State v. Haynes

847 So. 2d 653, 2002 La.App. 4 Cir. 1648, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 1389, 2003 WL 21101399
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided April 30, 2003·No. No. 2002-KA-1648·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

liMAX N. TOBIAS JR., Judge.

On 6 July 2001, the defendant, Jonna L. Haynes (“Haynes”), was charged by a bill of information with armed robbery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64. Haynes pled not guilty at arraignment on 12 July 2001. A hearing on defense motions was held on 24 [655] August 2001, and the court denied the motion to suppress the identification and found probable cause. A jury found the defendant guilty as charged on 4 March 2002. The state filed a habitual offender bill of information pursuant to La. R.S. 15:529.1. On 24 May 2002, the trial court denied Haynes’s motion for new trial and motion for post-judgment verdict of acquittal. A hearing on the multiple bill was held the same day. After hearing the evidence, the trial court found Haynes to be a third felony offender and sentenced him to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Haynes’s motion to reconsider sentence was denied. The motion for appeal was granted.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Shortly before noon, on 11 June 2001, Curtis Aubry went to an automobile body repair shop on Saint Roch Avenue to retrieve his vehicle. Mr. Aubry parked Ijiis rental car, a white Mitsubishi Montero, an SUV, on the median. He was standing at the rear of the vehicle with the tailgate of the SUV raised, straightening up his personal belongings before transferring them to his personal vehicle. He was nearly finished when someone walked up behind him and put his left arm around his neck. The perpetrator held a gun at Mr. Aubry’s side and said, “Give me all your money.” Mr. Aubry turned and looked at the perpetrator in the face, which was covered by a ladies stocking that the perpetrator had over his head. Mr. Aubry told his assailant essentially that everything he had was there in the back of the truck. Specifically, the victim’s jewelry, consisting of two rings, a watch, and a bracelet, as well as a bank envelope with five hundred dollars in it, were in a small plastic bucket in the back of the car. The perpetrator grabbed the bucket as well as the keys to the SUV and pushed Mr. Aubry back. The perpetrator walked to the front of the vehicle and told the victim to get back. As he did so, he raised the stocking halfway up in order to speak. With the rear tailgate still open the perpetrator drove off in the vehicle.

When the police arrived at the body shop, Mr. Aubry met with a detective and provided a description of the perpetrator as being brown to dark complexioned, in his mid to late twenties, approximately 210 pounds, and somewhat taller than he. Mr. Aubry stated that he was 5' 9" tall. Mr. Aubry stated that the perpetrator was wearing knee length jeans and a dark colored T-shirt.

Officer August Michael was on patrol when he received a radio dispatch describing the white Mitsubishi Montero. Shortly thereafter, Officer Michael and his partner observed the vehicle on North Miro Street crossing Congress Street. They turned onto North Miro, and the Montero started to speed off. Officer Michael initiated pursuit with his lights and siren on. The chase ensued for several | ¡¡blocks until the Montero failed to negotiate a right turn at a high rate of speed and crashed through a fence and into a support beam of a carport. Officer Michael and his partner were approaching as the subject fled from the vehicle and jumped over the fence and into a backyard. Officer Holmes stated that he observed Haynes strike his head on the support beam as he fled. Officer Michael observed the subject from the rear, and stated that he was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jean shorts. Officer Michael ran into the backyard, but he lost sight of the perpetrator.

Officer Michael radioed for a canine unit and, with the assistance of other units the officers, were able to set up a perimeter with a one-block radius. After the canine unit arrived, Officer Michael showed them where to begin the search. The dog led [656] the officers into an adjoining yard and then into a “washateria” behind an apartment complex. A small door led to a crawl space behind the dryers where the officers observed Haynes’s shoe sticking out from behind a dryer. After breaking down a sheetrock wall, the officers took Haynes into custody.

The majority of the victim’s personal belongings were recovered inside the vehicle. Apparently, they were in some disarray. The victim’s jewelry and money, all of which had been contained in the small plastic bucket, were not recovered. A nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol was recovered on the passenger side floorboard of the car. Additionally, a ladies stocking was recovered from the support beam hanging from a wood splinter. The victim was transported to the scene where he identified Haynes. The victim also identified the gun as the one used in the robbery.

\ ¿ERRORS PATENT

A review of the record for errors patent reveals none.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In his sole assignment of error, Haynes argues that the trial court erred by denying the motion to suppress the identification. A defendant who seeks to suppress an identification must prove both that the identification itself was suggestive and that a likelihood of misidentification existed as a result of the identification procedure. State v. Prudholm, 446 So.2d 729, 738 (La.1984) State v. Valentine, 570 So.2d 533 (La.App. 4 Cir.1990). One-on-one confrontations between the suspect and the victim, while not favored by law, are generally permissible when the accused is apprehended within a short time after the offense and is returned to the scene of the crime for an on-the-spot identification. State v. Robinson, 404 So.2d 907, 909-910 (La.1981). Such a process assures reliability and fosters prompt release of innocent suspects. Id.

Even if the identification could be considered suggestive, it is the likelihood of misidentification that violates due process, not merely the suggestive identification procedure. State v. Thibodeaux, 98-1673 (La.9/8/99), 750 So.2d 916, 932. Fairness is the standard of review for identification procedures, and reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony. Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 2253, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977). Even a suggestive, out-of-court identification will be admissible if it is found reliable under the totality of circumstances. State v. Guy, 95-0899 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/31/96), 669 So.2d 517.

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State v. Haynes, 847 So. 2d 653, 2002 La.App. 4 Cir. 1648, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 1389, 2003 WL 21101399 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

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