State v. Hamilton

867 So. 2d 151, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 1385, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 443, 2004 WL 388925
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 3, 2004
DocketNo. KA 2003-1385
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 867 So. 2d 151 (State v. Hamilton) 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. Hamilton, 867 So. 2d 151, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 1385, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 443, 2004 WL 388925 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

PEZELL, Judge.

The Defendant, Gary Hamilton, was charged by bill of information with one count of attempted second degree murder of Chris Fisher, Joseph Steele, and Sandra Washington in violation of La.R.S. 14:27 [153]*153and La.R.S. 14:30.1. Following a jury trial on January 21-22, 2003, the Defendant was convicted as charged. On July 18, 2003, he was sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The Defendant’s motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal and motion for new trial were denied on June 25, 2003. A motion and order for appeal was granted on July 23, 2003. The Defendant appeals his conviction on several grounds.

FACTS

On January 12, 2002, the Defendant and at least two other men were involved in a fight with Christopher Fisher. Shortly after the fight, Fisher’s aunt and uncle drove him to his nearby home. After Fisher walked out of his house and was getting into the car with his relatives, multiple gunshots were fired into the car. No one was injured in the shooting. The victims were unable to identify the shooters.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by the court for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find there are no errors patent.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND TWO

The Defendant contends the evidence at trial was insufficient to show that he fired shots at the victims. He asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal and motion for new trial on this ground. These arguments will be addressed together.

|2The jury convicted Defendant of attempted second degree murder. Attempt is defined by La.R.S. 14:27, which states, in pertinent part:

A. Any person who, having a specific intent to commit a crime, does or omits an act for the purpose of and tending directly toward the accomplishing of his object is guilty of an attempt to commit the offense intended;' and it shall be immaterial whether, under the circumstances, he would have actually accomplished his purpose.
B. Mere preparation to commit a crime shall not be sufficient to constitute an attempt; but lying in wait with a dangerous weapon with the -intent to commit a crime, or searching for the intended victim-with a dangerous weapon with the intent to commit a crime, shall be sufficient to constitute an attempt to commit the offense intended.

Second degree murder is defined by La. R.S. 14:30.1, which states, in pertinent part:

. A. Second degree murder is the killing of a human being:

(1) When the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm; or
(2)(a) When the offender is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated rape, forcible rape, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnaping; second degree kidnaping, aggravated escape, drive-by shooting; • armed robbery, first degree robbery, or simple robbery, even though he has no intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm.

At trial, Joseph Steele testified that he attended his grandmother’s ninetieth birthday party on January 12, 2002, in Natchitoches. Steele stated that he is a manager of a repair department. He explained that he was convicted of simple burglary in 1993, but has not received as much as a traffic ticket since his -parole in 1995. He testified that around 11:00 p.m. [154]*154the party ended and he and his family went to his sister’s house at the corner of Dixie and Hill Streets. Steele testified that he heard a fight outside and saw his nephew, Fisher, fighting with three men in a car. He pulled Fisher out of the car and the men drove away. He testified he did not know any of the men or have descriptions of them.

hSteele stated that about thirty minutes later he and his wife drove Fisher to his home on Dixie Street to change clothes. He testified as follows:

A. Well, he was in there about ten (10) minutes, maybe fifteen (15) at the most. So, I blew the horn for him to come out. He came out, he got in the car, he got back out the ear to get something out of the trunk ... a sweater or something. And he got ... as he got back in the car, when I turned around, or put the car in reverse, that’s when I saw the guys jump out from around the back of the house. Okay, by this time they came up with guns ... what I saw was guns. I saw the reflection of one, and I assumed they was fixing to shoot. And I told my wife to, “Get down, get down.” I pushed her down in the seat, and I slumped down, and threw the car in reverse and begin to back out. And as I was backing out, they started shooting.
A. Well, actually the first bullet I saw, hit my hood, and uh ... ricocheted off the hood. I saw the fire from it. And it hit like where my face was, and I did like that, and it hit car and they just kept shooting.
Q. All right. Do you know how many shots you heard fired?
A. Maybe twelve (12), fifteen (15) shots, something like that.
Q. Okay. Uh ... what did you do then?
A. I threw it in drive, and headed toward the police, which were actually two (2) blocks straight down from where we were on the corner of Dixie and Hill at that time. There was about six (6) cars of police there.

He stated both of his front tires were flat, and his windshield, mirror and gas tank were shot out. Steele testified that his Cadillac was struck about eight times, with other bullets hitting the hood, left front fender, and side panel. He identified the photographs taken of his car after the shooting.

Steele’s wife, Sandra Washington, was sitting in the front passenger seat. Fisher was seated behind Steele in the back seat. No one was injured in the shooting.

Steele testified that he saw two shooters, both black males, with one shorter than the other. He could not describe the clothing the two shooters were wearing. [4He stated he could not see the shooters faces, and could not identify them. Steele denied giving the police the Defendant’s name as a suspect.

Christopher Fisher testified that he has a criminal record and has served a total of eleven-and-a-half years behind bars. He stated he last got out of jail on April 26, 2001, and was working as a supervisor at Walmart. Fisher testified that he attended his greatgrandmother’s party and then went to his mother’s house at Dixie and Hill Streets at about 11:00 p.m. He stated that he was walking his sister to her car across the street when a speeding car swerved and almost hit her. After yelling at the men in the car, Fisher saw the car stop and a man get out. Fisher identified the Defendant in court as the man who got out of the car with a glass Hennessy liquor bottle in his hand. The two had words. Fisher testified that he thought the Defendant was going to hit him with the raised bottle, so he began fighting with him. Fisher then began fighting with the two [155]*155men in the backseat of the car before he was pulled off by family members. He also stated that a fourth man, Larry Hamilton, had jumped out of the car and disappeared. Fisher testified that as the three men drove off, he heard one of them yell “Nigger, I know where you at.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Kolby Reshaad Moore
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2025
State v. Garnett
266 So. 3d 330 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State of Louisiana v. Julius Jamal Garnett
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
State v. Dotson
257 So. 3d 229 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
State of Louisiana v. Matthew R. Dotson
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018
State v. Bentley
182 So. 3d 1269 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State of Louisiana v. Rogrick M. Van Dyke
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012
State v. Boyer
56 So. 3d 1119 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
State of Louisiana v. Jonathan Edward Boyer
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011
State v. Giles
884 So. 2d 1233 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)
State of Louisiana v. William L. Giles
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
867 So. 2d 151, 3 La.App. 3 Cir. 1385, 2004 La. App. LEXIS 443, 2004 WL 388925, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hamilton-lactapp-2004.