State v. Bazley

60 So. 3d 7, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 358, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 19, 2011 WL 102602
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 11, 2011
DocketNo. 09-KA-358
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 60 So. 3d 7 (State v. Bazley) 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. Bazley, 60 So. 3d 7, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 358, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 19, 2011 WL 102602 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

JUDE G. GRAVOIS, Judge.

l.qThe defendant, Lucien Bazley, has appealed his conviction and sentence for possession of narcotics. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 20, 2007, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging the defendant with Count 1, possession of marijuana (second offense), and Count 2, possession of cocaine, in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:966 C and R.S. 40:967 C, respectively. The defendant pled not guilty at arraignment on April 30, 2007. He filed a motion to appoint a sanity commission on June 11, 2007 and was found competent to stand trial on July 25, 2007. The defendant filed a motion to reappoint a sanity commission on August 27, 2007 and was again found competent to stand trial on December 11, 2007.

A hearing commenced on the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence on January 8, 2008; however, the hearing was held open at the defendant’s request. On January 28, 2008, before trial began, the suppression hearing was completed, |4after which the trial judge denied the motion. The case was subsequently tried on January 28 and 29, 2008, before a six-person jury, which ended in a mistrial when the jurors could not reach a verdict. On March 12 and 13, 2008, the case was retried before a six-person jury, which again ended in a mistrial when the jurors could not reach a verdict.

A third trial was held on March 24, 25, and 26, 2008, after which the jury found the defendant guilty as charged. On May 5, 2008, the trial judge denied the defendant’s motion in arrest of judgment and motions for a new trial. On that same date, the defendant waived sentencing delays and was sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor for four years on each count to run concurrently with one another.

Also on May 5, 2008, the State filed a multiple bill alleging the defendant to be a fourth felony offender. The defendant de[12]*12nied those allegations. The defendant filed a timely motion for appeal on May 9, 2008, that was granted. On July 14, 2008, a multiple bill hearing was held, after which the trial judge found the defendant to be a fourth felony offender. On July 14, 2008, the sentence on Count 2 was vacated and the defendant was re-sentenced as a multiple offender to imprisonment at hard labor for 20 years to run concurrently with the sentence on Count 1 and “any other revocation.” Following sentencing, the defendant orally moved for an appeal.

FACTS

Lt. Nicholas Huth of the Kenner Police Department testified that on February 22 and 23, 2007, he and Detective Kevin Trei-gle conducted surveillance on the defendant’s residence, located at 249 Clemson, Apartment 402, in Kenner, in response to numerous complaints of narcotics activity. The defendant was the ^target of that investigation. On February 23, 2007, Lt. Huth observed a female, later identified as Darkus Bollard, enter that apartment and leave shortly thereafter. Ms. Bollard was stopped and it was discovered that she was in possession of a small bag of marijuana that she had purchased from the defendant. As a result of his conversation with Ms. Bollard, Lt. Huth instructed Detective Treigle to obtain a search warrant for the defendant’s apartment.

After Ms. Bollard was arrested, the defendant exited Apartment 402. Lt. Huth detained him while they waited for the search warrant. After the keys to the apartment were obtained from the defendant’s pocket, Lt. Huth entered the apartment to conduct a protective sweep for officer safety and to make sure no one else was in the apartment, during which he observed a bag of marijuana floating in the toilet. Because the toilet was still flowing, it appeared to him that someone had tried to flush the marijuana down the toilet or that the toilet was defective. When the protective sweep was completed, Lt. Huth exited the apartment.

Later on, Detective Treigle called Lt. Huth and advised him that the search warrant for the defendant’s residence had been signed. Lt. Huth and other officers then re-entered the residence and searched it. Detective Treigle subsequently arrived and retrieved a clear plastic bag containing green vegetable matter from the toilet. Once the bag was retrieved, Detective Treigle observed that inside that plastic bag was another clear plastic bag that contained crack cocaine. Detective Treigle also retrieved a box of clear plastic sandwich bags and a digital scale from the apartment.

The State and the defense stipulated that if Daniel Waguespack, an expert in the identification and analysis of narcotics were called as a witness, he would testify that he tested the narcotics in this case and found them to be cocaine and marijuana.

|6Lt. Louis Mungia of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, an expert fingerprint examiner, testified that the- fingerprints from the defendant’s previous conviction of possession of marijuana on January 20, 2004 matched the defendant’s fingerprints taken in court that day.

The defendant’s redacted testimony from his first trial was read to the jury during the State’s case-in-chief. The defendant testified that the drugs found at 249 Clemson, Apartment 402, on February 23, 2007, were not his, and he had no knowledge that they were in that apartment. The defendant denied selling drugs to Ms. Bollard.

The defendant explained that, on February 22, 2007, he lived at 247 Clemson, Apartment 1, with his Uncle Donald, which was right across from 249 Clemson. The [13]*13defendant asserted that he did not go into Apartment 402 on February 23, 2007, as he was too busy picking up trash. The defendant contended that Melvin Anderson lived in Apartment 402. The defendant admitted having gone into Apartment 402 before February 22 and 23, 2007, to play chess and talk with Mr. Anderson.

The defendant testified that, on February 23, 2007, Lt. Huth stopped Ms. Bollard and another lady. Lt. Huth then walked over to the defendant and demanded that he put his hands behind his back. According to the defendant, Lt. Huth asked him to allow Lt. Huth to enter Apartment 402, but the defendant told Lt. Huth he could not do so because that was not his residence. The defendant testified that Lt. Huth went into Apartment 402 and when Lt. Huth came back out, he asked the defendant who jumped out of the window, and the defendant told him “Ray Vaughn”.

The defendant testified that he gave Lt. Huth the keys to his truck and permission to search it, which Lt. Huth did. The defendant denied that Lt. Huth |7got the keys to Apartment 402 from him. The defendant explained, that the door to Apartment 402 was open and anyone could have walked in. According to the defendant, Lt. Huth told the defendant that if he found anything in that apartment, he would charge him with it. The defendant said that there was nobody in that apartment when the police went in. The defendant denied telling Lt. Huth and Detective Treigle that he subleased Apartment 402.

Additionally, the defendant testified that he had many prior convictions: on April 4, 1995, he pled guilty to possession of narcotics; on August 31, 1995, he pled guilty to possession of cocaine; on March 28, 1996, he pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, resisting an officer, and battery on an officer; on January 20, 2004, he pled guilty to possession of marijuana; and on September 13, 2004, he pled guilty to possession of cocaine.

Lt.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 So. 3d 7, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 358, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 19, 2011 WL 102602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bazley-lactapp-2011.