State v. Knight

536 So. 2d 589, 1988 WL 126170
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 10, 1989
Docket88 KA 0398
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 536 So. 2d 589 (State v. Knight) 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. Knight, 536 So. 2d 589, 1988 WL 126170 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

536 So.2d 589 (1988)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Robert KNIGHT.

No. 88 KA 0398

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 22, 1988.
On Rehearing January 10, 1989.

*590 William R. Campbell, Jr., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee State of La.

Public Defenders Office, Covington, for defendant-appellant Robert Knight.

Before CARTER, LANIER and LeBLANC, JJ.

CARTER, Judge.

Defendant, Robert Knight, was charged by a grand jury indictment with the second degree murder of Billy Ray Delancey, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. Defendant subsequently withdrew his original plea of not guilty to the charged offense and entered a plea of guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:31, reserving his right to appeal the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress his confession. See State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). Subsequently, the trial court sentenced defendant to imprisonment *591 at hard labor for a term of fifteen years, to run concurrently with sentences of eight years at hard labor imposed for each of three felony convictions not related to the instant conviction. Through his appeal of the instant conviction, defendant urged two assignments of error:

1. The trial court erred by denying defendant's motion to suppress his confession.
2. Because of error patent, defendant's conviction and/or sentence should be reversed.

The record reflects that the instant offense occurred in Washington Parish at approximately 4:00-4:30 a.m. on September 5, 1986. The victim's body was discovered the following day inside a three-sided structure in which the victim apparently lived.

Defendant confessed that he entered the structure not knowing that anyone lived there. Defendant pushed the victim down to rob him. The victim arose, kicked defendant, and began swinging a baseball bat at defendant. Defendant grabbed the bat and took it away from the victim. Defendant then used the bat to strike the victim, hitting him twice. The first blow struck the victim's head. After the victim fell, the defendant patted down the victim and during the process, located about eighty dollars inside one of the pockets of the victim's clothing. Defendant took the money and the baseball bat and left.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE:

By means of this assignment, defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his confessions. Defendant makes two arguments in support of his contention. First, he claims that his confessions were the products of promises made to him to have him transferred from the Washington Parish Prison in Franklinton to the jail in Bogalusa. Second, defendant asserts that, because he was represented by counsel when he confessed and, presumably, because the police initiated questioning of defendant after defendant invoked his right to counsel, the confessions were obtained in violation of defendant's right to counsel.

At the June 15, 1987, hearing on defendant's motion to suppress his confessions, the state presented the testimony of Officers Glynn McClendon and Mike Edwards of the Bogalusa City Police Department. However, the record reveals that defendant failed to introduce any evidence on his own behalf at the hearing.

The record reflects that defendant made tape-recorded confessions to the instant offense on February 6, 1987, and March 14, 1987, and that, on March 18, 1987, defendant made an inculpatory statement relating to the location of the baseball bat (which had been used to strike the victim).

McClendon testified that he became involved in the investigation of the Delancey homicide on February 6, 1987. McClendon stated that he received a telephone call from Captain Ernie Wells at about 2:00 a.m. on February 6. Wells told McClendon defendant was in his office and wanted to talk to them in regard to the homicide. Wells informed McClendon that defendant had been at the hospital in Bogalusa with Washington Parish Deputy Sheriff Creed Rodgers and that defendant had told Rodgers that he wanted to come to the Bogalusa Police Department to talk with the Bogalusa police. As a consequence, defendant was brought to Wells' office. After talking to McClendon, Wells brought defendant to the Bogalusa detectives' office, where defendant made his initial confession in the presence of McClendon, Wells, and Assistant Chief Robert Crowe.

McClendon testified that on February 6 he first advised defendant of his Miranda rights as those rights appear on state exhibit-1, a waiver of constitutional rights and consent to questioning form. McClendon stated that he handed the form to defendant, that defendant appeared to read the form, and that defendant signed the form. After executing the form, defendant made his initial confession. McClendon testified that, from the time he first came into contact with defendant on February 6, he neither had knowledge of nor did defendant tell him of any threat, coercion, abuse, or promise which had been used to obtain defendant's confession.

*592 In regard to a second tape-recorded confession which defendant made to McClendon on March 14, 1987, at the Washington Parish Prison, McClendon testified that he again advised defendant of his constitutional rights as reflected on the tape-recording. McClendon stated that the confession occurred in his presence alone and that defendant was not threatened, coerced or promised anything to get defendant to make the confession.

According to McClendon, he spoke to defendant a third time on March 18, 1987, in the presence of Assistant Chief Crowe. Again, defendant was advised of his constitutional rights, and defendant executed another waiver of constitutional rights and consent to questioning form (state exhibit-3). On this occasion, the only subject discussed was the location of the baseball bat used to kill Delancey. Contradicting an earlier statement, defendant told the officers that the bat could be found at his mother's residence in Franklinton. McClendon denied that anyone threatened, abused, coerced or promised defendant anything to obtain the statement and that defendant did not tell him anyone had done any of the foregoing.

McClendon testified that defendant's initial confession was made at the urging of defendant and not the police. In regard to defendant's second confession, a friend of defendant notified McClendon that defendant wanted to talk to someone. Thereafter, he and Crowe went to the Washington Parish Prison on March 18 to talk to defendant in accordance with defendant's prior comment that he would talk to them at a later date about the location of the baseball bat.

McClendon testified that he was aware (prior to defendant's confession) that defendant was incarcerated at the parish prison on the basis of charges unrelated to the instant offense, but he denied that he knew, at that time, defendant was represented by a court appointed counsel. In any event, McClendon testified emphatically that at no time, before or while defendant was making his confessions and the March 18 statement, did defendant request an attorney.

In reference to defendant's allegation that his confessions were the products of promises made to have him transferred from the parish prison to the jail in Bogalusa, McClendon testified that, after defendant's February 6 and March 14 confessions, defendant told him he was being harassed in the parish prison.

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Related

State v. Holiday
598 So. 2d 524 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1992)
State v. Toomer
572 So. 2d 1152 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
State v. King
563 So. 2d 449 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
State v. Daughtery
563 So. 2d 1171 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
536 So. 2d 589, 1988 WL 126170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-knight-lactapp-1989.