State v. Lewis

245 So. 3d 233
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 15, 2017
DocketNo. 51,672–KA
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 245 So. 3d 233 (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, 245 So. 3d 233 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

BROWN, C.J.

*238Defendant, Latilo Omar Lewis, was convicted of first degree rape, attempted second degree murder, second degree kidnapping, and simple robbery. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefits for rape, 50 years at hard labor for attempted murder, 40 years at hard labor for kidnapping, and seven years at hard labor for robbery. Defendant has appealed his convictions and sentences. For the following reasons, we affirm all of defendant's convictions and his sentences for first degree rape, attempted second degree murder, and simple robbery. However, defendant's sentence for second degree kidnapping is vacated and remanded to the trial court for resentencing. This case is also remanded to the trial court for correction of the court minutes and compliance with the sex offender notification requirements.

FACTS

Defendant's four-day trial began on October 10, 2016. Tensas Parish Sheriff Ricky Jones testified that around 2:22 p.m. on November 6, 2015, N.H. frantically ran into the sheriff's office barefoot, wearing a pink nightgown and black jogging pants. According to Sheriff Jones and Deputy Betty Spillman Brown, N.H. was hysterical; she was crying and could barely talk. The officers observed noticeable bruises on N.H.'s face, neck and arms and saw that she had bloodshot eyes. N.H. reported that a man who said that his name was Marcus Brown had forced himself into her home that morning, tied her up and sexually assaulted her all day. When he went into another room, she was able to get loose, get her gun, and shoot him when he returned to the room. Three minutes later, at 2:25 p.m., defendant, Latilo Lewis, called 911 from N.H.'s home and advised that he had been shot.

When officers arrived at N.H.'s house, which was about three blocks from the sheriff's office, they found defendant sitting in a chair in the living room. Defendant had a perforating bullet wound to his upper right abdomen. Paramedic Johnny Ogden determined that defendant's injury was critical, and defendant was airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Sheriff Jones testified that the officers went past defendant into N.H.'s bedroom, where they observed her disheveled bed and drawers pulled out. The sheriff took photographs of the scene, as did Investigator Mark Guy and Deputy Bob Stroud. Sheriff Jones testified that they found one live round and one spent round on the victim's bed, as well as a projectile on the floor. He stated that, despite an extensive search for N.H.'s gun, a .380 automatic, officers were unable to locate the weapon. Deputy Evelyn Guy took photographs of N.H.'s injuries at the sheriff's office. Sheriff Jones identified the photos taken during the investigation during his trial testimony.

Sheriff Jones testified that, during the course of the investigation, N.H. told officers that there was $500-$600 missing from her purse. Deputy Stroud contacted authorities at the University Medical Center in Jackson, who found $567 in defendant's possession.

St. Joseph Police Chief Karl Jones also responded to the 911 call made from N.H.'s house and was there when paramedics *239arrived. Chief Jones saw the very distraught victim when he went to the sheriff's office/jail. According to Chief Jones, N.H. was crying uncontrollably and appeared to be in shock. He also noticed bruising at her neck and wrists. Chief Jones testified that the victim's brother called him on November 7 and asked whether officers had found any money on defendant because N.H. was missing $500-$600, which she had collected for a church function. Chief Jones stated that he and his department participated in the search for the victim's gun, which went on for several days.

N.H. testified that around 7:30 a.m. on November 6, 2015, she opened her front door to check the weather so she would know what to wear that day. When she saw that there was a man crouched down on her porch "like a lion getting ready to pounce on his prey," she tried to close the door, but he forced or "barged" his way into her house. The man grabbed N.H., threw her on the floor and told her to put her hands behind her back. N.H. refused and fought back, but the man choked her and she lost consciousness. When N.H. woke up, her hands were tied behind her back. The man pushed N.H. into her bedroom and repeatedly raped her as she begged for him to stop. Over the course of about seven hours, the man continued to rape N.H. as she was tied to the head of her bed with a belt. N.H. stated that at one point, the man took money (around $500-$600) from her purse which she had been saving for her church anniversary. N.H. detailed several conversations she had with the man, including the fact that the man told her his name was Marcus Brown.

At one point, the man told her that he was hungry and went into the kitchen, leaving N.H. tied to the bed. N.H. was able to loosen herself and get her gun out of a filing cabinet she used as a nightstand located next to the bed. When the man came back into the bedroom, N.H. was standing on the bed with the gun pointed at him. N.H. told the man to leave, but he came closer, so she shot him. Although he was shot, the man lunged at N.H. and wrestled the gun out of her hand. N.H. testified that the man put the gun to her head and said, "Now bitch, you'll know what it feels like to be shot." The man pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. Another struggle ensued, and the man tied N.H. to the bed again. She was eventually able to convince the man to untie her so she could get him medical attention. N.H. left the house and drove straight to the sheriff's office. N.H. identified defendant as the man who repeatedly raped and tried to kill her.

Investigator Michael Huff with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department in Jackson, Mississippi, assisted in the investigation of this case by obtaining search warrants and collecting evidence from defendant while he was in the hospital in Mississippi. On November 6, 2015, Huff obtained a search warrant for defendant's clothing and a DNA sample. Thereafter, once he received information that defendant allegedly took money from N.H. during the incident, on November 25, 2015, Huff obtained a second search warrant for all property possessed by defendant at the time of his admission to the hospital. As a result, $557 was recovered from defendant.

In a recorded interview, defendant told officers that he was in a relationship with N.H., which no one else knew about. On the day of the incident, defendant said that he was spending time with the victim, they had consensual sex one time, and then N.H. started acting weird and shot him. Defendant stated that the money found in his belongings was money he got from selling weed. Defendant denied raping *240N.H. or putting the gun to her head. Defendant's statement that he was in a relationship with N.H. was not corroborated.

After the incident, N.H. was taken to Riverland Medical Center for a sexual assault examination. Dr. Rome Sherrod, who collected evidence for the rape kit, testified that N.H. had bruising on her neck and wrists consistent with being restrained, as well as swelling and abrasions to her vagina, which were consistent with forced or violent sexual activity. Dr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
245 So. 3d 233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lewis-lactapp-2017.