State v. Garner

621 So. 2d 1203, 1993 WL 260157
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 15, 1993
Docket92-KA-1937
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 621 So. 2d 1203 (State v. Garner) 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. Garner, 621 So. 2d 1203, 1993 WL 260157 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

621 So.2d 1203 (1993)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Steven GARNER and Glenn Garner and Harold Lyons.

No. 92-KA-1937.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

July 15, 1993.

*1204 Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty. of Orleans Parish, Jack Peebles, Asst. Dist. Atty. of Orleans Parish, New Orleans, for plaintiff/appellee.

George A. Guidry, New Orleans, for defendant/appellant.

Before KLEES, BYRNES and WALTZER, JJ.

WALTZER, Judge.

On December 27, 1990, defendants Steven Garner and Glenn Garner and a co-defendant, Harold Lyons, were each charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder of Tommy Gilmore.[1] The defendants entered pleas of not guilty on January 16, 1991. A twelve member jury found them guilty as charged on June 11, 1992. On June 19, 1992, they were each sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. On that day, each defendant filed a motion for appeal.

Taunya Joshua testified that in the early morning hours of November 6, 1990, she and her boyfriend, the victim Tommy Gilmore, were at a bar. Elton "Plum" Clayton slapped Lynn Smith, girlfriend of Steven Garner, on the behind. The victim, Tommy Gilmore, then punched Glenn Garner. Glenn Garner, Steven Garner and Harold Lyons then left the bar. Twenty minutes later, Joshua saw the three men circling the block. Glenn Garner drove while Steven Garner and Harold Lyons sat in the passenger seat and back seat, respectively. *1205 Forty minutes later, Glenn Garner came into the bar and told Gilmore to step outside so they could fight. When Gilmore opened the door of the bar, Joshua could see Steve Garner and Harold Lyons holding guns. Shots erupted. Joshua could not see who had fired.

Dr. William Newman, an expert anatomic pathologist, performed the autopsy. He said the victim suffered a gunshot wound to the left hand, and to the right thigh, two gunshot wounds to the chest and a gunshot wound to the ear. Either one of the wounds to the chest or the wound to the head was fatal. The bullet recovered from the chest was a smaller caliber than the bullet removed from the skull.

Sergeant Bruce Harrison obtained a search warrant for the Garner residence. They discovered two weapons in a garbage bag in the backyard of the residence. He said he took Joshua's statement and that she believed the Garner brothers had shot the victim.

Lynn Smith testified that when Clayton tried to touch her, Steve Garner told him to leave her alone. Clayton went outside and summoned Gilmore, a man named Dion, and a man named June. All of them came back in the bar and stood around Steve Garner. The men went outside the bar. Smith followed and saw Glenn Garner fist fighting with the victim. The Garner brothers and Harold Lyons then left. Later, she saw the three pass the bar in a car. Still later, she, Steve Garner, and Harold Lyons were standing outside the bar. She saw Gilmore come out of the bar and attempt to run. She saw Harold Lyons shoot Gilmore. On cross, she said Gilmore and Clayton were members of a gang called the "Tuesday Crew" known for carrying guns and committing acts of violence. She said she did not know if they had guns on the night of the crime.

Detective Dwight Deal testified he and Detective Melvin Winnins drove Smith to the Garner residence so they could get an accurate description. As they approached the house, Smith pointed out the Garner brothers who were standing outside. The men ran into the house upon seeing the police car. The officers called for a back-up. They knocked on the door and the Garners' father answered. The officers then arrested the two men. Elmo Garner, another brother, was also taken to the homicide office, but he was not arrested because the officers learned he was not present at the shooting. Elmo Garner told the officers the guns were at the house. Harold Lyons was also present at the house, but the officers did not arrest him because they did not know at the time he had been involved in the crime.

John Treadway, a firearms expert with NOPD, testified he examined four bullets. Three of the bullets were discovered in the autopsy and one was discovered at the scene. Treadway stated two of the bullets from the autopsy were fired from one gun recovered from the Garner residence. The third bullet from the autopsy and a bullet from the scene were fired from the second gun recovered.

Barbaroso Welch, legal assistant to the firm representing the Garner brothers, testified Smith told him that Clayton and Dion removed the jewelry and pocket contents from the victim and that Dion picked up a revolver and threw it into a vacant lot.

The defense then called Lynn Smith who testified she saw the victim with a gun after the fist fight.

Steven Garner testified Clayton approached Smith while they were in the bar. Garner told him to leave. He left and returned with friends including Dion and the victim. The men went outside. Clayton hit Glenn Garner in the face with a weapon. Then Glenn and Steven Garner and Lyons left in a car. Steven Garner admitted they were armed. After going to another bar, the men were returning home when they passed the first bar. Steven Garner saw Smith, and they stopped to talk to her. Glenn went inside to get a beer. When he came back out, Gilmore followed him. Steven realized Gilmore had a gun and he called out to Glenn. Gilmore fired. Steven fired, and Glenn fired. On cross examination, Steven Garner denied circling the block. He said Lyons did not have a *1206 gun. He also said he did not know how many bullets he or his brother fired. He admitted putting the guns in the trash behind his house. He said he was never advised of his rights and was told he would be set free if he told the truth. He denied telling Winnins that he had taken the victim's gun away from him and shot him with it. The State introduced a rights of arrestee form signed by Steven Garner.

ASSIGNMENT ONE:

The defendant argues that trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the guns. The defense argues that Elmo Garner was under arrest when he told the officers where the guns were located, that he had not been informed of his Miranda rights, and that, as a result, his statement should have been suppressed.

At the motion hearing, Elmo Garner testified that when the officers arrived at his house in the early morning hours of November 6, 1990, they handcuffed him and took him to the homicide office. He said he was not placed under arrest, but was threatened that if he did not tell where the guns were located, he would be incarcerated.

Officer Bruce Harrison testified Elmo Garner was originally a suspect and was under investigation at the time he was brought to the homicide office. He said Elmo Garner was never under arrest and that accordingly he was not advised of his Miranda rights. He said he was not threatened and that no promises were made. He said when he made the statement, he was no longer under investigation and was free to leave.

In explication of the basic rights to the assistance of counsel and the freedom from self-incrimination, the Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), held that the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. at 1612, 16 L.Ed.2d at 706.

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Bluebook (online)
621 So. 2d 1203, 1993 WL 260157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-garner-lactapp-1993.