State v. Bridgewater

726 So. 2d 987, 1998 WL 917314
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 16, 1998
Docket98-KA-658
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 726 So. 2d 987 (State v. Bridgewater) 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. Bridgewater, 726 So. 2d 987, 1998 WL 917314 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

726 So.2d 987 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Roy BRIDGEWATER.

No. 98-KA-658.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

December 16, 1998.

*988 Bruce G. Whittaker, Gretna, for Appellant.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Ellen S. Fantaci, Terry M. Boudreaux, Donald Rowan, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, for Appellee State of Louisiana.

Panel composed of Judges JAMES L. CANNELLA, MARION F. EDWARDS and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

CANNELLA, Judge.

Defendant, Roy Bridgewater, appeals from his conviction of two counts of armed robbery and one count of aggravated burglary. We affirm and remand.

On December 6, 1996, defendant and Lawrence Jacobs (Jacobs), were indicted by the Jefferson Parish Grand Jury on two counts of armed robbery, in violation of La.R.S. 14:64, and one count of aggravated burglary, in violation of La.R.S. 14:60(1) and (3).[1] On December 13, 1996, defendant was arraigned and pled not guilty to each count.

On August 19, 1997, defendant orally moved to reserve his right to file a motion to quash the indictment, which the trial court granted.[2] On August 22, 1997, defendant *989 filed a Motion to Quash the indictment on the ground that prosecution of the two counts of armed robbery and the single count of aggravated burglary violated the prohibition against double jeopardy. Following a hearing that was held on the same date, the trial judge denied the motion without stating his reasons. The defense objected to the trial court's ruling.

A jury trial was held on August 25 and 26, 1997. At the conclusion of the trial, the twelve member jury found defendant guilty as charged. On August 27, 1997, defendant filed motions for a new trial and post-judgment verdict of acquittal. Both motions were denied on October 3, 1997 and the defense objected to the ruling. On November 14, 1997, defendant was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment at hard labor on each count, to run concurrently. The trial judge specified that the two sentences for the two armed robbery convictions were to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

FACTS

The victims, Ghebreab Ghebreziabher (Mr. Ghebreziabher) and his wife, Aseghede Berhande (Mrs. Ghebreziabher), testified that at approximately 12:40 a.m. on October 25, 1996, Mr. Ghebreziabher was outside his home at 2908 Cardinal Drive in Marrero, Louisiana working on his car, which was parked in his driveway. Mrs. Ghebreziabher was standing nearby. Mr. Ghebreziabher stated that the defendant and another man approached him from behind, pointed their guns at him and ordered him to "[g]ive it up." Mr. Ghebreziabher handed the two men $132 which he had in his pocket, and pleaded with the men to take the money and to leave. However, the defendant told them to go inside their house. Mr. Ghebreziabher attempted to take the gun away from the defendant's companion, but the defendant told Mr. Ghebreziabher to let go of the gun. Mr. Ghebreziabher described the gun that defendant's companion carried as a "big gun." Mr. Ghebreziabher later described the gun as approximately one foot in length, but because he did not know what a shotgun looked like, he could not definitively state whether or not the gun was a shotgun.[3] According to Mr. Ghebreziabher the defendant told him that "[i]f you talk, if you got anything we'll blow your head."

On instructions of the perpetrators, they all went into the house. Once inside, the victims went into their living room, which was lit by a light bulb hanging from a ceiling fan. Both perpetrators could be seen clearly in the light. According to Mr. Ghebreziabher, as defendant's companion held his wife at gunpoint just two feet away, defendant told Mr. Ghebreziabher to "[g]ive it up ... [e]verything you got, give us." Mr. Ghebreziabher gave defendant his beeper and his watch. When defendant told Mr. Ghebreziabher to give him his wedding ring, Mr. Ghebreziabher tried to take his ring off, but he had trouble doing so. Mr. Ghebreziabher testified that defendant told him "[o]h, cut it from a(sic) hand, or I'll blow you. Take it off."[4] The two men then ordered Mrs. Ghebreziabher to give them all of her jewelry, so she gave them her bracelet. Mrs. Ghebreziabher pleaded with the men to let her keep her wedding ring, but defendant's companion told her to "[s]hut up, bitch," and hit her with his gun. Afterward, defendant ordered the victims into the master bedroom. As the group passed the kitchen, defendant grabbed the telephone and threw it away. When they reached the bedroom, defendant told the victims to lie down on the bed, while the two men searched through their belongings. Finally, defendant searched Mrs. Ghebreziabher's purse. When he found $300, he asked Mr. Ghebreziabher "[y]ou tell me you don't have it, what is this? ... What is this? Is this no money?"[5]

Mr. Ghebreziabher testified that defendant pointed a gun at him and that he thought that defendant was going to kill him because defendant told him "[y]ou die. No chance." Eventually, the two men asked the victims for the keys to their car. When defendant's companion was unable to find the car keys, he suggested to defendant that they kill the *990 victims. Mr. Ghebreziabher told the defendant's companion where to find the keys and they left the premises.[6]

A few days after the incident, Mr. Ghebreziabher was reading his newspaper and recognized pictures of the two perpetrators. He went to the police station and identified the photographs in the newspaper as the defendant and his companion. During the trial, Mr. Ghebreziabher again identified defendant as one of the robbers. When questioned, Mr. Ghebreziabher could not remember whether the two men wore gloves during the episode.

Mrs. Ghebreziabher also testified, corroborating her husband's testimony. However, she was unsure regarding the perpetrator's height and explained that she was not very good at judging a person's height. The defense presented the testimony of Officer Grey Thurman, of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. He testified that when Mr. Ghebreziabher arrived at the police station, he was carrying a newspaper clipping containing photographs of the defendant and Lawrence Jacobs. According to the officer, Mr. Ghebreziabher told him that the two men portrayed in the newspaper clipping were the two men that committed the crimes against him and his wife on October 25, 1996. Officer Thurman asked Mr. Ghebreziabher to sign and date the photographs contained in the newspaper clipping.

Thereafter, the officer showed Mr. Ghebreziabher two photographic lineups, each including photographs of six different individuals. One group of photographs included a picture of defendant and the other group included a picture of Lawrence Jacobs. Mr. Ghebreziabher positively identified both men as the perpetrators of the October 25, 1996 crimes. Officer Thurman admitted that he did not request Mr. Ghebreziabher to sign and date the photographs which he selected from the photographic lineup. The officer explained that he did not see a need to obtain Mr. Ghebreziabher's signature on the photographs that he selected from the photographic lineup because the victim had already identified, signed and dated the newspaper clipping that he had brought with him to the police station. Officer Thurman noted that Mrs. Ghebreziabher, who was also shown the photographic lineups, tentatively identified both men's pictures as the perpetrators. The officer did not have her sign and date the photographs because she was unable to make positive identifications.

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Bluebook (online)
726 So. 2d 987, 1998 WL 917314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bridgewater-lactapp-1998.