State v. Khanh Le

131 So. 3d 306, 2013 WL 6504530
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 12, 2013
DocketNo. 13-KA-314
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 131 So. 3d 306 (State v. Khanh Le) 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. Khanh Le, 131 So. 3d 306, 2013 WL 6504530 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

STEPHEN J. WINDHORST, Judge.

12Pefendant, Khanh Le, along with co-defendant Katherine Le, was charged with the intentional discharge of a firearm during the commission of an aggravated assault and/or aggravated criminal damage to property, wherein it was foreseeable that it may result in death or great bodily harm, in violation of La. R.S. 14:95F. Both proceeded to trial by jury, after which defendant Khanh Le was found guilty and Katherine Le was found not guilty. Defendant was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections, to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence.

FACTS ADDUCED AT TRIAL

On October 4, 2009, gunshots were fired into Club Fusion located on Lapalco Boulevard in Harvey. Three eyewitnesses, Kevin Smith, Kim Bui, and Dianna Luong, named defendant as the shooter.

At the time of the incident, Club Fusion was managed by Dianna Luong, mother of the registered owner, who also served as the club’s bartender. Kim Bui, also a daughter of Ms. Luong, worked as one of the waitresses at the club. Kevin Smith worked part-time, on weekends, as the club’s doorman.1 Ms. Luong testified that defendant and Ms. Le were frequent patrons of the club, and went there every weekend.

^Approximately two weeks before the shooting, defendant was banned from the club because of a riot that started inside the club and escalated into a fight in the parking lot.2 Mr. Smith testified that he has known defendant for two years from defendant’s weekly visits to the club, and that “every time he comes to the club, he always cause [sic] problems.”

On the night of the shooting, defendant attempted to enter the club five times but Mr. Smith prevented him from doing so, explaining that he was “not welcome there.” Defendant eventually walked away towards the parking lot. Meanwhile, defendant’s wife, co-defendant Ms. Le, was inside the club where she got into an argument with one of the customers and Mr. Smith was called to escort her outside. Once Ms. Le was outside, Mr. Smith went back inside the club to make sure “everything was straight.” When Mr. Smith went back towards the open front door of the club he observed defendant with a gun in his hand. Mr. Smith then saw defendant start shooting inside the club. When the shooting started, he closed the front door and took cover. Mr. Smith testified that Ms. Le was outside at the time of the shooting but could not recall if Ms. Le was standing next to defendant at the time of the shooting. After the shooting ceased, Mr. Smith saw defendant leave in a white SUV. He did not see Ms. Le leave with defendant.

[310]*310Kim Bui testified that on the night in question, defendant and Ms. Le entered the club and sat down at a table together, but at some point were asked to leave. Ms. Bui testified that she went outside to smoke a cigarette and heard Ms. Le yelling at defendant to “shoot at the place.”3 Defendant and Ms. Le were standing |4in front of the club, by the door, when defendant started shooting. When the shooting started, Ms. Bui ran back inside the club. Ms. Bui testified that there were over 50 people in the club that night, and when the shots were fired it was “complete chaos.” She was positive that defendant was the individual who fired the shots into the club. Ms. Bui testified that she is familiar with defendant and Ms. Le from their occasional patronage at the club. She testified that she is afraid of defendant and Ms. Le and in the past she has attempted to get a restraining order against them, but she was told they could not get one “on the business because it’s a public place.” Ms. Bui admitted at trial that it was not until a week before trial that she told the prosecutor that she had witnessed the shooting.

Ms. Luong testified as to the events as follows. On the night of the incident, Ms. Le entered the club and “picked a fight” with a woman. As a result, Mr. Smith escorted Ms. Le out of the club. Defendant also tried to enter the club but Mr. Smith would not let him inside. Ms. Luong testified that she was standing by the front door, which was open, when she heard Ms. Le tell defendant to “shoot them.” In response, defendant pulled out a gun and fired about “six rounds.” After the first shots were fired, she ran to one of the side doors in the club and looked outside where she saw defendant still shooting and then observed defendant and Ms. Le flee towards the parking lot.

Lieutenant Mike Kinler, of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, testified that on October 4, 2009, at approximately 3:30 A.M., he also responded to the shooting at the Fusion Club. Upon arrival at the scene, Lieutenant Kinler identified and interviewed several potential witnesses. From his conversations with various witnesses he was able to identify a potential suspect. The shooter, |5known by Mr. Smith, the club’s doorman, as “Kenny”4 was said to have left in a white Mercedes SUV. The mention of a gold Honda vehicle was also made by various witnesses, however, Lieutenant Kinler could not recall who provided this information. Lieutenant Kinler also indicated that reference to a gold Honda was also recorded on one of the 911 transcripts. The officers searched for the gold Honda and white Mercedes SUV at a nearby club known as Club Hawaii where defendant was known to frequent, however, the club was closed when they arrived. Both defendant and Ms. Le admitted that they were the owners of a gold Honda Accord.

Ms. Luong also testified that at some point after the shooting, defendant told Ms. Luong that he was “sorry” and asked her if she would drop the case. She also testified that a week before trial defendant called her and told her that she “point [sic] the wrong person that night of the shooting.”

The defense presented a different version of the events at trial. Defendant took the stand on his own behalf and testified that on the night of the shooting, he and [311]*311Ms. Le went to Club Hawaii between 11:00 P.M. and midnight. The two rode to Club Hawaii together in their gold Honda Accord. Once at Club Hawaii they met up with two friends, Mr. Thovan Do and Ms. Kim Nguyen. While there, defendant and Ms. Le got into an argument and Ms. Le left the bar in their car. Defendant believed she was likely going to the Fusion Club. When defendant was ready to leave, he called his friend Loan Le, who came and picked him up from Club Hawaii between 4:00-4:30 A.M. His friend took him to her home where he spent the night. This testimony was corroborated by Mr. Do and Ms. Nguyen. However, both admitted at trial that they never reported this information to the |6police. Mr. Do further testified that since the shooting incident he had seen both defendant and Ms. Le in the Fusion Club about eight or nine times.

Loan Le testified that between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m., defendant called her and asked her to pick him up at the Hawaii Club and take him home. She picked him up at the Hawaii Club and took him to her house where defendant spent the night. She testified that they did not stop at the Fusion Club on the way home.

Defendant’s wife, Ms. Le, also testified that on the night of the shooting, she and defendant drove to Club Hawaii between 11:00 P.M. and midnight in her Honda Accord. Ms. Le testified that she left Club Hawaii after seeing her husband “talking to another woman.” She then drove to the Fusion Club by herself.

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

Related

State of Louisiana Versus Press Shorter, III
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State of Louisiana Versus Pedro A. Monterroso
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State of Louisiana Versus Freddie B. Gatson
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
State of Louisiana Versus Terez Ard
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
State v. Barnett
267 So. 3d 209 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State v. Flag
262 So. 3d 1018 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
State v. Devillier
258 So. 3d 230 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
State v. Smith
227 So. 3d 337 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
State v. Simmons
190 So. 3d 1274 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State v. Hernandez
177 So. 3d 342 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Brenckle
170 So. 3d 1141 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Melancon
151 So. 3d 100 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State v. Richardson
142 So. 3d 314 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
131 So. 3d 306, 2013 WL 6504530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-khanh-le-lactapp-2013.