State v. Harriman

469 So. 2d 298
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 8, 1985
Docket16871-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 469 So. 2d 298 (State v. Harriman) 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. Harriman, 469 So. 2d 298 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

469 So.2d 298 (1985)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
David R. HARRIMAN, Appellant.

No. 16871-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

May 8, 1985.

*300 Smith & Hingle by J. Randolph Smith, Monroe, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, James Norris, Dist. Atty., Michael J. Fontenot, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before HALL, SEXTON and LINDSAY, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

Defendant, David R. Harriman, was indicted by a Ouachita Parish grand jury for the first degree murder and armed robbery of Kevin Chapin, an attendant at the Racetrac Gasoline Station in West Monroe. The *301 defendant was subsequently charged by an amended indictment with the offense of second degree murder, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. In State v. Harriman, 434 So.2d 551 (La.App. 2d Cir.1983) cert. denied, 440 So.2d 729 (La.1983), this court reviewed the trial court's judgment denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence and affirmed that judgment. A Ouachita Parish jury subsequently found the defendant guilty of second degree murder. The trial court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Finding no merit to defendant's assignments of error on appeal, we affirm.

FACTS

On May 11, 1982, Kevin Chapin, an attendant at the Racetrac Gasoline Station on Thomas Road in West Monroe was the victim of an armed robbery and homicide. The incident was reported by James Futch, who had stopped at the station. Futch told the police that at approximately 2:00 a.m., he saw a white male wearing a white short sleeved shirt at the counter inside the station. Futch observed someone whom he believed to be the attendant lying on the floor of the station. Futch reported that he saw the suspect enter a gold colored vehicle, leave the station, and travel south along the Thomas Road overpass over Interstate 20.

Several minutes after receiving this information, West Monroe police officers arrived at the gasoline station. As one of the officers arrived at the station, he observed a man matching the description provided by Futch, exit the west side of the station, enter a gold Chevrolet, and leave the scene. The officer wrote down the license number of the car and the defendant was stopped shortly thereafter in this vehicle.

The defendant was advised of his rights and informed that he was a suspect in this investigation. The defendant was transported to the West Monroe Police Department where a routine search was performed and $225.00 was taken from the defendant's person. It was later learned that approximately $235.00 was missing from the station. The defendant was taken to an interrogation room where he was formally placed under arrest for armed robbery and first degree murder. The defendant at this time executed a written waiver of his constitutional rights.

During the interrogation, the defendant stated that he had stopped at the gas station for gasoline and had seen the attendant lying on the floor. He stated he did not wish to get involved and was in the process of leaving when he was observed by the West Monroe Police Officer. The defendant denied being at the scene five minutes earlier. At this time, the defendant invoked his right to counsel and the interrogation was terminated.

Later that same morning, Futch, the witness who had first seen the defendant leaving the gasoline station, identified the defendant in a lineup.

On the afternoon after the defendant's arrest, Corporal Via and Sergeant Fewell of the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Department, on special assignment to the Ouachita Parish Homicide Task Force, had the defendant placed in an interview room to interrogate him about unrelated homicides which the Task Force was investigating. According to the officers, during this interview the defendant asked to see the officers investigating the offense for which he was being held. Sergeant Norris of the West Monroe Police Department was called and entered the interrogation room with Corporal Via and Sergeant Fewell. The defendant was again advised of his constitutional rights. It was during this interview that the defendant implicated himself in the murder of the attendant at the Racetrac Gasoline Station. Additionally, during this interview, the defendant advised the officers of the location of the murder weapon, a .38 caliber pistol. At trial, the defendant was found guilty, as charged, of second degree murder.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

1. The trial court erred in failing to suppress oral inculpatory statements *302 and/or confessions allegedly made by defendant to law enforcement personnel on the 11th day of May, 1982 and in allowing the introduction of such statements into evidence at trial.
2. The trial court erred in allowing into evidence at trial Exhibit S-31.
3. The trial court erred in failing to suppress for use as evidence at trial and/or in allowing introduction into evidence at trial of any and all items of physical evidence seized as a result of defendant's oral and culpatory statements and/or confessions, including but not necessarily limited to Exhibits S-19, S-21A and S-21B.
4. The trial court erred in admitting into evidence at trial Exhibits S-21A and S-21B when no foundation was laid for their admissibility and no chain of custody was established.
5. The trial court erred in failing to suppress the results of any lineup or any identification process and in allowing into evidence Exhibit S-4.
6. The trial court erred in allowing the introduction into evidence Exhibit S-1.
7. The trial court erred in allowing the introduction into evidence of Exhibits S-12 and S-13.
8. The trial court erred in qualifying State witness Larry Norris as an expert in fingerprint identification and in allowing him to make observations as to the reasons why defendant's fingerprints may not be (were not) found at the scene of the crime.
9. The trial court erred in allowing into evidence Exhibit S-17.
10. The trial court erred in failing to grant defendant's motion for mistrial during the testimony of State witness, Jack Spears, when the Assistant District Attorney made prejudicial remarks and comments on the evidence in the presence of the jury.
11. The trial court erred in allowing the introduction into evidence of Exhibit S-3.
12. The trial court erred in qualifying State witness, Steve McKinney, as an expert in firearms identification and/or ballistics and in allowing the witness to testify regarding his observations and findings in the absence of photographs confirming the results of his testing procedures.
13. The trial court erred by failing to grant defendant's motion for mistrial made during the prosecution's rebuttal closing argument.
14. The trial court erred in including in its general charge examples of circumstantial evidence.
15. The trial court erred in failing to grant defendant's motion for new trial and motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal.
16. The jury erred in finding defendant guilty of second degree murder in that the evidence when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution does not support such a verdict.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1, 2 and 3

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

Related

Joe Oliver v. Magnolia Clinic
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011
State v. Hoffman
768 So. 2d 542 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2000)
State v. Gates
630 So. 2d 1345 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
State v. Essex
618 So. 2d 659 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
State v. Bean
582 So. 2d 947 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Volentine
565 So. 2d 511 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
State v. Matthews
552 So. 2d 590 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1989)
State v. Lambert
550 So. 2d 847 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1989)
State v. Jackson
550 So. 2d 680 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1989)
State v. Collins
535 So. 2d 973 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
State v. Brown
513 So. 2d 425 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Brooks
499 So. 2d 741 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Johnson
489 So. 2d 301 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Harriman
474 So. 2d 1304 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
469 So. 2d 298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harriman-lactapp-1985.