey played pool with Timothy Reddick at Alice’s Bar, asked if Reddick knew anyone “holding”, and was referred to “The Big Man”, Anthony Barthelemy, who was in the parking lot. Agent Bailey bought three pieces of white rock cocaine from Bar-thelemy.

|4Agent Illg testified as to Count II that prior to 30 June 1995 the narcotics office had received information on numerous occasions of drug trafficking by Gerald Reddick and Anthony Barthelemy in the Captain Lafrance Trailer Park (known at that time as Caledonia Lane). Agent Illg and Sergeant (now Captain) Michael Lafrance set up surveillance on several- nights, observing continual traffic that Agent Illg believed, based upon his experience, to be narcotics related with known drug users and dealers in the area. Based on the surveillance, the agents obtained a search warrant for one of the trailer homes. He executed the warrant on 30 June 1995 and found Barthelemy in the shower. With the aid of a narcotics dog, the officers located rock cocaine in a cabinet in the bathroom where Barthelemy had been showering. [1088]*1088The officers seized $540, rock cocaine, marijuana and marijuana seeds.

Testimony at Trial

Agent Illg testified in detail concerning the surveillance of the trailer park. On 26 June 1995, Agent Illg and Captain Lafrance met with a reliable informant who had given information in the past and who believed narcotics activity was being conducted in the trailer park. Weather conditions did not allow for surveillance that night, but the agents returned on 27 June and recorded what they believed to be traffic consistent with drug traffic and consistent with the information provided by the informant. Cars came up to the trailer home and hand-to-hand contact was made between occupants of the cars and Barthelemy and Reddick, who came in and out of the trailer home to meet them, at 9:30, 9:41, 9:50 and on six occasions between 10:05 and 10:45 p.m. Weather conditions prevented surveillance on 29 June. On 29 June Agent Illg and Sergeant Cosse conducted ^surveillance and observed several persons go to the trailer and make contact with Bar-thelemy or Gerald Reddick.

Following the surveillance, Agent Illg obtained and executed a search warrant for the trailer home. His testimony concerning execution of the warrant duplicated that given at the preliminary hearing.

On cross-examination, defense counsel showed that Agent Illg had made an error in fixing the date of a photographic lineup in an unrelated criminal case.. Agent Illg testified that Leslie Barthelemy Demolle, the owner of the trailer home, told him she does not lock her trailer and that she, Gerald Reddick and Anita Barthelemy, who is an invalid, live in the trailer. Agent Illg also admitted that Reddick came to the trailer while the warrant was being executed and later pled guilty to a cocaine distribution charge arising during the surveillance period.

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Bluebook (online)
726 So. 2d 1085, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2018, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 59, 1999 WL 25607, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barthelemy-lactapp-1999.