State v. Glenn

900 So. 2d 26, 2005 WL 474306
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 1, 2005
Docket04-KA-526
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 900 So. 2d 26 (State v. Glenn) 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. Glenn, 900 So. 2d 26, 2005 WL 474306 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

900 So.2d 26 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Joseph GLENN, IV.

No. 04-KA-526.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 1, 2005.

*28 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Twenty-Fourth Judicial District, Parish of Jefferson, Terry M. Boudreaux, Juliet Clark, Kia Habisreitinger, David Wolfe, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Dennis K. Dolbear, and Arthur L. Harris, Sr., New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges THOMAS F. DALEY, MARION F. EDWARDS and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

MARION F. EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant, Joseph Glenn, IV, appeals his conviction for second degree murder of a known juvenile. For the following reasons, defendant's conviction is affirmed.

On December 6, 2001, defendant, Joseph Glenn, IV, was indicted by a Jefferson Parish grand jury for the second degree murder of a known juvenile in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. Glenn pled not guilty at arraignment. After a hearing, the trial judge denied defendant's motions to suppress his confession and the evidence. Writs on these rulings were denied by this Court and by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Trial commenced on March 17, 2003, before a jury, which found Glenn guilty as charged three days later. On April 10, 2003, Glenn was sentenced to life imprisonment *29 at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Glenn timely filed the present appeal.

Victoria Glenn, daughter of Joseph Glenn, IV and Nicole Vinet, was born on September 21, 2001. Nicole Vinet testified that Victoria was healthy at birth and, except for a little reflux, she was fine at both her two-week and one-month check-ups. Two-month-old Victoria died at 5:01 a.m. on November 26, 2001, with her death classified as a homicide secondary to child abuse.

On November 24, 2001, Glenn kept Victoria while the child's mother went to work. Although Glenn was living with Vinet at the time, Glenn was going to watch Victoria at his mother's house, because he had custody of his three-year-old son, Kevin, that weekend. Vinet testified that she did not realize that Glenn was also going to have custody of his five-month-old daughter, Veronica, a daughter about which she was unaware. On that day, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Vinet met Glenn at the Aspen Clinic to exchange custody of Victoria. Vinet testified that Glenn was a good father and she trusted him with her child.

Glenn stated that the child was normal when he received custody of her from her mother. He then contends that he placed her in the video room to watch television in her car seat next to the sofa. Glenn testified that, because Victoria was spitting up, he set the car seat erect. According to Glenn, he and Kevin were watching a cartoon and teasing each other when he reached for a toy and lost his balance while wearing socks. Glenn alleges that his foot hit the carrier from the back side and, simultaneously, Kevin ran into the carrier and knocked the infant seat over. Glenn further testified that he knocked the car seat off of Victoria and picked her up. Glenn noticed she was not breathing, performed CPR, and called 911 twice. Glenn testified that after the fall, he reacted and shook Victoria to revive her when she failed to cry or make a sound.

At approximately 12:44 p.m. on November 24, 2001, paramedics Phil Alimia and Andy Vaccaro responded to the 911 call and arrived at 1318 Lake Frances Drive in Harvey at 12:57. Lieutenant Gary Hargroder responded to the 911 call and arrived shortly thereafter. Glenn opened the door for the paramedics after a minute or so with the baby in his arms and placed her on the sofa. Victoria was not breathing and was blue; as a result, she was brought to the ambulance and the paramedics started to breathe for her, bagged her, and put a tube down her trachea. Initially, Victoria responded and "pinked up" and her pulse was found; however, her condition worsened. Lieutenant Hargroder assisted with chest compressions and rode in the back of the ambulance to Meadowcrest Hospital.

Phil Alimia testified of the importance to know the history of a patient in order to treat that patient. Glenn told him that he gave Victoria Tylenol to calm her down because she was cutting up. He never mentioned that she fell and hit her head or that he shook her, information that Phil Alimia would have wanted to know. Phil Alimia did not note any external injuries to the victim's head. Lieutenant Hargroder testified that he was given the same history from Glenn.

Raymond Gorman, a deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, testified as to the history he was given at the hospital: Glenn had given Victoria Mylicon drops and then a few hours later, fed the baby and gave her Tylenol because she was whining. Because she turned blue shortly thereafter, Glenn called 911. Glenn never mentioned she fell and hit her head or that he shook her. However, *30 Glenn denies speaking to any officers at Meadowcrest Hospital.

Emergency Room physician Dr. An Nguyen treated Victoria at Meadowcrest Hospital when she arrived in cardio pulmonary arrest. She was not breathing and did not have vital signs. Although she was in critical condition, Dr. Nguyen was able to resuscitate her, re-intubate her and give her life support medications. Dr. Nguyen then ran basic blood work on Victoria and conducted a chest X-ray. She was not able to determine what caused the cardiac arrest and did not notice any external trauma to Victoria's head. Dr. Nguyen called Victoria's pediatrician to examine her. At this time, Victoria was stabilized and, although she was not breathing on her own, she had a heartbeat and vital signs.

Dr. Mark Allen Fisher, Victoria's pediatrician, testified that he saw Victoria for the first time after her birth on September 21, 2001, and then again while in the nursery. He later examined her at her two-week visit and then again for a one-month check-up. For all of these visits, Dr. Fisher testified that Victoria's eyes were normal and that she was in good condition. The next time Dr. Fisher examined Victoria was on November 24 at Meadowcrest Hospital after Dr. Nguyen called him. At this time, Victoria's eyes appeared abnormal and suspicious of retinal hemorrhages. Although other things were considered, these findings made him suspicious of possible abuse.

According to Dr. Fisher, a patient's history is probably the most important thing leading to a correct diagnosis. Dr. Fisher only knew that Victoria was fed, placed in her infant seat, and then fifteen minutes later an older sibling notified defendant that she was having difficulty breathing. At no time was he aware of Victoria falling out of the car seat and hitting her head on tile or that defendant shook the baby; however, he testified that knowing this history would have been helpful to him in his examination of Victoria. Dr. Nguyen testified that it is important to give the ER physician an accurate history. Glenn told Dr. Nguyen the child was cranky and so he gave her some Tylenol. When she turned blue and was not breathing, he called 911. At no time did Glenn mention to her the child fell and hit her head or that he shook her.

Once stabilized at Meadowcrest Hospital, Victoria was transferred to Children's Hospital. At Children's Hospital on November 25 at 8:00 a.m., Victoria was examined by Dr. George Ellis, Director of Ophthalmology at Children's Hospital. Dr. Ellis was accepted as an expert and testified as to his findings. According to Dr. Ellis, Victoria did not have a previous eye history or any known bleeding disorder.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
900 So. 2d 26, 2005 WL 474306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-glenn-lactapp-2005.