State v. Holmes

701 So. 2d 752, 1997 WL 680785
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 29, 1997
Docket95-KA-2249
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 701 So. 2d 752 (State v. Holmes) 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. Holmes, 701 So. 2d 752, 1997 WL 680785 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

701 So.2d 752 (1997)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Charles W. HOLMES.

No. 95-KA-2249.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

October 29, 1997.

*753 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Susan Erlanger Talbot, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Archie B. Creech, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for Defendant-Appellant.

*754 Before BYRNES, JONES and WALTZER, JJ.

BYRNES, Judge.

A twelve member jury found the defendant, Charles W. Holmes, guilty of second degree murder (La. R.S. 14:30.1) of his brother, Jerry Holmes, and attempted first degree murder (La. R.S. 14:27(30)) of officer Otello Thomas.

He was sentenced on the second degree murder conviction to life imprisonment in the Department of Corrections without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, and on the attempted first degree murder conviction to fifty years in the Department of Corrections at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS:

Ida Mae Mitchell was with the victim, Jerry Holmes, on July 15, 1994, at 2408 Dumaine Street when Charles Holmes, Jerry's brother, walked up. Ms. Mitchell said that the brothers spoke to each other, and then Charles Holmes walked to the nearby store. He was gone for about twenty minutes. When he returned, Charles Holmes began arguing with Jerry Holmes, asking Jerry "why he didn't come to see his daddy." Ms. Mitchell said that Charles Holmes pulled out a gun and shot it once over Jerry Holmes' head. Jerry walked away; Charles Holmes followed, stood behind Jerry, and shot him in the back of the head. Ms. Mitchell said that although she witnessed the murder, she did not know "the motive behind it." Charles Holmes left the area immediately.

Kenneth Bazil, Jr., a retired employee of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and a reserve deputy in Orleans Parish, was part of a group of men who met informally in the 2400 block of Dumaine Street; Mr. Bazil gave a slightly different version of events. He said that on July 15, 1994, Charles Holmes walked up to Jerry Holmes and told Jerry that he should have gone to see their father when he had a heart attack. Then Charles pulled a gun out and shot "towards Jerry Holmes' abdomen," but Kenneth Bazil assumed it was a cap gun because Jerry Holmes was not wounded. Nevertheless, Kenneth Bazil pulled out his gun and stood behind a column. After noticing Bazil's reaction, Jerry said, "Ken, he's crazy. Don't bother him. He's all right. Just leave him alone." Mr. Bazil put his gun away but sat down so that he could see Charles Holmes. Bazil said the murder occurred very fast; he watched as Charles Holmes walked up to within two feet behind Jerry and shot Jerry in the back of the head. Mr. Bazil, who is a paramedic, said that Jerry Holmes was stunned for a moment and then collapsed. Bazil pulled his gun and ordered Charles Holmes to stop, but Holmes raised his hands in the air—one hand still holding the gun—and walked to his truck. When he was in the truck, Charles pointed his gun at Kenneth Bazil; Bazil then fired two shots at Charles Holmes.

Dr. Richard Tracy, an expert in forensic pathology who performed the victim's autopsy, found that Jerry Holmes died as a result of one gunshot wound in the back of the head. Dr. Tracy retrieved the bullet from the victim's forehead.

Officer Othello Thomas was patrolling about 7:00 p.m. on July 15, 1994, around Orleans and Tonti Streets when he noticed a man urinating on the corner. The officer ordered the man to stop and to put his hands on the patrol car. As the officer tried to pat down his left rear pocket, the man walked away, and the officer ordered him to return. The offender returned, but when Officer Thomas tried to pat down the left rear pocket, the man again walked away, and the officer ordered him back. After the entire episode happened a third time, the officer radioed for a backup. At that time, the man, later identified as Charles Holmes, said, "I ain't going to jail. Shoot me..... Kill me." And, as Officer Thomas puzzled over why the man thought he was going to jail for urinating in public, Holmes pulled a gun from his left rear pocket, pointed it at the officer and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired. Charles Holmes walked off with his gun in his hand. After another officer arrived, Officer Thomas and the second officer followed Holmes and arrested him. Officer Thomas said Charles Holmes did not appear to be intoxicated when he was arrested; however, when directed on cross-examination to look *755 at the police report he had written, the officer noted that he had marked a box indicating that Charles Holmes was drunk.

Charles Holmes, aged thirty-two at the time of trial, stated that he worked as a "freelance mechanic." Mr. Holmes said that he and his brother, Jerry, were closer than most brothers; they hunted and fished together, and Charles helped Jerry lay the foundation for Jerry's house. Holmes explained that he was carrying his girlfriend's gun on July 15, 1994, to get it out of the house and away from his children. He drove to the 2400 block of Dumaine to have a drink with his brother and to talk about a planned fishing trip the next day. When Charles asked Jerry Holmes if he had seen their father, Jerry answered that he had not had time to go to the hospital; the comment angered Charles. The dialogue between the two brothers became increasingly more heated. Charles was offended by Jerry's comments, whereupon Charles pulled out the gun and fired above Jerry's head. Instead of becoming angry, Jerry simply said, "Junior, hold up. We got to talk. Let me get you a drink." Charles was putting his gun back into his pocket when he noticed that Kenneth Bazil had a gun out. Charles testified that he ran behind his brother to keep Jerry as a shield between himself and Bazil's gun; however, Charles' gun fired. According to Charles it went off accidently. Charles Holmes stated that he did not know if he had injured Jerry or not, but at that point he left.

Charles said he drove around the area, then parked, and walked around Dorgenois Street. He stopped to buy a half-pint of Dark Eyes and a fifth of Night Train. Later Charles went to another liquor store where he bought a half-pint of vodka. He maintains he drank most of the whiskey. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the First District Station where a policeman told him what had happened. Charles said he did not remember anything of the events Officer Thomas described when he testified at trial.

DISCUSSION:

A. Errors Patent

A review of the record reveals two errors patent. First, the trial court sentenced the defendant on the same day that the motion for a new trial was heard and denied. La.C.Cr.P. art. 873 provides that a sentence shall not be imposed until at least twenty-four hours after a motion for a new trial is denied unless the defendant expressly waives the delay. Here the defendant did not waive the delay. Failure to observe the delay is not harmless error even if the defendant does not raise it on appeal if the defendant challenges his sentence on appeal. However, because the defendant failed to file a motion to reconsider sentence within thirty days of the imposition of the sentence, we do not take cognizance of this error on appeal. State v. Martin, 93-1915, p. 2 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/29/94); 643 So.2d 830, 832.

The second error concerns the defendant's sentence without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence on the attempted first degree murder conviction.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
701 So. 2d 752, 1997 WL 680785, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-holmes-lactapp-1997.