State v. Keltner

542 So. 2d 42, 1989 WL 30770
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 29, 1989
Docket20330-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 542 So. 2d 42 (State v. Keltner) 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. Keltner, 542 So. 2d 42, 1989 WL 30770 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

542 So.2d 42 (1989)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
William C. KELTNER, Appellant.

No. 20330-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

March 29, 1989.

*43 Davenport, Files & Kelly by Lavelle B. Saloman, Monroe, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, T.J. Adkins, Dist. Atty., Dan J. Grady, III, and Stephen K. Hearn, Jr., Asst. Dist. Attys., Ruston, for appellee.

Before FRED W. JONES, Jr., LINDSAY and HIGHTOWER, JJ.

LINDSAY, Judge.

The defendant, William C. Keltner, appeals his convictions and sentences for one count of aggravated obstruction of a highway of commerce and two counts of negligent homicide, violations of LSA-R.S. 14:96 and 32, respectively. The defendant was sentenced to three years at hard labor on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. For the following reasons, we affirm the convictions and sentences.

FACTS

The defendant, a resident of Tampa, Florida, was employed by B & M Enterprises as a truck driver. In June, 1987, the defendant, operating an 18 wheeler, accompanied by his "common law" wife and co-driver, Bonnie Sue Anderson, and his 12-year-old daughter, picked up a load of lava rocks in Las Cruces, New Mexico for transport to Columbus, Georgia. The rocks weighed approximately 40,000 pounds.

On Sunday, June 21, 1987, the defendant and his companions stopped at a truck stop in Shreveport, Louisiana. The defendant was having trouble with a right rear tire on the trailer. The tire was replaced with the spare and around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. the defendant and his party left the truck stop heading east on I-20. The defendant was driving. Around Milepost 50, west of Minden, Louisiana, Ms. Anderson noted a noise from a tire. The defendant pulled into a rest area near Minden and discovered the tire was flat. According to Ms. Anderson, she and the defendant spent about one hour at the rest stop conferring on what they should do and what course of action to take. At that time, they also shared a marijuana cigarette. Ms. Anderson stated that they had smoked another marijuana cigarette several hours previously.

The defendant learned that there was a truck stop at Milepost 103, near Monroe, Louisiana. He then decided to proceed on to the truck stop by driving along the shoulder of the road at a slow rate of speed, less than 35 miles per hour.

At around Milepost 80, a second tire, also on the right rear of the truck, on the same axle, went flat. The defendant then continued to drive along the shoulder of the road at approximately 5 miles per hour, occasionally pulling onto the main portion of the roadway when the shoulder became too rough. The defendant stated that he did not stop and call for road service because he thought he could make the last twenty miles to the truck stop.

On that evening, Mr. Jack Marcum was eastbound on I-20 in his automobile. He narrowly escaped colliding with the rear of the defendant's truck. Marcum was able to safely swerve around the defendant. According to Marcum, the defendant's emergency flashers were functioning.

A truck driver, Harrel Reeves, stated that he also nearly collided with the rear of the defendant's truck. The truck was moving slowly. Although its lights were on, the emergency flashers were not in operation. Reeves stated he contacted the defendant by citizen's band radio and inquired if assistance was needed. The defendant stated that he had two flat tires, but declined assistance.

At approximately 12:25 a.m. June 22, 1987, the defendant's truck was approached from the rear by a Continental Trailways passenger bus which was en route from Shreveport, to Jackson, Mississippi. The bus collided with the tractor-trailer rig, which at that point was half-way *44 on the roadway and traveling at a slow rate of speed. Two passengers on the bus were killed and fifteen others were injured. The accident occurred near Ruston, in Lincoln Parish.

According to officers of the Louisiana State Police who investigated the accident, the defendant appeared very unconcerned following the accident and at times appeared incoherent.

The defendant consented to a search of the truck and marijuana was recovered from the cab.

Following the initial investigation, the defendant and Ms. Anderson were transported to jail in Ruston, where they were detained. The record is unclear as to what charges, if any, were initially filed. However, the record contains a form indicating that the defendant was arrested at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 22, 1987, by the Louisiana State Police in connection with the deaths of the bus passengers. The record also indicates that the defendant was arrested for simple possession of marijuana.

Again, although the record is unclear, it appears that when this case came to the attention of the District Attorney's office, and perhaps because the defendant and Ms. Anderson were non-residents of Louisiana, and because the investigation was not complete, an affidavit and warrant were prepared and filed on June 22, 1987, alleging that both the defendant and Bonnie Sue Anderson were material witnesses. Pursuant to those allegations, the defendant and Bonnie Sue Anderson were held by Lincoln Parish authorities as material witnesses. On June 23, 1987, with counsel present and representing them, the defendant and Ms. Anderson both gave material witness depositions in open court. The minutes indicate that the defendant was thereafter charged with negligent homicide, negligent injury, possession of marijuana and impeding the flow of traffic. He was arraigned on those charges on June 24, 1987. The bill of information was later amended to charge the defendant with one count of aggravated obstruction of a highway of commerce and two counts of vehicular homicide. The defendant was not charged in connection with the fifteen injuries resulting from the accident. No charges were filed against Ms. Anderson.

In their depositions, both the defendant and Ms. Anderson admitted that they had used marijuana on June 21, 1987. According to Ms. Anderson, they had both used marijuana shortly before the accident. Blood and urine samples taken from the defendant showed recent use of marijuana. On November 4-6, 1987, the defendant was tried before a jury. The defendant's material witness deposition was admitted in evidence without objection. Ms. Anderson did not appear at trial. However, her deposition was also introduced into evidence by the state without objection.

On November 6, 1987, the jury found the defendant guilty of one count of aggravated obstruction of a highway of commerce and two counts of negligent homicide, a lesser included offense of vehicular homicide. The defendant appeals his convictions and sentences, urging several assignments of error.

MATERIAL WITNESS DEPOSITIONS

The defendant argues several assignments of error concerning the admission at trial of his material witness deposition and that of Bonnie Sue Anderson. The defendant contends that his arrest as a material witness was not legal but was merely a subterfuge in order to question him about the accident. He claims his deposition was not given voluntarily but was coerced, arguing that he was being held in custody with no one to care for his minor daughter and that he was told he might be released if he gave a deposition. He also claims that the deposition of Bonnie Sue Anderson was improperly admitted at trial because the prosecution failed to show that Ms. Anderson was unavailable at the time of the trial. These arguments cannot be considered in this appeal.

The defendant was represented at trial *45

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
542 So. 2d 42, 1989 WL 30770, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-keltner-lactapp-1989.