State v. Fisher

626 So. 2d 548, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 3362, 1993 WL 452749
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 3, 1993
DocketNo. CR93-311
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 626 So. 2d 548 (State v. Fisher) 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. Fisher, 626 So. 2d 548, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 3362, 1993 WL 452749 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

KNOLL, Judge.

Defendant, Robert Wayne Fisher, appeals his jury conviction for second-degree murder, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. The murder victim was defendant’s wife, Tamara. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Defendant appeals his conviction, relying on five assignments of error.

FACTS

Since defendant raises an assignment of error involving an extensive review of the facts, we will only briefly sketch the facts at this point.

During the evening of August 27, 1987, defendant and his wife, Tamara, came into their home after spending time around their backyard pool and retired to the kitchen area. Defendant sat at a table in the kitchen, and Tamara sat on a bar stool at a counter which separated the kitchen from the dining area. Tamara’s two children from a previous marriage, a son eleven years of age and a daughter six years of age, had earlier been sent to bed for the night; although they had separate rooms, the children were both sleeping in the boy’s room located not too far away from the kitchen area.

Tamara’s son testified that he heard a disagreement between his mother and defendant about some photographs. Then he heard three gunshots and saw defendant walking down the hall, carrying a gun at his side. Defendant testified that Tamara told him, “You’re going to pay for this, you son-of-a-biteh, I’m gonna get you.” In response to Tamara’s statement, defendant stated that he rolled his chair to the china cabinet, about four feet away, grabbed a nine millimeter Luger located there, released the safety, and shot his wife twice in the chest and once in the abdomen.

Following the homicide, defendant placed numerous firearms in his automobile and then brought his wife’s two children to their [550]*550maternal grandmother. Afterwards, defendant drove to the Lake Charles Police Department and told Detective Eric Claudel, “Don’t be alarmed. I just shot my wife.”

DENIAL OF DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS

Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it failed to suppress inculpatory statements he made to police officers after the shooting and that the results of a physical search of his house and automobile should have been suppressed. He argues that notwithstanding his invocation of his right to counsel, the police officers engaged him in conversation which caused him to make statements against his interest.

In State v. Ross, 572 So.2d 238, 240 (La.App. 1st Cir.1990), the First Circuit stated:

“The statements of an accused, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, when made during a custodial interrogation, should be suppressed unless the accused is first advised of, and subsequently waives, his right to remain silent and his right to counsel. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), U.S. Const. Amend. V, VI, La. Const, art. I, Section 13. When an accused asserts his right to counsel, the police must scrupulously honor the invocation of the right and interrogation must cease. State v. Harper, 430 So.2d 627, 633 (La.1983); State v. Campbell, 461 So.2d 644, 648 (La.App. 1st Cir.1984), writ denied, 466 So.2d 1299 (La.1985).
An accused, having expressed his desire to deal with the police only through counsel, is not subject to further interrogation by the authorities until counsel has been made available to him, unless the accused himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police. Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981); State v. Arceneaux, 425 So.2d 740, 744 (La.1983); State v. Campbell, 461 So.2d at 648. Furthermore, even when the accused initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversation with the police, and reinterrogation follows, the prosecution still has the burden of showing that subsequent events indicated a waiver of the Fifth Amendment right to have counsel present during the interrogation. Oregon v. Bradshaw, 462 U.S. 1039, 1045, 103 S.Ct. 2830, 2834, 77 L.Ed.2d 405 (1983); State v. Carr, 530 So.2d 579, 587 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 533 So.2d 354 (La.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1098, 109 S.Ct. 1573, 103 L.Ed.2d 939 (1989).”

After bringing the victim’s two children to their maternal grandmother, defendant drove to the Lake Charles Police Department and requested to speak to a detective. In response to defendant’s request, he was sent to the desk of Detective Eric Claudel. Detective Claudel testified that, without initiating any questions, defendant stated that he had just killed his wife. The detective and two other officers then searched defendant for weapons and read him a statement of his constitutional rights. Defendant signed an acknowledgement that he was read his rights, but chose not to sign a waiver of his rights.

The record shows that the city police did not interrogate defendant. Nevertheless, the police officers stated that defendant voluntarily told them that his original intent was to engage the police in a gun fight, hoping not to survive and thus obviating imprisonment.

Since the crime to which defendant confessed did not occur within the jurisdiction of the city police, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office was contacted and defendant was voluntarily transported to the crime scene. Calcasieu Parish Deputy Sidney Rosteet testified that he re-advised defendant of his constitutional rights at the crime scene. In recognition of this defendant signed a form stating that he understood his rights, but that he chose not to make a statement until an attorney was present. Deputy Rosteet’s testimony was that he did not interrogate defendant while they were together at the crime scene. Even though there was no interrogation, several parish officers and Detective Claudel testified that defendant again repeated that his original plans were to have had a gun fight with the police.

Deputy Lucky DeLouche testified that at the crime scene he sought defendant’s per[551]*551mission to search the house and defendant’s automobile. Defendant told him that he understood his constitutional rights, that he was willing to cooperate, but that he did not want to sign any waiver forms. Later, as Deputy DeLouche prepared the arrest report, defendant voluntarily gave him two rounds of ammunition which he had in his pocket.

Deputy Keith Skeen stated that he guarded defendant at the crime scene. He corroborated the other officer’s testimony regarding defendant’s voluntary statements about the crime and his intentions to engage the officers in a gun fight afterwards. He further stated that none of the police officers interrogated defendant at the crime scene.

After processing the crime scene, Deputy Rosteet retened defendant by automobile to the city police station. En route, Deputy Rosteet told the defendant that he knew the victim and her mother. Defendant responded by telling him that he was sorry that the deputy knew the victim; he also stated that he and the victim were trying a reconciliation after a physical separation; and that the last straw was the victim’s statement to him that she was going to get part of his Halliburton retirement fund.

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Related

State v. Burmaster
710 So. 2d 274 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Reeves
696 So. 2d 226 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
626 So. 2d 548, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 3362, 1993 WL 452749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fisher-lactapp-1993.