State v. Frith

151 So. 3d 946, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1133, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 3143, 2014 WL 5379332
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 22, 2014
DocketNo. 2013-KA-1133
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 151 So. 3d 946 (State v. Frith) 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. Frith, 151 So. 3d 946, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1133, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 3143, 2014 WL 5379332 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

JAMES F. McKAY, III, Chief Judge.

|, Finding that the trial court committed reversible error in denying the appellant’s statutory right to back strike jurors we reverse the appellant’s conviction, vacate his sentence and remand the matter to the trial court for a new trial. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 799.1

STATEMENT OF CASE

On December 2, 2011, the State charged Raymond Frith (“defendant”) with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon (count 1), a violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine (count 2), a violation of La. R.S. 40:967. The defendant pled not guilty to both charges at his arraignment on December 8, 2011.

On January 13, 2012, the trial court denied the defense motion to suppress the evidence and found probable cause to hold the defendant for trial. On September 10, 2012, the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the identification.

li>On August 1, 2012, the State filed a State v. Prieur1 notice notifying the defense of its intent to introduce evidence of the defendant’s three prior convictions — a 2007 conviction for distribution of cocaine; a 2008 conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and a 2009 conviction for attempted possession of a firearm by a felon. On August 14, 2012, the trial court ruled that the State’s Prieur notice was sufficient. The defendant sought supervisory review of that ruling, and this Court denied the writ in part, affirming the trial court’s ruling admitting evidence of the defendant’s 2007 and 2008 drug [948]*948convictions but granted the writ as to the defendant’s 2009 conviction for attempted possession of a firearm by a felon, ruling that that conviction “[was] not relevant to the issue of whether [defendant] possessed a firearm in the instant matter.”

On November 2, 2012, the defendant filed a motion to sever offenses, which the trial court denied that day.

Trial in this matter began on November 4, 2012, and concluded on November 11, 2012, with the jury finding the defendant guilty as charged on both counts.

On November 29, 2012, the defendant filed motions for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and for new trial, both of which were denied on December 11, 2012.

On December 12, 2012, the trial court sentenced the defendant to fifteen years on count 1 and to twenty-five years on count 2. That same day, the State filed a multiple bill charging the defendant as a double offender as to count 1 and a triple offender as to count 2. The defendant pled guilty to the multiple-bill. The |,-¾trial judge vacated the defendant’s original sentences and resentenced him as a double offender as to count 1 to fifteen years at hard labor and to life at hard labor as a third offender as to count 2, with credit for time served. This timely appeal followed.

STATEMENT OF FACT

While patrolling in a marked vehicle, in the early morning hours of October 29, 2006, Detective Rob Barrere of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) Sixth District Investigative Unit observed a gray Maxima run a stop sign at the intersection of Second and Danneel Streets. Detective Barrere and his partner initiated a traffic stop, and as the car pulled over, Detective Barrere illuminated the interior of the vehicle for officer safety. When he ordered the Maxima’s three occupants to exit the vehicle, the back seat passenger quickly ducked down to the floorboard, clutched something with his hand and reached behind his back. Detective Barrere opened the door and observed the defendant stuffing a clear plastic bag, containing what Detective Barrere suspected was cocaine, down the back of his pants. Detective Barrere immediately restrained the defendant, removed him from the vehicle, handcuffed him and placed him under arrest. Thereafter, Detective Bar-rere searched the defendant and discovered in the back of the defendant’s pants a clear plastic bag containing twenty-one in-' dividually wrapped pieces of an off-white, rock-like substance, which Detective Bar-rere recognized from experience as crack cocaine. In addition, the detective retrieved $260.00 from the defendant’s left front pants pocket. Neither the driver of the Maxima, Lester Jones, nor the front seat passenger, Ronald Catchen, was arrested. Detective Barrere identified the bag of individually wrapped packages of cocaine he seized from the defendant that night.

|4On March 22, 2007, Detective Derrick Burke of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) Major Case Narcotics Unit was conducting a buy/bust operation, in a vehicle equipped with audio and video recording systems, targeting the known narcotics trafficking area in the 1300 block of South Saratoga Street. The NOPD photocopied currency to keep track of the serial numbers and provided the currency to Detective Burke to facilitate a purchase during the operation. As Detective Burke drove through the targeted area, he encountered a black female, who asked him what he wanted. He told her that he wanted a couple of “dimes”, street slang for $10.00 pieces of crack cocaine. She called to “Ray”, whom Detective Burke later learned was the defendant, Raymond Firth. The defendant placed the crack cocaine in her hand, which she handed to [949]*949Detective Burke in exchange for one of the photocopied $20.00 bills. The woman gave the money to the defendant, who then walked into the residence at 1327 South Saratoga Street. As the defendant exited the residence, Detective Burke radioed the take down team a description of the defendant’s clothing and location. The team moved in and placed the defendant under arrest. Immediately thereafter; Detective Burke drove by the location and positively identified the defendant. Detective Burke identified the compact disc containing the audio and video record of the transaction he had just described. The disc, which was played for the jury, bore case number C-24559 of 2007. Additionally, Detective Burke identified the plastic bag, bearing police item number C-2455907, containing the two pieces of crack cocaine he purchased from the defendant, pictures taken of the defendant wearing a black bandana and the test kit, which confirmed that the substance was crack cocaine. Detective Burke explained that based upon his experience, different drug dealers have different |/‘stash spots”, hidden locations where drug dealers keep their drugs, to prevent the police from finding the contraband on the drug dealer’s person.

NOPD Officer Joseph Pollard testified by stipulation as an expert in the field of the identification, analysis and comparison of latent fingerprints. Officer Pollard testified that he fingerprinted the defendant prior to trial and identified the card containing those fingerprints (State’s Exhibit 8).

Officer Pollard identified a certified fingerprint card (State’s Exhibit 9) in the defendant’s name relative to an October 29, 2006, arrest. He compared State’s Exhibit 9 to State’s Exhibit 8 and concluded that the fingerprints on those exhibits matched one another. He then identified a cert, pack under case No. 477-041, G, which included a bill of information containing fingerprints, a plea of guilty form, minute entry, screening and action form, fact sheet, gist of a police report and a docket master (State’s Exhibit 10). Officer Pollard compared the fingerprints on State’s Exhibit 8 to the fingerprints on the bill of information contained in Exhibit 10 and concluded that both sets of fingerprints were identical, and that they belonged to the defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
151 So. 3d 946, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 1133, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 3143, 2014 WL 5379332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-frith-lactapp-2014.