State v. Lynn

251 So. 3d 1262
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 15, 2018
DocketNo. 52,125-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 251 So. 3d 1262 (State v. Lynn) 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. Lynn, 251 So. 3d 1262 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

GARRETT, J.

The defendant, Robert Earl Lynn, was originally charged with second degree murder. The jury convicted him of manslaughter, and he was sentenced, as a second felony offender, to 40 years at hard labor, without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. He appeals, asserting three assignments of error through counsel and one pro se assignment of error. For the reasons assigned below, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.

FACTS

The defendant's manslaughter conviction arises from an attempted armed robbery that went awry. The shooting victim, William David Carroll, was the roommate of the intended robbery victim, Harry Luzader. Luzader was targeted when he was observed gambling at a local casino and accompanied home by the female codefendant, Shavez Taylor.

The incident began on July 27, 2014, when Taylor entered the Margaritaville Casino in Bossier City at 11:34 p.m. Her boyfriend, Kinoy Singleton, and the defendant followed her into the casino at 11:35 p.m. Their arrival and subsequent actions were recorded on the casino's video surveillance system. At 12:14 a.m. on July 28, 2014, Luzader walked into a men's restroom. Singleton entered the same restroom at 12:15 a.m. and exited at 12:16 a.m. At 12:17 a.m., the defendant entered the same restroom at about the same time that Luzader exited. Subsequently, the defendant, Singleton, and Taylor were seen together behind a pillar. Shortly thereafter, Taylor walked up to Luzader, who was *1265playing blackjack. After speaking with him, she sat next to him at the blackjack table. A few minutes before 1 a.m., Singleton and the defendant departed the casino. At 1:27 a.m., Luzader and Taylor left the blackjack table. After sitting on a bench outside, they entered a taxi and departed the casino at 2:06 a.m.

Luzader testified that he decided to leave the casino because he was low on money. When he told Taylor he was going home to eat, she said that she was hungry. Luzader invited her to his home to eat. While they were in the taxi, Taylor texted on her cellphone, giving Singleton detailed directions to where they were going.1 Luzader resided in an upstairs garage apartment, which was located between houses on a secluded, dead-end street in Shreveport. When they arrived at their destination, Luzader had insufficient funds to cover the entire $13 cab fare.

Once in the apartment, Luzader introduced Taylor to his roommate, Carroll, who then retired to his bedroom. He later came back into the living area to tell Luzader that he had seen two guys walking up the driveway. Carroll went downstairs and outside to investigate. He returned and said that the men were at the wrong house. When Luzader asked him if he had locked the door downstairs, he replied affirmatively. Carroll again went to his bedroom while Luzader prepared food in the kitchen. Taylor went downstairs and unlocked the door. She and Luzader were seated with their food when two black males burst into the room. One of the men had a gun and demanded money. Luzader later described him as being about 6'1? and "built like a linebacker," and wearing a white shirt with some kind of print on it. He described the second man as being of medium height and build, with short "spiderweb" dreads that looked like "he had a spider on his head." He wore a dark shirt. According to Luzader, the second man did not have a gun.

Luzader denied having any money and began struggling with the larger robber. He called out to Carroll that the man had a gun. Carroll was still in his bedroom but had begun to open the bedroom door to the living area. The gun discharged, and the bullet penetrated the door, striking *1266Carroll in the chest. After the gunshot, Taylor and the two intruders fled. Upon seeing Carroll's condition, Luzader ran to a neighbor's home for help, and a call was placed to 911. Emergency services were dispatched at 2:59 a.m. Carroll was pronounced dead at the scene.

Thanks in large part to the casino's security surveillance system, the police were able to develop suspects swiftly. They first identified and interviewed Taylor. After obtaining search warrants for phone records and reading the text messages, they determined that she was a willing participant in the robbery and arrested her.

In her version of events, Taylor denied knowing about the robbery plans but admitted Singleton pointed out Luzader to her at the casino.2 She claimed that she unlocked the front door "for my benefit," so she would "feel safe," and that she was "shocked" when the men entered. She stated that Singleton entered first, wearing a "white stripy turquoise shirt" and white shorts. She identified the second man as the defendant and described him as wearing a grey shirt with black or grey shorts. She stated that both men were armed and that the defendant placed his gun to her head as she pleaded for her life. After she heard the gunshot, she stated that the defendant fled out the door, and that she grabbed her shoes and ran out of the apartment because she feared that Singleton would shoot her. She said that she and Singleton had had an intimate relationship for a year and that she knew him as "KD," "DaDDY" and "the Magnificent." She said she knew the defendant as "Trigger" and "Lu-Lu."

In September 2014, the defendant was indicted for second degree murder. By amended indictment, Taylor, Singleton, and the defendant were charged with second degree murder for killing Carroll during the attempted perpetration of an armed robbery.

In November 2015, the defendant filed a motion in limine to allow the introduction of "the Singleton affidavit." According to the motion, defense counsel had a sworn affidavit from Singleton, dated June 1, 2015, in which he stated the following:

On the night of 7-27-14 Robert Lynn & I hooked up & went to the boat along with Shavez Taylor. Robert & I played the slots for a while & had something to drink after we were done Robert & I left the boat & went to our original destination which was the club. After being in the club for a little while I told Robert that I was leaving & if he was ready & he told me that he was staying & would ride home with his fam. This was the last time I saw & spoke with Robert.3

In August 2016, the defendant filed a motion to sever his trial from those of his codefendants. He asserted that severance was necessary due to the state's intention to use Taylor's inculpatory statement against him and his desire to admit Singleton's exculpatory affidavit in his defense.

At a hearing on August 31, 2016, the trial court ruled that it would sever only Taylor's trial due to her inculpatory statement *1267against her codefendants. As to Singleton, the trial court ruled that severance was not warranted because Singleton's affidavit was not an admission, and it did not believe it would be admissible even if Singleton's trial was severed from that of the defendant.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
251 So. 3d 1262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lynn-lactapp-2018.