State v. Kimbrough

673 So. 2d 1187, 1996 WL 203178
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 24, 1996
Docket94-KA-2141
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 673 So. 2d 1187 (State v. Kimbrough) 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. Kimbrough, 673 So. 2d 1187, 1996 WL 203178 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

673 So.2d 1187 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Harold KIMBROUGH.

No. 94-KA-2141.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

April 24, 1996.

*1188 Edward Newman, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Karen Godail Arena, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, for Appellee.

Before LOBRANO, PLOTKIN and MURRAY, JJ.

LOBRANO, Judge.

Defendant, Harold Kimbrough, was charged by bill of information with simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:62.2.

Trial was held on June 21 and 23, 1994. Defendant was found guilty as charged.[1] On June 29, 1994, defendant's motion for new trial was heard and denied. On that same day, defendant admitted the allegations in a multiple bill filed by the state. Defendant was then sentenced to serve six (6) years at hard labor as a multiple offender.

FACTS:

On April 5, 1993, Wilbur Roberts returned to his residence at 1341 Lawrence Street to find that it had been burglarized. The burglary was committed during the day while Roberts was at work. An inspection of the premises revealed the perpetrator entered through a rear bathroom window. A VCR, a camera and several items of jewelry were missing. The bedroom had been ransacked.

Roberts asked his girlfriend to telephone the police while he went to a nearby pawn shop to see if any of his stolen property had been pawned. As he returned home, he observed defendant in front of his own residence. Defendant and Roberts were neighbors. Because defendant had no running water, Roberts had given him permission to get water from a faucet located near the window where the break-in occurred. Roberts confronted defendant concerning the burglary. Defendant denied entering Roberts' house. An altercation ensued.

Three calls were made to the police about the burglary. The first officers that arrived, however, were answering a call concerning the altercation between the two men. When they arrived Roberts and defendant were back inside their respective homes. Officer Edward Delery spoke with defendant and Officer Darryl Odom spoke to Roberts. Roberts informed Officer Odom about the burglary which led to the altercation with defendant. Officer Odom inspected the Roberts residence and discovered a footprint in the bathtub. Odom then went to defendant's home. Odom noticed that defendant was wearing sneakers. Defendant allowed Odom *1189 to inspect the bottoms of the sneakers. The bottom of the shoes were similar to the print in the tub.

Another neighbor, Gregory Woods, told both Roberts and the police that he saw defendant walking down a nearby street that morning carrying something in a white plastic trash bag which he did not have when he returned home. Roberts kept white garbage bags in his home. The box containing the bags was found next to where the VCR had been prior to the burglary. When questioned by Officers Odom and Delery, defendant at first denied any knowledge of the burglary stating he had been home all day. Later he changed his story saying he had been out all day seeking employment. Nevertheless, defendant was not arrested at that time.

Subsequently, defendant was arrested on an unrelated municipal charge. While in custody, defendant was interviewed by Detective Kenneth Harris who had been assigned to investigate the burglary. After informing defendant of his rights, defendant told Harris that he wished to give a statement. Defendant admitted that he had burglarized the home and used a white plastic garbage bag to carry the items from the house. He told Harris he took the VCR and the camera to the Fisher Project where he sold the items to a man at 1335 Wall Court, Apt. 2-C for $40.00. He stated he committed the burglary because he was angry at Roberts and needed the money to pay his utility bill.

Based on this statement, Harris obtained a search warrant for 1335 Wall Court, Apt. 2-C. Upon execution of the warrant, the officers found a camera which Roberts later identified as the one taken in the burglary.

Photographs of the shoe print in the bathtub and defendant's shoe sole were taken and submitted into evidence. However, no expert was called to testify as to an exact match. A fingerprint lifted from the broken glass of the bathroom window was positively identified as matching defendant's left thumb print.

Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence asserting the following assignments of error:

1) The trial court erred in refusing to suppress defendant's statement to Officer Odom as well as the physical shoe print evidence.
2) The trial court erred in refusing to suppress the confession to Detective Kenneth Harris or the evidence obtained pursuant to the search warrant.
3) The evidence was insufficient to support defendant's conviction.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR 1:

Defendant asserts the trial court erred in refusing to suppress his statements to Officer Odom. Specifically, defendant argues that because he was a suspect when first questioned he should have been advised of his rights and that any statements or information given were inadmissible, including allowing the officer to examine his shoe soles.[2]

In State v. Bell, 613 So.2d 744, 745-746 (La.App. 4th Cir.1993), we set forth the following general criteria for the admissibility of a defendant's statement.

"The State has the burden of proving that a statement given by a defendant was freely and voluntarily given, not the product of threats, promises, coercion, intimidation, or physical abuse. (citations omitted) To establish the admissibility of a statement made by an accused person during custodial interrogation, the State must prove that the accused had been advised of his/her Miranda rights, and that he/she waived these rights prior to interrogation. The determination of a statement's admissibility is within a trial court's discretion, and it should not be disturbed unless it is not supported by the evidence." (citations omitted)

In determining whether a person is "in custody" for Miranda purposes, the Federal Fifth Circuit enunciated the following four part test: (1) whether there was probable *1190 cause to arrest the person; (2) the subjective intent of the investigator; (3) the objective belief of the person; and (4) the focus of the investigator. United States v. Carollo, 507 F.2d 50 (5th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 874, 96 S.Ct. 143, 46 L.Ed.2d 105 (1975). Louisiana has adopted this test. State v. Thompson, 399 So.2d 1161 (La.1981); State v. Watkins, 526 So.2d 357 (La.App. 4th Cir.1988); State v. Moran, 451 So.2d 48 (La. App. 4th Cir.), writ denied, 456 So.2d 165 (La.1984). The need for Miranda warnings, however, arises not only in situations where a defendant has been arrested, but also in situations where the questioning indicates that a defendant's freedom of action has been deprived in any significant way. See, State v. Menne, 380 So.2d 14 (La.1980), cert. denied, Louisiana v. Menne, 449 U.S. 833, 101 S.Ct. 104, 66 L.Ed.2d 39 (1980); Watkins, supra.

In the instant case, the record discloses that the officers first interviewed defendant concerning the altercation between him and Roberts. The officers were unaware of the burglary until after speaking with Roberts about the altercation.

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

Related

State v. Rogers
757 So. 2d 655 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
State v. Nguyen
707 So. 2d 66 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Cage
696 So. 2d 270 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
673 So. 2d 1187, 1996 WL 203178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kimbrough-lactapp-1996.