State v. Harris

742 So. 2d 997, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2903
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 1, 1999·No. 97-KA-2903·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

742 So.2d 997 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Curtis HARRIS.

No. 97-KA-2903.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

September 1, 1999.

*998 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Susan Erlanger Talbot, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, Louisiana, Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Christopher A. Aberle, Louisiana Appellate Project, Mandeville, Louisiana, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant.

Court composed of Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG, Judge JAMES F. McKAY III, Judge MICHAEL E. KIRBY.

KIRBY, Judge.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On October 19, 1995, defendant, Curtis Harris, was indicted for first degree murder of Arthur Booker. Harris entered a plea of not guilty; after a two-day jury trial, the defendant was found guilty of manslaughter on January 29, 1997. The trial court sentenced the defendant to serve forty years at hard labor and denied defendant's motion to reconsider sentence. From this conviction and sentence, the defendant appeals.

II. STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Steve Turner was living at 1929 Delachaise Street in March of 1995 with his brother, Shedrick Turner. In the early evening hours of March 19, 1995, Steve was visited by two friends, Jeffrey Cyprien and Arthur Booker. They sat around for awhile, and then Cyprien decided to smoke some crack cocaine. They went to Louisiana Avenue and purchased twenty dollars' worth of crack cocaine from someone they called "Wayne Foster"(later determined to be Duane Sanford.) Wayne told Steve he was going to pass by later that evening. *999 After purchasing the drugs, Steve, Booker and Cyprien returned to Steve's house.

Later that evening, Wayne arrived at 1929 Delachaise and yelled Steve's name. Steve opened the door and saw the defendant, who was holding a gun, standing behind Wayne. Wayne told Steve to get on the floor and not to make a sound; Steve complied with this order. Wayne stayed on the top step while the defendant went into the bedroom. Steve heard gunshots, then heard Cyprien say, "What did you do that for?" More gunshots followed. As the defendant was leaving the house, Steve asked, "What's up?" The defendant turned and shot him in the arm. The defendant then shot at him again and missed. Steve grabbed the gun and fought with the defendant. The defendant yelled for Wayne, but Wayne had gone. The defendant was able to wrest the gun away from Steve and fired again; however, the weapon misfired. Steve staggered down the stairs and collapsed outside.

Steve described the shooter having a dark complexion and a bush hair cut; Steve knew the shooter from the neighborhood but did not know his name. Steve was in great pain when the police officers arrived, but he remembered giving the officers Wayne Foster's name. Steve identified the defendant and Duane Sanford in photographic lineups. He also identified the defendant as the shooter at trial. Steve admitted to smoking crack cocaine but denied that his house was a crack house; Steve further stated that he did not allow anyone to do drugs in front of his younger brother, Shedrick.

Shedrick Turner testified that, on the evening of March 19, 1995, he was watching television in the front room of the house. Two men (Booker and Cyprien) came to visit his brother; Shedrick stated that his brother and the two men left for a short while and returned. A little while later, he heard someone say, "I don't have any money," then heard gunshots. Shedrick jumped out of the living room window and ran to his stepsister's house on Foucher Street where he called the police. Shedrick testified that after he jumped out of the window, he looked down the alleyway and saw a light skinned person.

Jeffrey Cyprien testified that on March 19, 1995, he and the victim, Arthur Booker, III, went shopping for a birthday gift for Cyprien's oldest son. After shopping, he and Booker went to visit Booker's friend, Steve Turner. He had gone into the bedroom to check on Booker; while he was doing this, the shooter came from behind him. Cyprien saw the perpetrator's leg and shoe. When Cyprien looked up, he saw a gun that was pointed to his head. Cyprien put his hand up and told the perpetrator that he did not have to hurt him and that he would give the perpetrator his money. The perpetrator shot him in the left knee and then after Cyprien had fallen, the perpetrator shot him in the neck.

Cyprien denied purchasing cocaine from Duane Sanford that evening. He stated that he sat in the kitchen and waited for Booker.

On March 19, 1995, New Orleans Police Officer Sidney Jackson, Jr. and his partner, Officer Stanley Stirgus, responded to a call of shots fired at 1929 Delachaise Street. When the officers arrived, they did not see anything, but a young woman named Yolanda Lawrence approached them and told them that there was a man in the side alley of 1929 Delachaise Street who had been shot. The officers located the subject, Steve Turner, and determined that he had been shot in the arm. Steve told the officers that there were others in the house. Officer Jackson requested an emergency medical unit. The officers entered the house from the rear entrance. The officers located another subject, Jeffrey Cyprian, in the kitchen. Cyprian had been shot multiple times and was lying on the kitchen floor; he appeared to be gasping for air. At this point, the officers requested another emergency medical *1000 unit. In the bedroom, the officer found another subject who had been shot in the head — the victim, Arthur Booker. Booker was already dead. The officers observed casings, a crack pipe and crack cocaine on the dresser in the bedroom.

Officer Stanley Stirgus testified that he and his partner, Sidney Jackson, responded to a call of gunshots fired at 1929 Delachaise Street; his testimony of the events of March 19 matched that of his partner. Stirgus further testified that Turner told them two people were involved. He gave the officers a description of the two perpetrators and stated that one of the perpetrators was named Wayne Foster, who lived somewhere around Constantinople Street.

Detective David Gaines was called to investigate the homicide at 1929 Delachaise Street. When Detective Gaines arrived on the scene, he observed cut and blood stained clothing at the entrance of the alley on the side of the house. The officer proceeded through the alley to the back of the house. On the back steps, he observed a nine-millimeter spent casing, keys and blood droppings. Entering the house from the rear, Gaines first observed a large amount of blood in the laundry room. As he proceeded to the next room, the officer saw a pool of blood near the entrance to the bedroom. On the floor, there was a spent nine-millimeter casing and a pair of broken eyeglasses. In the bedroom, the officer found two nine-millimeter casings on the bed, and another nine-millimeter casing by the closet. The victim, Arthur Booker, was lying on his back between the bed and the night table.

The front door of the residence had been nailed shut. The very front room was the living room. In the living room, Gaines observed that the window was open and the television was on. Gaines obtained the name of a possible perpetrator — Wayne Foster—also learned that while two subjects were involved; there was only one shooter. After completing the crime scene investigation, the officer proceeded to Charity Hospital and interviewed Shedrick Turner, Steve Turner's brother.

Officer Gaines interviewed Steve Turner on March 21, 1995, at Charity Hospital. The officer obtained descriptions of the perpetrators and the name of the perpetrator who was not the shooter.

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State v. Harris, 742 So. 2d 997, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2903 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

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