State v. Cerda-Anima

119 So. 3d 751, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 682, 2013 WL 2350432, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1062
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 30, 2013
DocketNo. 12-KA-682
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 119 So. 3d 751 (State v. Cerda-Anima) 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. Cerda-Anima, 119 So. 3d 751, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 682, 2013 WL 2350432, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1062 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, Judge.

| ^Defendant, Edmundo Cerda-Anima, appeals his conviction for second degree murder. In his first assignment of error, defendant argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. In his second assignment, defendant argues that the trial court erred when it refused to give the jury his proposed instruction. For the following reasons, we find both of defendant’s assignments to be without merit and therefore affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

At approximately 8:45 p.m. on May 22, 2006, the victim, her son R.L., and two of her son’s friends, drove to Lafreniere Park to exercise.1 Shortly before 9:00 p.m., [753]*753they arrived at the park. R.L. planned to jog with his Mends while his mother walked, and to call her on her cell phone when they finished. R.L. and his Mends stretched for about five minutes while the victim began walking. Soon after starting their jog, they passed up the victim, where R.L. patted his mother on |3the back, and told her they would see her soon. That was the last time R.L. saw his mother alive.

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the park had several dark spots, where the lighting was out. At approximately 9:30 p.m., park ranger William Rowell, Jr. began his closing procedures whereby he checked and locked the restrooms, locked the West Napoleon gate, and then locked the walk-in gates. Lafreniere Park closed at 9:45 p.m. While going through these closing procedures, the ranger noticed a white SUV exiting the park by the Downs Boulevard gate. The driver’s side rear tire was blown out and the vehicle was travelling at approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour. The vehicle was not swerving. Ranger Rowell also noticed another vehicle in the park in which three men were seated. He stopped this vehicle, and discovered that its driver, R.L., was looking for his mother. Ranger Rowell assisted R.L. in looking for his mother and when they could not find her, he called 911. Outside of Lafreniere Park that night, several other witnesses observed the white SUV, a Ford Expedition.

Deputy Michael Nicolini, who at the time was an officer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, was working a night shift that night from 9:80 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Earlier that day, a New Orleans police officer had been shot, so Deputy Nicolini and some of his fellow officers decided to buy food and drink for officers keeping watch at the hospital. At approximately 9:45 p.m., Deputy Nicolini obtained provisions from the Brother’s Food Mart located just outside Lafreniere Park on Downs Boulevard. After Deputy Nicolini had made his purchases and as he was preparing to leave the store, his attention was drawn to a loud slapping noise from Downs Boulevard. Looking in that direction, the deputy determined the noise was coming from a white Ford Expedition exiting Lafreniere Park with rubber from its blown out tire slapping against its side. As the vehicle proceeded |4at about 10 miles per hour, Deputy Nicolini focused on the driver, whose window was down, for about 10 to 15 seconds. The vehicle then turned into the food mart’s parking lot.

Once in the well-illuminated parking lot, Deputy Nicolini continued to observe the driver of the vehicle. He looked at the driver’s face, who returned the officer’s gaze. Deputy Nicolini, who has specialized knowledge, training, and experience with DWI detection, observed nothing to indicate that the driver was intoxicated. Further, Deputy Nicolini did not observe the driver make any traffic violations. Based on his observation of the driver, the deputy determined that the driver was an able-bodied male who was perfectly capable of changing a flat tire. Assuming the driver had pulled into the lot to change the tire, Deputy Nicolini left the store and proceeded to the hospital. Deputy Nicoli-ni identified the driver of this vehicle as defendant both from a photographic lineup he was shown on May 24, 2006, and then again at trial.

Around 10:00 or 10:15 p.m. that night, Paul Sahuque, who resided at 6709 Made-wood Drive around the corner from the Downs Boulevard entrance to Lafreniere Park, was standing outside his residence smoking a cigarette when he heard a loud [754]*754noise that sounded like metal rubbing against the ground. As he looked in the direction of the noise, he observed a white Ford Expedition travelling at about 30 to 40 miles per hour down Wytchwood Drive. Mr. Sahuque noticed its rear rim on the driver’s side was rubbing the ground and sending off sparks. Despite the speed at which the vehicle was travelling, Mr. Sa-huque observed that the driver was nonetheless able to maintain control of the vehicle. It did not swerve nor strike any other vehicles in the road.

Johnny Rivers owns an auto detailing shop on David Drive which abuts Lafreni-ere Park. His shop is equipped with security cameras that record 24 hours a |sday. A video recording from 10:11 p.m. that night shows a white Ford Expedition, with a flat tire on its driver’s side rear, travel-ling down York Street towards David Drive.

Around that time, Shannon Alvarez, who lived at 8605 Dumonte Street not far from Lafreniere Park, had left work at 10:00 p.m. and was on her way home. At a red light on West Napoleon Avenue and David Drive, she witnessed a white Ford Expedition pass in front of her on David Drive heading south towards Airline Drive. Ms. Alvarez’s attention was drawn to the vehicle because the driver’s side rear tire was blown out and it was making a “clanking noise” on the pavement. Ms. Alvarez noticed that the vehicle had its hazard lights on and estimated that the vehicle was trav-elling 80 to 85 miles per hour. When the light turned green, Ms. Alvarez turned onto David Drive behind the vehicle. Travelling about a car length behind the vehicle, she observed that despite the blown out tire, the vehicle was being operated normally and it was not swerving. From David Drive, the vehicle turned right onto Lynnette Drive. As this was her route home, Ms. Alvarez made the same turn. From Lynette, Ms. Alvarez observed the vehicle turn right onto a dark and isolated canal embankment overgrown with grass. Ms. Alvarez stopped near this canal embankment to see if the driver needed to use her cell phone to get help to change the shredded tire. After a few seconds however, she left and proceeded home. At trial, Ms. Alvarez matched the vehicle she observed that night to defendant’s white Ford Expedition.

Early the next morning at the same canal embankment, the victim’s body was discovered. Her body was nude and in a prone position. The body had no noticeable signs of trauma except that blood and fluid were present around her mouth. Pebbles, gravel matter, and impressions or indentations were present on her back; and ants were on the victim’s face, mouth, anal and vaginal areas. The | ^impressions or indentations in the victim’s back led Captain Buras, who participated in the investigation at the scene, to believe that the body at one point was in a supine position. Several shoe and tire impressions were observed in the dirt and gravel near the victim’s body. Also found near the victim’s body were pants, underwear, and a right shoe. The pants had a grass stain on the back and were missing a button. At defendant’s trial, Captain Bu-ras testified that this scene indicated the victim’s death was not an accident.

The investigation at Lafreniere Park yielded various pieces of evidence including: a gray button; a left shoe; a shirt and a bra; and the victim’s cell phone and its battery.

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Related

Temple v. Vannoy
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Bluebook (online)
119 So. 3d 751, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 682, 2013 WL 2350432, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cerda-anima-lactapp-2013.