State v. Bradley

99 So. 3d 1099, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1060, 2012 WL 4373242, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1221
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 25, 2012·No. No. 11-KA-1060·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Judge.

pMack A. Bradley appeals his conviction of one count of second degree murder. We affirm, for the reasons that follow.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On March 6, 2008, Mack A. Bradley was indicted by a Jefferson Parish grand jury for the second degree murder of Derrick Williams on May 3, 2006, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. The defendant was arraigned on March 7, 2008, and pleaded not guilty. He filed various pre-trial motions, including motions to suppress identification, to suppress evidence, and to suppress confession, and a motion to quash, all of which were denied. The trial was held on March 23-25, 2011, and the twelve-member jury found the defendant guilty as charged.

The defendant filed a motion for new trial, which was denied on April 18, 2011. On that same date, the trial court sentenced the defendant to imprisonment at hard labor for life, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The defendant now timely appeals his conviction.

FACTS

Dr. Karen Ross, á forensic pathologist with the Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office, testified she performed the autopsy on Derrick Williams. Dr. Ross testified |3that the cause of Williams’ death was multiple gunshot wounds, numbering eight, and the manner of death was homicide.

Jeffery Rodrigue, a homicide detective with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, testified he was the case detective assigned to investigate the homicide of Derrick Williams. He testified that on May 3, 2006, he arrived at the scene of the crime, 320 Upland Street in River Ridge, and conducted several interviews with various witnesses.

Detective Rodrigue spoke first to Ruth Keys, who was at her mother’s house across the street from where the crime occurred. Keys testified she saw two people exit a vehicle and chase the victim around the back of a house located at 320 Upland, then she heard several gunshots. Keys described the vehicle as a maroon-colored four-door vehicle, with the last three digits of the license plate bearing numbers “198.” She described the driver of the vehicle as a male in his twenties, approximately six feet tall, with his hair in short “twists” (dreadlocks), wearing a white t-shirt. She said the passenger of [1102] the vehicle was older than the driver, short and stocky, wearing a white t-shirt and holding a handgun.

Detective Rodrigue said he was unable to locate any suspects or a red vehicle matching the descriptions provided at that time. After concluding the on-scene investigation, Detective Rodrigue returned to the detective bureau, where he received several back-to-back phone calls from anonymous callers who provided information about the homicide on Upland Street.

The first caller stated that the person responsible for the homicide was an individual by the name of “Duck.” The two subsequent calls, which sounded as if |4they were from the same person as the first call, informed the detective that the vehicle involved in the shooting was a red Honda Accord.1

Upon learning this information, Detective Rodrigue conducted a computer records check, which revealed that a man by the name of Mack Bradley (the defendant) used the nickname “Duck,” and had listed a former address of 525 Richard Street, located approximately one block from the homicide. According to Detective Ro-drigue, the defendant also fit the physical description of the vehicle’s passenger provided by eyewitness Keys.

The day after the murder, Detective Ro-drigue and Sergeant Eddie Klein met with Keys at her home and presented her with a six-person photographic lineup compiled using the AFIS system and containing the defendant’s picture. Detective Rodrigue made a positive in-court identification of the defendant as Mack Bradley, the individual identified as having the nickname “Duck.”

When Keys was presented with the photographic lineup, Detective Rodrigue testified that she cried, became upset, and declined to make an identification. Keys, who lived in the same neighborhood where the homicide occurred, chose not to cooperate any further in the investigation.

Subsequently, Detective Rodrigue obtained a second lead through Deputy Lester Wilson. Deputy Wilson informed Detective Rodrigue he had been approached during his airport detail by a woman who advised him that a female by the name of K.K. might have information about the homicide.2 Detective Rodrigue met with K.K., who also lived in the same neighborhood as the defendant, approximately 10 or 12 days after the incident. During the interview he learned | ¡¡that she was present at the scene when the homicide occurred. K.K. was shown three photographic lineups, one of which contained the defendant. K.K. appeared “very scared” and refused to make an identification, but informed Detective Rodrigue that the suspect was in one of the lineups. During the interview, K.K. also described the suspect as wearing green clothing on the night of the homicide. On cross-examination, however, Detective Rodrigue testified that Keys had described the suspect’s clothing as a white t-shirt.

Detective Rodrigue testified that three photographic lineups were used because three suspects had been developed during [1103] the course of the investigation: the defendant, Damien Roby, and Chad Samuels. In one anonymous call, Chad Samuels was identified as being with “Duck” at the time of the murder, and in a subsequent anonymous call, Damien Roby was identified as the individual seen with “Duck” at the time of the murder.

During the course of his interview with K.K., Detective Rodrigue learned that another female by the name of A.J. was with K.K. at the time of the homicide, and was also an eyewitness.3

Detective Rodrigue met with A.J. and presented her with the same three photographic lineups. Detective Rodrigue testified that A.J. did not recognize anyone in the photographic lineup containing Damien Roby; and that she recognized Chad Sam-uels, who was depicted in one of the other photographic lineups, from the neighborhood. However, she advised Detective Ro-drigue that Chad Samuels was not present on the day of the murder. A.J. made a positive identification of the defendant as the murder suspect. On cross-examination, Detective Rodrigue testified that A.J. was interviewed and made the identification on June 23, 2006, approximately six weeks after the murder.

| P,During her interview, A.J. also identified the vehicle she observed the perpetrators in as silver in color. After speaking with A.J., Detective Rodrigue obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant.

Detective Rodrigue testified that when individuals are presented with a photographic lineup, they are asked whether they recognize any of the individuals in the lineup. If they do, they are then asked where they recognize that person from. Detective Rodrigue testified that he utilized this procedure with A.J. and K.K., and did not tell them that the suspect was in the lineup, did not promise them anything in exchange for their identification, and did not threaten them to make an identification.

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State v. Bradley, 99 So. 3d 1099, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1060, 2012 WL 4373242, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1221 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

99 So. 3d 1099 (State v. Bradley) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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