State v. Bates

246 So. 3d 672
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 2018
DocketNo. 51,890–KA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 246 So. 3d 672 (State v. Bates) 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. Bates, 246 So. 3d 672 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

MOORE, J.

The defendant, Jamarcus M. Bates, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1. After the trial court denied his motion to suppress, Bates entered a Crosby plea agreement with the state in which he agreed to plead guilty to the responsive charge of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in exchange for a sentence of seven years at hard labor to run concurrently with a separate seven-year sentence on an unrelated conviction. Bates also received credit for time served and reserved the right to seek review of the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress, which is the subject of the instant appeal. Finding no error in the court's ruling on the motion to suppress, we affirm Bates's conviction and sentence.

FACTS

On September 15, 2016, several Shreveport Police Department ("SPD") officers were dispatched to the McDonald's at 7000 West 70th Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, in response to a reported shooting. Upon their arrival, the officers encountered Jeremy Brooks carrying a sword in a sheath. Brooks claimed that two men, Ladamion Davis and Lakendrick Scroggins, pulled a gun on him when he tried to collect his belongings from a house at 2761 Rosemont Street. He said that he fled to the McDonald's and was pursued in a white Mustang driven by Scroggins. Scroggins shot at Brooks at the intersection of West 70th Street and Mansfield Road, but did not follow him into the McDonald's. The manager of the McDonald's confirmed that shots were fired outside the restaurant, and he, as well as Brooks, had called the police. According to the police report, Brooks said that the white Mustang was at the Rosemont address.

While questioning Brooks, the officers received a second call from dispatch, reporting a stabbing at 2761 Rosemont. The officers proceeded there, where they found Ladamion Davis standing in the driveway holding a towel over 2 stab wounds, at least one of which completely penetrated his chest through his left pectoral muscle.

The officers entered the home in order to secure the crime scene. They found blood on the kitchen floor leading to the carport door. Inside the house they found several people, including four black females, two toddlers, and two black males, including Scroggins. The occupants were moved outside, but not allowed to leave. Police continued searching the house and found another black male, Bates, wrapped in a comforter and asleep on a large ottoman in the living room. As an officer pulled back the comforter, they observed Bates in a fetal position with a semi-automatic *676pistol in his lap. One officer secured the gun while another officer arrested Bates. Bates was informed of his Miranda rights and said he understood them.

Scroggins, the alleged shooter, was also arrested as he attempted to walk down Rosemont away from the outside area of the house. He told police that Brooks had initiated the fracas by attempting to take clothing items or shoes that were not his. When the dispute erupted between Davis and Brooks, the latter attacked Davis with the sword, stabbing him. Brooks was also arrested and later charged with aggravated battery.

Bates was charged by bill of information with possession of a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon. He entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment.

A joint preliminary examination was held for both Bates and Brooks. Detective Kelly Coffey of the SPD testified that she was dispatched to 2761 Rosemont shortly after the house was searched by SPD officers and Bates arrested. Det. Coffey was advised by officers on the scene that they had conducted a warrantless search of the home for officer safety reasons. She further testified that later that day she obtained the consent of Jacqueline Scroggins, the owner of the house, to conduct additional searches. On cross-examination, Det. Coffey referred to the detailed report of Corporal Susan Mendels, one of the initial responding officers. Relying on this report, she stated that Brooks led officers to believe to believe that the man who fired the shots at him was within the 2761 Rosemont residence.

Following the preliminary examination, counsel for Bates indicated that he would file a motion to suppress on grounds that the discovery provided by the state and Det. Coffey's preliminary examination testimony were insufficient to support a warrantless search of the residence. Counsel further argued that while it was unclear exactly when the owner's consent was obtained, it was after the initial search resulting in his arrest.

The state opposed the motion on grounds that a warrantless entry of the residence at 2761 Rosemont was justified due to exigent circumstances, and that the homeowner consented to the search.

Argument on the motion was heard by the court on May 10, 2017. No additional evidence or testimony was adduced. Instead, the parties agreed to submit the matter based on the testimony given by Det. Coffey at the preliminary examination.

Following argument, the trial court denied the motion to suppress, and later that same day, Bates pled guilty to the responsive charge of attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1 and La. R.S. 14:27. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Bates was sentenced to seven years at hard labor, which would run concurrently with an unrelated seven-year sentence. Bates also received credit for time served and reserved the right to seek review of the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress.

The instant appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

In his sole assignment of error, Bates argues that the trial court erred when it denied the motion to suppress. The gun found in his possession, he argues, was obtained pursuant to an illegal search of the residence at 2761 Rosemont. More specifically, Bates argues that Det. Coffey's testimony regarding the need for a warrantless search of the residence is unclear. He submits that the warrantless entry into the home was not justified on the basis of "officer safety" because the stabbing victim, *677Davis, and the alleged shooter, Scroggins, were outside the house when the officers searched it. Bates further argues that it is also unclear from Det. Coffey's testimony exactly when the residence's owner consented to a police search, i.e., before or after the search that resulted in Bates's arrest.

The state maintains that both exigent circumstances and the owner's consent justified the warrantless search of the Rosemont house.

The right of every person to be secure in his person, house, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, § 5, of the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. It is well settled that a search and seizure conducted without a warrant issued on probable cause is per se unreasonable unless the warrantless search and seizure can be justified by one of the narrowly drawn exceptions to the warrant requirement. State v. Thompson , 02-0333 (La. 4/9/03), 842 So.2d 330 ; State v. Tatum , 466 So.2d 29 (La. 1985) ; State v. Howard, 49,965 (La. App. 2 Cir.

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Bluebook (online)
246 So. 3d 672, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bates-lactapp-2018.