State v. Green

211 So. 3d 683, 2016 La.App. 1 Cir. 0057, 2017 WL 498682, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 156
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 7, 2017
Docket2016 KA 0057
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 211 So. 3d 683 (State v. Green) 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. Green, 211 So. 3d 683, 2016 La.App. 1 Cir. 0057, 2017 WL 498682, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 156 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinions

McClendon, j.

[2The defendant, Cardale Green, was charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder of Derrick Casey, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:30.1 (count one) and attempted second degree murder of Kenneth Cobbs, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:30.1 and 14:27 (count two).1 He entered a plea of not guilty and, following a jury trial, was found guilty as charged on both counts. He filed motions for postverdict judgment of acquittal and new trial, both of which were denied. The defendant was then sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on count one, and to thirty years at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on count two. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. He now appeals, alleging two counseled and two pro se assignments of error. For the following reasons, we reverse the defendant’s convictions, vacate the defendant’s sentences, and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

On January 13, 2011, Baton Rouge Police Department Sergeant Kevin Adcock was dispatched to 1841 Gracie Street in the Spanish Town neighborhood in Baton Rouge where he found one victim, Derrick Casey, lying dead on a couch in the living room near the front door of the house. Sergeant Adcock took photographs and collected evidence from the crime scene, including one Winchester nine millimeter shell casing located inside the living room, five Winchester nine millimeter shell casings, one PMC nine millimeter live round, and one Winchester nine millimeter live round, all found on the roadway outside of the residence. Also recovered were a projectile found inside of the couch and a cellular telephone located in the backyard of the house. The cellular telephone was registered to the defendant. Detectives subpoenaed the records from that phone and developed Mark Young as an additional suspect. Call records of Young’s cellular telephone were also subpoenaed.

laThe investigation led to a witness, Shermon Mealey, and to a second victim, Kenneth “Troy” Cobbs. According to Mea-ley’s trial testimony, on the day of the incident, he, Cobbs, Casey, and Martin Rogers were “riding around, having fun.” Mealey decided to purchase two Lortab pills, so he contacted the defendant and met him on Hurst Street. The defendant got onto the hood of Meale/s car and instructed Mealey to drive around the corner to Gracie Street Palm prints left on the hood of the vehicle matched the left palm of the defendant.

When they arrived at 1841 Gracie Street, Mealey could not enter the house due to paralysis of his legs, so Casey entered the house. Mealey saw the defendant [686]*686walk toward the house, but was unsure whether he entered. Mealey was also uncertain whether Cobbs entered the house. After hearing gunshots, Mealey saw Cobbs running. Cobbs then got into Mealey’s vehicle. Mealey drove away with Cobbs and Rogers and called 911 to report the shooting. As they drove away, there were additional shots fired from the backyard of the Gracie Street house.

Cobbs, who received a gunshot wound to his hip during the incident, testified that on the day of the incident, Mealey received a telephone call and thereafter stated that he needed to “handle some business.” Cobbs and Mealey then drove to Spanish Town with Casey and Rogers. At some point, Mealey called someone for directions. When they arrived at Spanish Town Road, Mealey picked up someone who instructed Mealey to drive around the corner. However, Mealey told that individual to get on the hood of his vehicle and direct them to the location. The person did so, and they arrived at 1841 Gracie Street. Mealey gave Casey money and asked Casey to “take care of some business” for him. Casey took the money and entered the house. Cobbs exited the vehicle, stood near it, and talked to Mealey. Cobbs decided Casey was taking too long and proceeded to walk toward the house. As he did so, he heard gunfire. Cobbs began running away and realized that he had been shot in his hip. He got back into the vehicle with Mealey, and as they drove away, someone exited the front of the house, shot at them, and jumped the gate. Cobbs testified that he saw two people in the backyard of the Gracie Street house. Cobbs explained that he knew who he saw | ¿running out of the house, but he did not know who shot him because his back was turned away from the shooter. According to Cobbs, the person that he saw running out of the house was not the defendant.

A records custodian from Verizon Wireless testified at trial. According to the defendant’s cellular telephone records, he spoke with Mealey multiple times on the date of the murder, but starting at 5:55 p.m., all of the calls to the defendant’s telephone were sent to voicemail. The last call from the defendant’s phone was to Young and was placed at 5:41 p.m.

A Taurus .480 revolver was located in a couch at 1332 Wellington Drive, Young’s residence. The projectile located inside of the couch at 1841 Grade Street was determined to have been fired from the Taurus. The two bullets recovered from Casey’s body during his autopsy were not fired from the Taurus.2 According to the firearms expert who testified at trial, those two bullets were much smaller and a different caliber than that located inside of the couch. The expert was unable to determine whether the two bullets recovered during the autopsy were fired from the same weapon, but he did state that they were of the same caliber and consistent with having been fired from a revolver.

The defendant did not testify at trial, but his video and audio recorded statement were played for the jury. He initially stated that he was in the Spanish Town area with his family on the day of the incident. He later stated that he was there “hanging out” at P.I.’s house, which was located at 1841 Gracie Street, with Young. He stated that he went to P.I.’s house around lunchtime and left approximately two hours later. According to the defendant, he found out about the murder from his mother, who called him on his cellular telephone. He then stated his mother actually called him on his girlfriend’s cellular telephone [687]*687because his cellular telephone was lost. The defendant explained that he lost his phone on the day of the murder at P.I.’s house while he was playing with dogs in the backyard. He denied getting on the hood of the car and denied any involvement in the murder.

|COUNSELED ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In cases such as this one, where the defendant raises issues on appeal both as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should preliminarily determine the sufficiency of the evidence, before discussing the other issues raised on appeal. When the entirety of the evidence, both admissible and inadmissible, is sufficient to support the conviction, the accused is not entitled to an acquittal, and the reviewing court must review the assignments of error to determine whether the accused is entitled to a new trial. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731, 734 (La. 1992); State v. Smith, 03-0917 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/31/03), 868 So.2d 794, 798. Accordingly, we will first address the defendant’s first counseled assignment of error, which challenges the sufficiency of the State’s evidence.

In his first counseled assignment of error, the defendant argues that the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to prove all of the elements of both offenses beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Bluebook (online)
211 So. 3d 683, 2016 La.App. 1 Cir. 0057, 2017 WL 498682, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-green-lactapp-2017.