State v. Bowman

139 So. 3d 529, 2014 WL 1613650, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1073
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 23, 2014
DocketNo. 48,797-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 139 So. 3d 529 (State v. Bowman) 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. Bowman, 139 So. 3d 529, 2014 WL 1613650, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1073 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

STEWART, J.

|2Pefendant Tyrone Bowman was convicted of second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. He was sentenced to the mandatory life sentence at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for his second degree murder conviction. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence presented, and the trial court’s denial of the motion for new trial. For the reasons stated herein, the defendant’s conviction and sentence are affirmed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

An armed robbery occurred at a Sonic restaurant in Lake Providence, Louisiana, on October 10, 2000. During the armed robbery, Sonic manager, Spencer Washington (“victim”), was shot and killed. On May 10, 2010, the defendant was implicated in the crime and charged with first degree murder via bill of indictment. On October 5, 2012, the indictment was amended to the charge of second degree murder. The defendant pled not guilty.

On March 20, 2013, the jury trial began. The following evidence was adduced at trial.

Officer Columbus Willis of the East Carroll Parish Sheriffs Office testified that shortly before midnight on October 10, 2000, he was dispatched to an armed robbery and shooting at a local Sonic restaurant. Upon arrival, he saw the victim lying unresponsive on the ground. He also saw a Sonic employee being inter[532]*532viewed by police officers who had already arrived at the scene. Officer Willis was briefed by another officer who informed him that the employee described the suspect as a male wearing a black mask, a black sweatshirt, and black pants. A second Sonic employee emerged from across the street from Sonic, and called out to Officer Willis hand another police officer. She informed them that the suspect had headed toward Grace Episcopal Church.

Based upon the information given, Officer Willis and Officer Lee Antwine commenced a foot search for the suspect. Since the ground was wet with dew, Officer Willis was able to spot footprints in the grass as they approached Grace Episcopal Church. The officers followed the footprints that headed toward “the trees,” and Officer Willis recovered a black sweater cap, that he identified as a black mask, under the trees.

Officers Willis and Lee proceeded through the trees, and traveled along First Street. As they approached West Street by the old Council on Aging building, Officer Willis testified that someone said, “I saw somebody ran [sic] through here and whoever it was took a sweater off, took off his shirt and threw it down and kept running.” Officer Willis saw a figure, but couldn’t see the person who made the statement. He was able to recover a black sweatshirt on the side of the old Council on Aging building. He stated that the sweatshirt did not appear to have been there long, since there was no dew on it.

The search ended at Darryl’s Mini Mart, which Officer Willis testified is not even a mile from the Sonic restaurant. Officer Willis noted that had they not stopped along the route, it would have taken about five minutes to get to Darryl’s Mini Mart from Sonic. Terrance Baker, an employee at Darryl’s, told Officer Willis that the defendant had come in the store wearing only an undershirt, and that he had given him a shirt to put on.

Brenda Thompson, a former cook at Sonic, testified that she witnessed the armed robbery. She noted that it occurred on a Tuesday night, Land that they were busy that night because of a 99-cent burger special that Sonic was having. After the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. that night, Thompson, Thompson’s coworker, Mia Tyler, and the victim remained at the restaurant for another hour to clean the kitchen. She testified that the victim carried a handgun in a case because the restaurant had previously been robbed twice. As they exited the restaurant, with the victim carrying the deposit bags and the case that housed his gun, a man dressed in a black mask, shirt, and mask approached them, brandishing a handgun. The man demanded the money from the victim. The victim refused, and the man grabbed Tyler. Thompson fled the scene, headed toward Grace Episcopal Church. She heard two gunshots, and Tyler yell that the man was headed toward her. Thompson saw the man run past the church, and head toward the Byerley house, which she stated was across the street from the church. When she saw that the man was out of sight, she ran back to Sonic and found the victim with a single gunshot wound to his chest.

Mia Tyler, the other Sonic employee who witnessed the robbery, testified that the suspect was wearing all black and had a handgun in his possession. The suspect came up behind Tyler and grabbed her. The victim was able to remove his gun from its case. The suspect attempted to use Tyler as a shield, but Tyler was able to flip him over her and onto the ground. Tyler stated that the suspect sprang to his feet, and the suspect and victim shot at each other. The victim was struck by a [533]*533bullet, and the suspect was able to grab the deposit bag and flee the scene.

Terrance ■ Baker, the cashier at Uncle Darryl’s Mini Market, testified that the defendant came by the store at approximately 11:00 p.m. He stated |Bthat the store closed at 11:00 p.m., but that it sometimes stayed open after 11:00 p.m. if it was busy. He stated that the defendant “wasn’t himself.” Baker asked the defendant what was wrong and if he had been fighting. The defendant informed him that he had. Baker remembered that the defendant was wearing a tank top that night, and that the defendant asked him for a shirt. Baker gave him one of the shirts he was wearing, and the defendant left.

Sergeant Gregory J. Pleasant with the Louisiana State Police testified that this case was assigned to him. During the course of his investigation, Sergeant Pleasant developed a number of possible suspects, and was able to eliminate everyone but the defendant. After reading the defendant his Miranda rights, Sergeant Pleasant interviewed the defendant, and he noted that during the interview he felt that the defendant was “toying with him”:

[The defendant] would say, “I’ll tell you about it later,” you know, he started with, “I’ll tell you about it if you give me a cigarette.”

Sergeant Pleasant noted that the defendant never denied committing the crime. Pleasant did submit a hair sample from the defendant, but the DNA results had not been given at the time he transferred to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

James Branch, the defendant’s best friend in 2000, was in jail at the time the armed robbery took place. He testified that he had a friend, William Green, who worked at Sonic. Green informed him that Sonic was an “easy lick,” and closing time on Tuesdays is the best time to commit the robbery. Branch shared this information with the defendant. Branch also admitted | ñthat he had robbed this Sonic restaurant about a year before this armed robbery occurred.

While Branch was in jail in 2000, the defendant was taken into custody for a probation violation. Branch got the opportunity to speak with the defendant, and he testified that the defendant told him about the murder. The defendant explained that “the man wouldn’t give him [the defendant] the bag.” Branch did not come forward with this information until 2010.

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241 So. 3d 457 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
139 So. 3d 529, 2014 WL 1613650, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 1073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bowman-lactapp-2014.