State v. Harris

842 So. 2d 432, 2003 WL 1064240
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided March 5, 2003·No. 2002-KA-2099·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

842 So.2d 432 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Trenell HARRIS.

No. 2002-KA-2099.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 5, 2003.

*433 Eddie J. Jordan, Jr., District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Donna R. Andrieu, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Ike Spears, Spears & Spears, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

(Court Composed of Judge CHARLES R. JONES, Judge JAMES F. McKAY III, and Judge MAX N. TOBIAS, Jr.).

Judge MAX N. TOBIAS, JR.

The defendant, Trenell Harris ("Harris"), was charged by bill of information on 12 March 2002 with aggravated battery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:34. Harris pleaded not guilty at her 22 March 2002 arraignment. On 17 April 2002, a six-person jury found Harris guilty of second-degree battery. On 1 May 2002, Harris was sentenced to two years at hard labor with *434 credit for time served. On 10 May 2002, Harris filed a motion to reconsider the sentence, which was denied, and a motion for appeal, which was granted.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The victim, Sheena Palmer, testified that on 2 January 2002, she was employed as a shift manager at Church's Fried Chicken located at 7100 Downman Road. She stated that on that day Elvetta Raines and Harris were also working. Harris was also employed as a shift manager, but she was not the shift manager on duty at the time of the incident. According to Ms. Palmer, Harris was assigned to work the drive-through window for the day. A customer pulled up to the window, and Ms. Palmer asked Harris if she was working for the day. Harris responded by telling Ms. Palmer that she should take the customer's order, because she was not going to catch a cold for anyone.

Ms. Palmer testified that she then called the store manager to inform her of the situation. Ms. Palmer informed Harris that the store manager had instructed her to send her, Harris, home. Ms. Palmer further testified that she continued to talk on the telephone when Harris walked over to the fryer, removed some of the hot grease with a pot, threw the hot grease on her, jumped over the counter, and ran out of the store. Ms. Palmer put down the telephone and ran after Harris. Upon entering the store again Ms. Palmer telephoned the police, but before the police arrived she had a friend drive her to the hospital.

After being treated at Charity Hospital for third degree burns on her left arm, left side, back and neck, Ms. Palmer went to the Seventh District police station to report the incident. After giving her statement, a female officer photographed Ms. Palmer's injuries, with the bandages in place. Ms. Palmer also had her injuries photographed later that same day without the bandages.

Ms. Palmer testified that her injuries required two surgical procedures. In the first procedure, old skin was removed; in the second procedure, skin was grafted from her leg to cover her injuries.

Elvetta Raines testified that Harris and Ms. Palmer had an argument over who was going to work the drive-through window as she worked the front counter. Ms. Raines further testified that Ms. Palmer informed Harris that if she did not want to work she could go home. According to Ms. Raines, the two began to argue as she walked over to the lobby area of the restaurant. When Ms. Raines returned to the work area, she saw Harris initiate a pushing match. Ms. Raines testified that Harris then retrieved a pot, removed hot grease from the fryer, threw it on Ms. Palmer, and ran out of the store. Ms. Raines further testified that Ms. Palmer ran out of the store after Harris, then returned to the store to call the police.

Ms. Raines called her brother and asked him to drive Ms. Palmer to the hospital. Ms. Raines testified that later in the day she received a telephone call from a police officer asking for her version of the events of the incident.

Officer Tindell Murdock, of the New Orleans Police Department, testified that he responded to a call of an aggravated battery at Church's Fried Chicken. Because Ms. Palmer had already left the restaurant, Officer Murdock met Ms. Palmer at the Seventh District police station. Once at the station Officer Murdock took Ms. Palmer's statement. The statement recounted by the officer corroborated the version of the events given by Ms. Palmer in her testimony. Officer Murdock stated that he had a female officer photograph Ms. Palmer's injuries.

*435 Officer Murdock further testified that Harris also went to the Seventh District station to give her version of the events. Harris's version of the events conflicted with Ms. Palmer's. Officer Murdock testified that Harris alleged Ms. Palmer threw hot oil on her first and she responded by doing the same. Because the two versions of the story conflicted, Officer Murdock telephoned Ms. Raines to ask her version of the events. Ms. Raines corroborated Ms. Palmer's version of the story. Officer Murdock advised Harris of her rights, placed her under arrest, and transported her to Central Lockup.

Jerry Bennette, an assistant manager at Church's Fried Chicken on Downman Road, testified that on 2 January 2002, he was off duty and at home when he received a phone call about the incident between Ms. Palmer and Harris. When Mr. Bennette arrived at the store, he asked Ms. Palmer what happened, and she responded, "Look at me. What do you think happened?" Mr. Bennette then asked the cook what happened, and he said he was not in the store at the time because he had gone to McDonald's.

Mr. Bennette testified that he then closed the restaurant for a few hours to conduct an investigation. He said he observed grease on the back wall and side wall of the restaurant. He also observed grease in the parking lot, on Harris's vehicle and on Harris's jacket when she returned to the store. Mr. Bennette stated that he questioned the three employees in the store at the time of the incident, and Ms. Raines would not provide any information because she did not want to get involved.

Harris testified that she and Ms. Palmer were working together on 2 January 2002. She stated that as the shift began that morning Ms. Raines asked about the work assignments for the day, and Harris responded by saying she did not want to work the drive-through window because she had a cold. According to Harris, for most of the shift she worked the front counter. At some point during the shift Mr. Bennette called and asked Harris to recount the money in the store safe because Ms. Palmer found it was short of cash. After the call, a customer came to the drive-through window, and Ms. Palmer asked Harris to take the order. Harris told Ms. Palmer she had to take the order herself. Ms. Palmer then telephoned the store manager, and as she waited for the manager to answer the call, they continued to argue. Harris alleges Ms. Palmer put down the telephone receiver and approached her pointing her finger in her face. Harris further alleges that Ms. Palmer then walked over to the fryer, retrieved hot grease, and threw it on her. Harris alleges she responded in self-defense by pouring hot grease on Ms. Palmer. According to Harris, Ms. Palmer then chased her out of the store with more hot grease, and as she entered her vehicle Ms. Palmer poured the grease on her vehicle.

Harris testified that she then drove to her sister's home to call the police. Harris further testified that because the 911 operators sent the officer to the wrong address, she went to the Seventh District police station to report the incident. At the police station Harris gave a statement to Officer Murdock.

ERRORS PATENT

A review of the record reveals no errors patent.

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State v. Harris, 842 So. 2d 432, 2003 WL 1064240 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

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