State v. Goodley

774 So. 2d 374, 2000 WL 1824454
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 13, 2000
Docket00-846
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 774 So. 2d 374 (State v. Goodley) 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. Goodley, 774 So. 2d 374, 2000 WL 1824454 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

774 So.2d 374 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Kevin Duane GOODLEY.

No. 00-846.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

December 13, 2000.

Earl B. Taylor, District Attorney, Opelousas, LA, Counsel for State of Louisiana Plaintiff/Appellee.

Edward Kelly Bauman, La Appellate Project, Lake Charles, LA, Counsel for Kevin Duane Goodley Defendant/Appellant.

Court composed of Judge COOKS, Judge AMY, and Judge PICKETT.

PICKETT, Judge.

BACKGROUND

The defendant, Kevin Duane Goodley, was indicted for second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. He received a trial before a jury on January 10-11, 2000, and was found guilty as charged. April 20, 2000, the district court sentenced him to the mandatory term of life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The defendant appeals his conviction, assigning three errors.

In his first assignment of error the defendant argues insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction for second degree murder. The second assignment of error relates to the introduction of what he argues is irrelevant and prejudicial evidence *375 of other crimes. In his third assignment of error the defendant argues the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury regarding the different grades of theft. Because we find merit in the third assignment of error, it is unnecessary to discuss the first two.

DISCUSSION

On October 21, 1998, the defendant and his cousin Mack Tezeno, a.k.a. Mack Gallow, stopped at Dupre's Grocery, an old country store in St. Landry Parish. The defendant was driving. His .22-caliber rifle was in the backseat.

There is some dispute as to what happened next. It is undisputed, however, that Mack Tezeno entered the store and killed the 90-year-old proprietor, Elta Dupre, as he slept in a chair in the living quarter adjacent to the store. Tezeno killed Mr. Dupre with the defendant's .22-caliber rifle.

Tezeno exited the store with the victim's.22 caliber pistol and some cash. He gave the defendant fourteen dollars. The pair then drove to Ville Platte, where each was staying at the time.

The defendant was seen at the store by a former Ville Platte policeman, Russell George. He recognized the defendant, who was sitting behind the steering wheel of his vehicle at the time Mr. George passed the store. Mr. George saw a second man with the defendant but could not identify him because he was wearing a hood and turned away as Mr. George passed.

There was certain evidence presented at trial for consideration by the jury which is important to this court's determination that the trial court committed reversible error in its instructions to the jury. This testimony pertains to items that were taken or possibly taken from the premises when the homicide occurred. Different witnesses testified as to different versions of what occurred at the store on the day of the homicide.

The defendant testified he went into the store, saw Mr. Dupre sleeping and left. Tezeno then took his gun and entered the store, he heard a gunshot, and Tezeno exited, giving him fourteen dollars.

Jeaneene Marie Riley testified that the defendant told her two different accounts of the robbery. In the first version he said he and Tezeno went into the store to rob it. He told Tezeno not to shoot Mr. Dupre. Goodley said he received $20 as his share of the robbery. In the second version the defendant told her he was outside in the car when he heard a gunshot. He went inside and saw Tezeno had killed a man. Goodley told Riley that Tezeno had used his gun.

Robert Wilson, a friend of the defendant, also testified. He said Goodley told him that he and Tezeno had robbed a store, and Tezeno had killed a man. The defendant did not mention getting any money from the robbery, but did say he had taken a case of antifreeze from the store. According to this version of the robbery, the defendant and Tezeno took the antifreeze while Dupre slept, then Tezeno went back into the store and killed Dupre while the defendant was in the car. Goodley then told Tezeno the shooting was unnecessary.

The State's theory was that an armed robbery had occurred, and the defendant was guilty as a principal to the offense of second degree murder, as the homicide occurred while the defendant and Tezeno were involved in the perpetration of armed robbery. La.R.S. 14:30.1(A)(2)(a).

General jury charges are governed by La.Code Crim.P. art. 802:

The court shall charge the jury:

(1) As to the law applicable to the case;
(2) That the jury is the judge of the law and of the facts on the question of guilt or innocence but that it has the duty to accept and to apply the law as given by the court; and
*376 (3) That the jury alone shall determine the weight and credibility of the evidence.

Also applicable in the matter before us is La.Code Crim.P. art. 804(B), which provides:

When there are several grades of an offense contained in a single count, the court shall charge the jury as to each grade of which the defendant could be found guilty. The court shall in that case also charge the jury that if it has a reasonable doubt as to any or all grades of the offense charged it shall find the defendant not guilty of that grade, or all grades of the offense, as the case may be.

La.Code Crim.P. art. 808 further provides:

If the jury or any member thereof, after having retired to deliberate upon the verdict, desires further charges, the officer in charge shall bring the jury into the courtroom, and the court shall in the presence of the defendant, his counsel, and the district attorney, further charge the jury. The further charge may be verbal.

After receiving its instructions from the court, the jury retired to deliberate. At that point, counsel for both sides indicated they were satisfied with the instructions. Later, the jury sent the court a note asking for definitions of theft, armed and simple robbery, manslaughter, and second degree murder. Our review shows that theft was not defined in the initial instructions, although the other crimes mentioned in the jury note had been. The jury also wanted to see the pictures that had been introduced, and the statements of Riley, Wilson, and George. The jury returned to the courtroom, and the following colloquy took place:

BY THE COURT: Ok. Let's come to order please. Let the record reflect that the Jury is in place. The defendant is in Court with Counsel and the State is represented. I've received a note from the Jury which I'll mark Jury Note # 1 for identification from the Jury asking certain questions and definitions. Alright. Listen, listen carefully. As to the statements you cannot have em. The law does not provide. You have to rely upon your memory.. from these witnesses. Pictures, you can have. I'll send those. Rodney, Bailiff take those. Alright. I'mma [sic] read for you again specific definitions that you asked for. R.S. 14:67 defines Theft. "Theft is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which belongs to another either without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices or representations." "An intent to deprive the other permanently whatever maybe the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential." R.S. 14:64 defines Armed Robbery.

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Related

State v. Goodley
832 So. 2d 1165 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
State v. Goodley
820 So. 2d 478 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 So. 2d 374, 2000 WL 1824454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-goodley-lactapp-2000.