State v. Girod

195 So. 3d 1274, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 74, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1325, 2016 WL 3551661
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 2016
DocketNo. 16-KA-74
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 195 So. 3d 1274 (State v. Girod) 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. Girod, 195 So. 3d 1274, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 74, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1325, 2016 WL 3551661 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CHAISSON, J.

| defendant, Deneil Girod, appeals his convictions and sentences for attempted second degree murder, home invasion, and armed robbery with a firearm. In the brief filed on defendant’s behalf, appellate counsel challenges defendant’s total sentence of seventy years as excessive. Defendant additionally filed a pro se supplemental brief on his own behalf alleging that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the guilty verdicts, that trial counsel rendered deficient performance and was ineffective, and that the State and the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to prosecute and adjudicate the instant matter. For the reasons that follow, we find no merit to the arguments raised in either appellate counsel’s brief or defendant’s pro se supplemental brief. Accordingly, we affirm defendant’s convictions and sentences and remand the matter for the correction of an error patent as noted herein.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 6, 2014, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant with attempted second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and La. R.S. 14:30.1 (count one); home invasion, in violation of La. R.S. 14:62.8(B)(3) (count two); and armed robbery with a firearm, in violation of La. R.S. 14:64 and La. R.S. 14:64.3 (count three). Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment.

Trial commenced before a twelve-person jury on September 14, 2015. After considering the evidence presented, the jury, on September 15, 2015, found defendant guilty as charged on all counts. On September 22, 2015, the trial court sentenced defendant to forty-seven years in the Department of Corrections for the attempted second degree murder conviction (count one), twenty-five years for the home invasion conviction (count two), and forty-seven years for the armed robbery conviction (count three). Moreover, since the armed robbery was committed with |2a firearm, [1277]*1277the trial court sentenced defendant to imprisonment for an additional five years pursuant to La. R.S. 14:64.3. The trial court ordered the entirety of defendant’s sentences on counts one and three and the first ten years of defendant’s sentence on count two to be served without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. In addition, the trial court ordered that defendant’s sentences be served concurrently.

With regard to count three, the armed robbery charge, the State filed a bill of information seeking to have defendant adjudicated a multiple offender pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 15:529.1. After a hearing on January 28, 2016, the trial court found defendant to be a second felony offender, vacated its previously imposed sentence on count three, and resentenced defendant to sixty-five years in the Department of Corrections without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The trial court further maintained the separate, consecutive five-year term of imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence under the armed robbery firearm enhancement statute, La. R.S. 14:64.3. Defendant now appeals.1

FACTS

On December 28, 2013, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Mr. Dustin Adams and Ms. Kelly Lee were awakened by a loud noise in their Westwego residence. Thinking that a television had possibly fallen, Ms. Lee rushed out of bed to check on her eight-year-old daughter, whose bedroom was in the back of the house. When she exited her bedroom, Ms. Lee was confronted by two masked gunmen, one of whom yelled at her to “get down.” She complied and thereafter crawled to her daughter’s bedroom accompanied by one of the intruders. According to Mr. |3Adams, after Ms. Lee left their bedroom, she made a “frightening sound,” which alerted him to the fact that “something was wrong.” When Mr. Adams then got out of bed, the other gunman pointed a pistol at the back of his head, forced him to lie on the floor, and demanded his money and keys.2 Mr. Adams pointed to his car keys, at which time this suspect retrieved them and exited the house through the front door.

After that intruder left, Mr. Adams ran to the back bedroom where the remaining perpetrator had Ms. Lee and her daughter at gunpoint. Mr. Adams charged towards the gunman, who fired a shot at him. Although the bullet grazed his head, Mr. Adams nonetheless physically attacked the armed suspect. Ms. Lee joined in the altercation to try to help Mr. Adams get the gun out of the perpetrator’s hand. As Ms. Lee tried to hold the gunman down, Mr. Adams ran to the kitchen, retrieved a knife, returned to the struggle, and stabbed the suspect. The altercation then moved from the bedroom, through the kitchen, and onto the back porch where Mr. Adams and the gunman continued to struggle. Ms. Lee followed, and as she passed through the kitchen, she grabbed a [1278]*1278knife, went out the back door, and saw that the perpetrator had Mr. Adams pinned up against the side of a railing. Ms. Lee attacked and stabbed the suspect, which allowed Mr. Adams to break away from his hold. The perpetrator then jumped over the fence and fled the scene. Mr. Adams also jumped over the fence in an effort to get help from his neighbors. Ms. Lee went back inside to check on her daughter, told her to hide in a closet, and then called 9-1-1.

Detective Christopher Fisher and Officer Todd Usey with the Westwego Police Department arrived first on the scene. The two officers entered the residence from the rear of the house, saw blood in the kitchen, and encountered LMs. Lee, who appeared upset and was “hysterical.” Detective Fisher and Officer Usey immediately conducted a search of the house to make sure no one else was inside, and they found Ms. Lee’s young daughter, who was “visibly shaken,” hiding in a closet. The officers spoke to Mr. Adams3 and Ms. Lee; however, the victims were unable to provide any identifying information about the gunmen,' whose facés were masked. Officer Usey also canvassed the neighborhood but did not locate any suspects that night.

Officer Robert Wallow and Officer-Grady Mason processed the crime scene on the night of the incident. The officers took photographs of the scene and recovered evidence, including two knives and a Taurus semi-automatic 9 mm handgun. , In addition, Officer Mason lifted numerous blood samples from the scene, including from the kitchen floor, an outdoor gate, and underneath the carport. These blood samples, as well as DNA reference samples obtained from the victims, were subr mitted to the Jefferson Parish Crime Lab for analysis. Detective Andre Cavalier, employed by the Westwego Police Department at the time of the incident, was notified by the crime lab that a sample of blood recovered from the scene matched that of defendant. Armed with this information, Detective Cavalier talked with the victims again to see if they knew defendant. After looking at defendant’s picture, Mr. Adams'identified him as “Deneil” and knew him because they went to the same mosque for worship.4 Based on the blood analysis and the identification from Mr. Adams, Detective Cavalier obtained a warrant for defendant’s arrest.

Laura Oliver, a forensic DNA analyst with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office DNA Laboratory, conducted the DNA analysis in this case and testified at trial as to the results.

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Bluebook (online)
195 So. 3d 1274, 16 La.App. 5 Cir. 74, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 1325, 2016 WL 3551661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-girod-lactapp-2016.