State v. Brandon

198 So. 3d 140, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1206, 2016 WL 3415515
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 22, 2016
DocketNo. 50,680-KA
StatusPublished

This text of 198 So. 3d 140 (State v. Brandon) 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. Brandon, 198 So. 3d 140, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1206, 2016 WL 3415515 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

PITMAN, J.

| defendant Dalduran J. Brandon was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He now appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS'

In the early morning hours of February 18, 2014, Defendant, Martavia King and Malcolm Hall broke into the residence of 79-year-old Nathaniel Cash in Gloster, Louisiana. A struggle ensued and Defendant held Mr. Cash in a chokehold while Hall wrestled a gun from him and tied his hands behind.his back. During the struggle, Mr. Cash’s spine was fractured. The men ransacked the house and left with the gun and some coins. Due to the stress of the home invasion, Mr. Cash suffered a heart attack and died.

Defendant was ultimately charged by an amended bill of indictment with second degree murder.1 The jury trial was conducted on September 14-17, 2015. The following facts were gleaned from the witnesses’ testimony:

Nancy Clark, who is Mr. Cash’s next-door neighbor, testified that, on February 18, 2014, as she left for work at- about 6:00 a.m., she noticed that a door to the victim’s house was open. She attempted to call Mr. Cash on the telephone; but, when he did not answer, she . called his daughter, Patricia Smith, and told her about the open door to her father’s house.

|2Ms. Smith testified that she is the victim’s daughter and that .Ms. Clark called her on the morning of February 18, 2014, and told her that the door to her father’s house was open. She attempted to call him three times, but he did not .answer. [142]*142She then went oyér to his home about 8:45 a.m., entering through the laundry room door and through to the living room. Nothing appeared to be out of place; however, when she went to the middle bedroom, she observed that the house had been ransacked. The mattress 'was thrown off the bed, the television was on the floor-and all of the furniture drawers were open. She found the victim lying face up on the floor near the bed of the back bedroom. He was wearing white boxer shorts and a white T-shirt. She left the house, went next door 'and called 911. She also: testified that her father was -79 years old at the time of his death.

Deputy Jacques Burton of the DeSoto Parish Sheriffs Office was the first officer on the scene. ' He testified that, when he arrived at the victim’s .house, he noticed that a: window in the carport was broken and a door was open. He noted that the path from the bathroom area, where the broken window and open door were located, through the living room, was not in disarray; however, the bedrooms, located in the back of the house, had been ransacked. He stated that the victim was found in the back bedroom, and it appeared that his handswere tied behind his back and a black rope was draped around his thigh area. .

Sergeant- Adam Jones of the DeSoto Parish Sheriffs Office testified that he was the crime scene investigator and that he took multiple photographs of the scene, which he identified as the exterior of the house; lathe carport area with the open door and broken window with broken glass on the floor. inside; the interior of the house where everything was in place; and the two bedrooms, which had been ransacked. He identified the photographs of the victim which showed him lying on the floor on the side of the bed with his hands bound behind his back with a black nylon rope. There was- a 15-inch metal “rod bracket” located on the floor next to the victim. He further testified that the metal rod had two holes in one portion and was curved at a 90-degree angle at one end. This metal bar .and the black rope which tied the victim’s hands were admitted into evidence..

Sgt. Jones also testified that he took photographs of Malcolm Hall, who was later identified as a suspect. The photos show that Hall, who was shirtless, had cuts on his back and right arm, which were bonsistent with someone -who might have climbed through the broken window. DNA swabs.were taken from items and locations in the home. Photos were taken of Hall’s parents’ house, which is next door to the victim’s house. He stated that a Sgt. Parker, who was assisting in the investigation, had received information that Defendant and' other suspects had been hanging out and drinking in the intersection directly across the street from the victim’s house on the evening of the crime and that photos were taken of that intersection. He also photographed a white Buick Lucerne which belonged to Defendant’s mother, Vera Young, and in which Defendant had been seen the night of the crime.

Tiffany Stanford, the victim’s granddaughter, testified that she lived on Glen Road, “right up the street,” within a half mile from the victim, and 14that, on February 17, 2014, she saw a white car, the Buick Lucerne, at the end of Glen Road around 11:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. She stated that there were three men in the car and that she had -recognized Hall, but'did not recognize the other men.

Jacolbey Pouncy, the victim’s nephew, testified that he lived in the area by the victim’s, house and knew Defendant from school. He stated that he saw Defendant in a white car, the Buick Lucerne, in the [143]*143neighborhood on February 17, 2014. He also saw the white car that night, around 11:00 to 11:30 p.m., parked in a driveway down the street from the victim’s house.

Martavia King, who is a codefendant in this case, pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to '40 years at hard labor. As part of the plea bargain agreement, he agreed to testify against Defendant.

King testified that, in the early evening hours of February 17, 2014, Defendant picked him up from his house in a white Buick. They went to Kickapoo Corner Store to get cigarettes and then to: Hall’s house so Hall could cut their hair. After the haircuts, the three men drove ■ to Shreveport to get some cocaine. King stated that first Hall, and then he, snorted the cocaine. They ran out of cocaine and made several trips to purchase more. Defendant did not have money to buy the cocaine, but he participated in snorting it.

King further testified that, by the time they returned to Gloster, it was late evening. On their way back to Gloster, Hall asked them if they wanted to “hit a lick,” which he explained meant to rob someone. He stated that Defendant agreed to the suggestion that they rob Mr. Nathanial’s (Cash’s) Rhouse. The plan was that someone (Hall) would knock on the door, someone (Defendant) would hold him down and someone would search the house.

King also testified that they parked the ear, walked to Mr. Cash’s house and then checked the shed behind his house. Hall took the black nylon rope-and the metal bar from that shed. He stated that they walked around the house and that Hall and Defendant knocked on doors and windows. When nobody answered, Hall used the metal bar to break a window in the carport and then crawled through .the window into the house. He and Defendant followed.

King further testified" that, when he got to the bedroom in the back of the house, he saw Hall wrestling with the victim -in an attempt to get a gun out of his hand, while Defendant had the victim in a chokehold from behind. He stated that Hall and Defendant were yelling, “Where the money at.” He told them to stop; but, when Hall was able to wrest the gun from the victim, he pointed the gun at him, ordering him to search the house, He went into the bathroom and began opening the cabinets.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
198 So. 3d 140, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1206, 2016 WL 3415515, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brandon-lactapp-2016.