State v. Crochet

693 So. 2d 1300, 1997 WL 236292
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 9, 1997
Docket96 KA 1666
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 693 So. 2d 1300 (State v. Crochet) 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. Crochet, 693 So. 2d 1300, 1997 WL 236292 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

693 So.2d 1300 (1997)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Frank Paul CROCHET.

No. 96 KA 1666.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 9, 1997.

*1302 Douglas H. Greenburg, Juan W. Pickett, Office of District Attorney, Houma, for State of Louisiana.

James L. Alcock, Houma, for Defendant-Appellant Frank Paul Crochet.

Before CARTER, LeBLANC and PARRO, JJ.

PARRO, Judge.

The defendant, Frank Paul Crochet, was charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was found guilty as charged. The defendant received the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He has appealed, alleging four assignments of error,[1] as follows:

1. The trial court erred in denying the defense motion to exclude evidence of the sexual act occurring between the defendant and his spouse after the commission of the homicide.
2. The trial court erred in admitting the evidence of the prior bad acts by the defendant.
*1303 3. The trial court erred in allowing State Exhibits 22 and 23 to be introduced into evidence.
4. The trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal.

FACTS

The defendant and his ex-wife, Gail Crochet, physically separated in September 1994. A divorce proceeding was filed on November 3, 1994. While waiting for the divorce to become final, the parties agreed that Mrs. Crochet would live in their home at 3907 Country Drive in Bourg, Louisiana. The defendant moved into his father's house in Montegut, Louisiana.

In February 1995, Mrs. Crochet met the victim, Ferris Tastet, and they began dating. On the night of March 1, 1995, the defendant came to the house and knocked on the door. When Mrs. Crochet answered the door, the defendant asked her for some income tax papers. Mrs. Crochet explained that she had not signed the papers and asked the defendant to come back later because she had company. The victim's white pickup truck was parked right outside the front door. Although the defendant left, he returned shortly thereafter and again knocked on the door. Before leaving, the defendant struck or pushed Mrs. Crochet with sufficient force to leave bruises on her upper body.

In a telephone call the following day, the defendant apologized to Mrs. Crochet. She warned the defendant that the victim was not going to allow the defendant to physically abuse her any more.

Late on the night of March 3, 1995, the defendant drove by the house and observed the victim's truck parked outside. During the early morning hours of March 4, the defendant drove to the house, armed with a shotgun and some shells. Before exiting his truck, he loaded the shotgun. The defendant disabled the telephone wires, broke a windowpane in the carport window, and entered the house. He walked through the house, located the bedroom where the victim and Mrs. Crochet were sleeping, and turned on the light. The defendant shot the victim three times at close range, despite Mrs. Crochet's pleas and attempts to stop the defendant. According to Mrs. Crochet, after the shooting the defendant stated: "Well, I got this one, but I won't be around to get the next one." Shortly thereafter, the defendant looked at the victim and told Mrs. Crochet: "Well, he can't beat my ass now, can he?"

After the shooting, Mrs. Crochet kept asking the defendant to call an ambulance. The defendant informed her that the telephone would not work. As the victim lay dying, the defendant stood there looking at him and waiting for him to die, while tapping the butt of the shotgun on the floor. The defendant decided that Mrs. Crochet should drive him to the police station. However, as Mrs. Crochet was getting dressed, the defendant changed his mind and forced her to engage in oral sex with him. Mrs. Crochet eventually called the police by using the telephone in her car. Meanwhile, the defendant disassembled the shotgun and placed it in a box in the backyard. When the police arrived, the defendant surrendered without a struggle.

The divorce between the defendant and Mrs. Crochet became final on August 18, 1995.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND TWO

In these assignments of error, the defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine and in granting the State's Prieur motion, which resulted in evidence of other crimes/prior bad acts being introduced at the trial.

Generally, evidence of criminal offenses other than the offense being tried is inadmissible as substantive evidence because of the substantial risk of grave prejudice to the defendant. State v. McDermitt, 406 So.2d 195, 200 (La.1981). In order to avoid the unfair inference that a defendant committed a particular crime simply because he is a person of criminal character, other crimes evidence is inadmissible unless it has an independent relevancy besides simply showing a criminal disposition. State v. Lafleur, 398 So.2d 1074, 1080 (La.1981).

LSA-C.E. art. 404(B)(1) provides:

*1304 Except as provided in Article 412, evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident, provided that upon request by the accused, the prosecution in a criminal case shall provide reasonable notice in advance of trial, of the nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce at trial for such purposes, or when it relates to conduct that constitutes an integral part of the act or transaction that is the subject of the present proceeding.

Comment (m) to Article 404(B)(1) provides:

The phrase "or when it relates to conduct which constitutes an integral part of the act or transaction that is the subject of the present proceeding" has been added to the matters listed in Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) as a substitute for the ambiguous phrase "res gestae" used in former R.S. 15:447-448.

The focus of the first assignment of error is the act of oral sex between the defendant and Mrs. Crochet which occurred shortly after the shooting. The defendant filed a pretrial motion in limine, alleging the sex act was unrelated to the shooting and highly prejudicial. The State responded with a memorandum, taking the position that the sex act immediately followed the shooting and, therefore, was a part of the res gestae. The State further contended the act of oral sex was relevant to counter a possible defense that the shooting occurred while the defendant was acting in the heat of passion. The minutes indicate that, after a hearing on February 28, 1996, the trial court denied this motion in limine, determining that the sex act following the shooting was a part of the res gestae and was admissible at the trial.

We find no error in the trial court's ruling denying this motion in limine. The State was not required to give notice to the defense of its intent to use other crimes evidence when such evidence was a part of the res gestae. State v. Hall, 558 So.2d 1186, 1189 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 564 So.2d 318 (La.1990).

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Bluebook (online)
693 So. 2d 1300, 1997 WL 236292, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-crochet-lactapp-1997.