State v. Hingle

677 So. 2d 603, 1996 WL 348098
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 26, 1996
Docket28260-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 677 So. 2d 603 (State v. Hingle) 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. Hingle, 677 So. 2d 603, 1996 WL 348098 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

677 So.2d 603 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Gilmer P. HINGLE, Appellant.

No. 28260-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 26, 1996.

*605 Paul Henry Kidd, Monroe, for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Karen Godwin, M. Patricia Jones, Ann Evans Whittington, Assistant Attorneys General, Jerry L. Jones, District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before SEXTON, WILLIAMS and STEWART, JJ.

WILLIAMS, Judge.

The defendant, Gilmer Hingle, was indicted by a Ouachita Parish grand jury with one count of public bribery, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:118. The trial court denied defendant's motions to quash and motion in limine. The defendant was subsequently convicted as charged. The trial court sentenced the defendant to serve two years at hard labor, suspended the sentence and placed the defendant on supervised probation for a period of three years, with a special condition of probation that the defendant serve 180 days in the parish jail. The defendant appeals his conviction. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

The defendant, Gilmer Hingle, is an attorney who practices in Monroe, Louisiana. The charge of public bribery is a result of his representation of Frank and Irma Feeback, who were charged with the offenses of filing false documents and theft by fraud. The charges against the Feebacks arose out of allegations made by Linda Kay King, a former employee of R & J Auto Sales, a used car dealership owned by the Feebacks. In October 1990, Linda King made a complaint to the Louisiana Used Motor Vehicle and Parts Commission (LUMVPC), alleging that the Feebacks were submitting falsified title applications to the LUMVPC for the purpose of defrauding the state of tax revenue and title and licensing fees.

Louisiana State Trooper Jay Norris investigated Ms. King's complaint and interviewed her on several occasions. Trooper Norris testified that Ms. King informed him that documents were being altered with the knowledge of and at the direction of the Feebacks. Ms. King provided documents that had allegedly been forged or altered. She also implicated Linda Donaldson, the title clerk for R & J Auto Sales, in this scheme. Trooper Norris contacted customers who had purchased cars involved in the alleged forgery scheme. In each case, he found a difference in the amount of the sale price paid by the customer and the amount reported to the state, thus reducing the amount of sales tax that R & J Auto owed to the state. The Trooper also interviewed Ms. Donaldson, who confirmed King's complaint. Ms. Donaldson was also charged with falsifying documents but was later granted immunity for her testimony against the Feebacks. Trooper Norris reported the case to the Ouachita Parish district attorney, who filed bills of information charging the Feebacks with sixteen counts of filing false public records, eight counts of theft by fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit theft. The Feebacks hired the defendant to represent them in their criminal case.

Previously, the Feebacks had received an unsigned letter which was referred to at trial as the "worst nightmare letter." The writer of the letter claimed to have information that would incriminate the Feebacks. The implied intent of the letter was to extort money from the Feebacks. The Feebacks conducted *606 an investigation to determine who wrote the letter and concluded that it was Linda King. Irma Feeback also recorded several of her telephone conversations with King. After the Feebacks were charged, the defendant gave the "worst nightmare" letter and a tape recording of the telephone conversations to Neal Johnson, an assistant district attorney. The defendant discussed with Johnson his suspicion that King was attempting to extort money from the Feebacks. However, the district attorney did not take any action regarding this complaint.

Evidence produced at trial showed that King and her husband were experiencing financial difficulties at the time. Premier Bank and Norwest Financial Louisiana, Inc. had each instituted suit against the Kings for unpaid notes. Additionally, the Kings owed $1,211.04 on a Central Bank credit card. The defendant testified that Ms. King contacted him and asked for a meeting, during which King implied that if the Feebacks paid off her debts she would not testify against them. King also denied telling the investigators that she had any personal knowledge of who was responsible for falsifying documents. Ms. King did not explicitly threaten the defendant at the time. However, the defendant testified that he understood that if these debts were not paid, she would testify against the Feebacks.

Following this meeting, the defendant prepared two affidavits. In the first, the Feebacks agreed not to hold Ms. King liable for any harm she may have caused them, and not to seek criminal or other prosecution against Ms. King. The affidavit also stated that Ms. King would aid in the Feebacks' defense and testify as to the truth in exchange for the Feebacks providing "financial aid" to her by assuming her debts at Norwest Financial, Premier Bank, and Central Bank. This affidavit was signed by Frank and Irma Feeback on April 6, 1991.

In the second affidavit, Ms. King declared that the Feebacks never requested or directed her or any other person to forge or falsify documents. She further stated that Donaldson bragged about forging or falsifying motor vehicle documents. Ms. King also declared that she identified various motor vehicle documents as being the forgeries of Donaldson in the presence of Trooper Norris. King signed this affidavit on April 7, 1991.

Following the signing of these affidavits, the defendant arranged for the Kings' debts to be assigned to Creative Mortgage Funding, Inc., a Louisiana corporation incorporated by the defendant for the use of his client Dan Marshall. According to Marshall, the entity was merely a "paper corporation" that was never utilized due to a lack of funding. However, Marshall consented when the defendant asked to use the corporation to execute a loan.

Brenda Hicks, the defendant's secretary and legal assistant at the time, testified that the defendant instructed her to pick up money from the Feebacks, purchase cashier's checks under the name of Creative Mortgage Funding, and issue the checks to Premier Bank, Norwest Financial, and Central Bank. Ms. Hicks then delivered the cashier's checks to the financial institutions as payment of the Kings' debts. Overall, Creative Mortgage Funding assumed $6,653 of the Kings' debts. At the time of the defendant's trial, Ms. King had not made any loan payments to Creative Mortgage Funding.

The defendant then filed a motion to quash the Feebacks' indictments and attached a copy of Ms. King's April 7, 1991 affidavit. In response, assistant district attorney Johnson investigated the motive behind Ms. King's affidavit, and discovered evidence linking the defendant to the payment of the Kings' debts. When Johnson confronted the defendant with this evidence, he stated that a friend's corporation had purchased the loans in a legitimate transaction. However, the defendant admitted that the Kings had not made any payments on the loan. The defendant also told Johnson, "If you as prosecutors can offer immunity to a witness to get him to cooperate, why can't I offer him money?" Subsequently, a Ouachita Parish grand jury indicted the defendant with the offense of public bribery.

Prior to trial, the defendant filed a motion to quash the indictment and a motion in limine, both of which addressed the issue of attorney-client privilege and the potential effect *607

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

Related

Waste Management of Louisiana v. River Birch, Inco
920 F.3d 958 (Fifth Circuit, 2019)
In re Hingle
717 So. 2d 636 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
677 So. 2d 603, 1996 WL 348098, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hingle-lactapp-1996.