State v. Crossley

653 So. 2d 631, 1995 WL 107083
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 15, 1995
Docket94-KA-965
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 653 So. 2d 631 (State v. Crossley) 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. Crossley, 653 So. 2d 631, 1995 WL 107083 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

653 So.2d 631 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Ellzey CROSSLEY.

No. 94-KA-965.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 15, 1995.

*632 Wiley J. Beevers, Lawrence B. Hoffing, Gretna, for appellant Elizey Crossley.

John M. Mamoulides, Dist. Atty., Parish of Jefferson, Terry M. Boudreaux, Asst. Dist. Atty., Research & Appeals, Courthouse Annex, Gretna, for appellee State.

Before KLIEBERT, DUFRESNE and CANNELLA, JJ.

CANNELLA, Judge.

Defendant, Ellzey Crossley, appeals from his conviction of second degree murder. Thereafter, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without probation, parole or suspension of sentence. We affirm the conviction, amend the sentence to give credit for time served and remand.

*633 On August 5, 1993, defendant was charged by indictment with the second degree murder of Allison Cason, a violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant was arraigned and pled not guilty on September 3, 1993. The first two trials ended in mistrials on March 3, 1994 and May 12, 1994. The third trial by jury took place on August 23, 1994 through August 25, 1994. The jury found him guilty as charged on August 25, 1994. On September 9, 1994 the trial judge sentenced him to a mandatory life term of imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

The evidence that came out at trial was that, on July 16, 1993, Jefferson Parish deputies responded to a call from a man who stated he had shot his girlfriend. When the deputies arrived at the apartment of Allison Cason, they found defendant calmly standing outside of the apartment, smoking a cigarette. The dead body of the victim was found lying in her bedroom, face down in a pool of blood. Defendant, who appeared coherent, was detained and advised of his rights.

Defendant gave a statement that he had an argument with the victim, who was his girlfriend for about four years. He stated that she had four children, two of which were his. He said that she had been staying in a care center (for the homeless) where the custodians were allegedly keeping her money. He said that the victim had a recently rehabilitated drug habit. Defendant stated that he was moving the victim into an apartment on the day of the shooting. An argument about money arose during the day. He took the victim to her sister's house to get some money which she supposedly owed the victim. The arguing continued and he slapped her when she got into the car to return to the apartment. She got out of the car and he left to go to his house. Defendant stated that later in the evening, around 10:30 p.m., he returned to the apartment. The children were sleeping at that time. Prior to returning to the apartment, he had two beers. When he arrived, defendant stated that he went into the bedroom of the apartment and confronted the victim about her spending all her money. He stated that he slapped and punched her and they both fell on the bed. He stated that as she fell to the bed he removed his gun from his waist belt and "slapped her upside the head" with his gun twice. He claimed that the second time he struck, the gun fired accidentally, striking the victim in the head. Defendant was certain she was dead, so he drove to a nearby convenience store to use the pay telephone to call the police.

At trial, Deputy Alex Norman, one of the first officers at the scene, testified that when he arrived, defendant was cooperative, was not crying and did not appear remorseful when he gave his statement about the shooting. Deputy Norman stated that defendant did not appear to be intoxicated, impaired or on medication. The deputy admitted he did not ask defendant if he had taken medication, consumed alcohol or if the shooting was accidental.

The investigating officer, Detective Alvis West, testified that defendant did not appear intoxicated or remorseful shortly after the murder. Also, the detective did not smell any alcohol on defendant's breath. Detective West testified that defendant was coherent and expressed concerns about the effect the shooting would have on his employment. The detective admitted that he did not ask defendant if he was on any medication. Although defendant stated he had two beers to drink, Detective West said he did not see any indication that defendant was taking narcotic drugs.

The victim's sister, Ada Stewart, testified that the victim and defendant came to her home the evening of the shooting. She stated that defendant was edgy and rude. The victim asked for money, but Ms. Stewart refused to give it to her. Ms. Stewart claimed that defendant was not happy about this refusal and left her home without his girlfriend. Ms. Stewart said that she later drove her sister home. Ms. Stewart also testified that she arrived at the scene of the shooting after the police and saw her sister's body.

The victim's thirteen year old son testified that he heard defendant and his mother arguing about money on the evening of the shooting, but that he and his siblings were *634 asleep in the apartment when it occurred. The child also claimed that defendant had come back to the apartment earlier when his mother was not home, that defendant was carrying a gun in his hand at that time and left when he discovered that the victim was not there.

A neighbor, Jacqueline Foster, testified that between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. on the night of the shooting, she heard a woman screaming "stop" in the victim's apartment. She said that the scream did not sound like a woman correcting children. Ms. Foster stated that it sounded as though the woman was begging someone to stop doing "something", but she could not identify that person.

Dr. Susan Garcia, a forensic pathologist with the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office, testified that the victim's death was due to a gunshot wound to the head. She stated that examination of the wound showed that when the shot was fired from the gun, the muzzle was pressed directly and with pressure against the skin. It was not barely touching the skin, nor was it sideways to the victim's head when it discharged. Additionally, she did not find any other injury to the victim's face, including injuries consistent with being slapped, as defendant had indicated in his statement to the police.

Deputy Bodet, the intake booking officer who processed all incoming arrestees at the jail, was called by the State. He stated that during booking defendant denied taking any medication and that defendant signed the intake questionnaire reflecting the fact that defendant stated he was not taking any medications. On cross-examination, it was pointed out that numerous questions on the document were not completed.

Louise Walzer, a firearms examiner with the Jefferson Parish Crime Laboratory, was qualified as an expert in firearms. She testified that numerous tests were conducted on the gun which was used to shoot the victim. The tests showed that the weapon was a single action AMT backup .380 with two safety controls. Walzer stated that this weapon cannot fire without the trigger being pulled. She found no mechanical accidental discharges, but could not rule out that the shooting was a result of a "human accidental discharge."

The defense called Louis Theriot, a former sheriff's deputy, who repairs firearms and owns a shooting range. He was also qualified as an expert in firearms. He stated that the gun in evidence was "hard to handle". According to Theriot, "in the hands of an inexperienced operator ... [the gun was] prone to accidental discharges." However, he did not find any mechanical defects in the weapon.

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Bluebook (online)
653 So. 2d 631, 1995 WL 107083, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-crossley-lactapp-1995.