State v. Lewis

815 So. 2d 166, 2002 WL 389858
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 13, 2002
Docket01-KA-1084
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 815 So. 2d 166 (State v. Lewis) 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. Lewis, 815 So. 2d 166, 2002 WL 389858 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

815 So.2d 166 (2002)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Lionel E. LEWIS.

No. 01-KA-1084.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 13, 2002.

*168 Paul D. Connick, District Attorney, Churita H. Hansell, Terry M. Boudreaux, Brad Burget, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Appellee.

*169 Bertha M. Hillman, Thibodaux, LA, for Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, Jr., JAMES L. CANNELLA and MARION F. EDWARDS.

EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant, Lionel Lewis, appeals his conviction for distribution of heroin. We affirm.

On November 18, 1999, Lionel Lewis was indicted by a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury for distributing heroin, a violation of LSA-R.S. 40:966(A). Following a plea of not guilty, trial was held. On July 11, 2000, a twelve-person jury found Lewis guilty as charged, and he was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. (At the time the offense was committed, this was the mandatory sentence.) Immediately thereafter, Lewis orally moved for appeal, and followed with a written motion.

In 1999, Lewis was arrested for allegedly selling three foil packets totaling approximately one-half gram of heroin to Billy Lewis, an undercover Jefferson Parish police officer, on June 13, 1994. Deputy Lewis testified that, at the time of trial, he was a patrol deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, but that in 1994, he was working as an undercover narcotics officer. According to Deputy Lewis, a confidential informant told him that he could introduce Deputy Lewis to a person who was selling heroin in Jefferson Parish so that Deputy Lewis could "possibly purchase" some heroin from this individual. On June 13, 1994, at approximately 12:00 p.m., the informant and Lewis arrived at Schwegmann's grocery store in the 2700 block of Airline Highway. The informant introduced defendant to Deputy Lewis, stating "Lionel, this is an old buddy of mine. He wants to talk to you." Thereafter, the informant departed the area. Deputy Lewis testified that defendant Lewis asked what he wanted, and Deputy Lewis replied, some "white dope." Defendant Lewis asked how much money he had, and Deputy Lewis said $100.00, which he gave to the defendant, who then left in a vehicle. About two hours later, defendant pulled alongside Deputy Lewis' vehicle and handed the heroin to Deputy Lewis. Later that day or the next day, Deputy Lewis paid the informant $100.00 for his involvement.

The transaction was observed by Detective Jolynn Cummings of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, who testified that she and another officer saw the defendant and Deputy Lewis meet and the defendant's return later that day. Detective Cummings admitted that she had read Deputy Lewis' report of the transaction before trial. Detective Cummings stated, however, that she had an independent recollection of the day's events after reading the police report of the event that occurred six years before trial. Both Deputy Lewis and Detective Cummings stated that the transaction was not recorded by video surveillance because the parking lot of Schwegmann's was not conducive to video recording.

In his testimony, defendant Lewis acknowledged convictions for theft and armed robbery in 1990, but emphatically denied that he sold heroin on June 13, 1994 or at any time in the past. Lewis testified that the confidential informant was Norman Molaison, an individual whom Lewis had first met at the restaurant where Lewis was employed. Lewis testified that a few days before June 13, 1994, he encountered Molaison at a convenience store where they struck up a conversation. Lewis told Molaison he was about to start *170 working offshore, and Molaison expressed an interest in doing the same. According to Lewis, they exchanged telephone numbers so that Molaison could contact defendant about working together offshore.

On June 13, 1994, Molaison telephoned Lewis from a hotel near Schwegmann's to say that his car was not working and asked defendant to "help him out." On the way to the hotel, Lewis stopped to pick up a friend, Gary Berone, who subsequently died in 1995. When they arrived at the hotel, Berone inspected Molaison's car and determined that the car needed a new alternator. Molaison then asked Lewis to bring him to his sister's house so that he could borrow some money for a new alternator. Lewis agreed. On the way, however, Molaison requested that Lewis stop at an Amoco gas station because Molaison needed to see his "friend Billy." While at the gas station, Lewis and Berone purchased soft drinks. Lewis said he lost sight of Molaison when they arrived at the gas station. When Molaison returned to the car, Lewis drove to an area on the "back side of the French Quarter" in New Orleans, and parked the car. Molaison went into a house and was gone for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Lewis resumed driving and headed toward the Allstate Auto Parts near Airline Highway and Clearview Parkway.

As they neared the auto parts store, Molaison said he wanted to stop at Schwegmann's to get some cigarettes, and they could all get soft drinks. After they made their purchases, the trio returned to the vehicle. Molaison then reached into his pocket and produced three foil packets saying "Here, there's Billy. Go give this to Billy for me." Lewis said that he initially refused, but ultimately complied because Molaison said, "Look, damn it, just go give it to Billy for me before I break your face." Defendant Lewis said he walked over to Deputy Lewis and said, "Here, Norman said to give you this," and then returned to the car.

Unnerved by Molaison's behavior, Lewis decided to return Molaison to the hotel instead of taking him to the car parts store. When Molaison realized Lewis's intentions, a heated argument ensued. At the hotel, Molaison leaped out of the car, ran around to the driver's side, and began punching Lewis in the face through the car's open window. According to Lewis, Molaison repeatedly shouted that he would kill him while punching him over and over again. After the fight subsided, Lewis drove Berone home, and returned to his own home in Harahan.

A few days later, Lewis went to his sister's house in Houma. At his sister's insistence, he went to the hospital where he was initially told he had facial bruises. However, on June 22, 1994, a Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Officer showed up at his sister's house and told him that he needed to return to the hospital. X-rays had revealed Lewis had a broken jaw that required immediate surgery. Copies of Lewis's medical records were introduced into evidence at trial.

Deputy Lewis testified that attempts to get in touch with the defendant to arrange another deal were unsuccessful. When Deputy Lewis felt that another purchase would not be forthcoming, he prepared an arrest warrant for the defendant in November of 1995.

The defendant testified that he had been offered a deal to plead guilty to simple possession of heroin, but had refused it because he was not guilty. During Lewis's testimony, the informant was apparently brought into court in shackles, where Lewis identified him in front of the jury as the person who asked him to "hand something to Billy." After hearing the testimony and considering the evidence, ten out of twelve *171 of the jurors concluded that Lewis was guilty as charged.

In his first assignment of error, Lewis contends that the trial court improperly denied him the right to present a defense of entrapment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
815 So. 2d 166, 2002 WL 389858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lewis-lactapp-2002.