State v. Moran

451 So. 2d 48
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 10, 1984
DocketKA 1479
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 451 So. 2d 48 (State v. Moran) 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. Moran, 451 So. 2d 48 (La. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

451 So.2d 48 (1984)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
John MORAN.

No. KA 1479.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

May 10, 1984.
Writ Denied September 14, 1984.

*50 Dwight Doskey, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Joanne C. Marier, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before SCHOTT, BYRNES and WARD, JJ.

SCHOTT, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of second degree murder in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1 and sentenced to the mandatory life term at hard labor.

The victim, Janelle Cuccia, was stabbed in her bedroom at about midnight on December 8, 1982. She staggered out of the house and collapsed on the front steps of her neighbor who occupied the other side of this double house. The neighbor had heard a commotion on Cuccia's side and called the police who arrived soon after her call. Either simultaneously with the arrival of the police or shortly thereafter Dr. John Knox, a physician, arrived on the scene, and along with police emergency medical personnel he rendered emergency treatment to Cuccia who was bleeding profusely from her neck. She was taken to Charity Hospital where she died a short time later.

Knox had been dating Cuccia for several months and had gone out with her on the evening of December 7. He testified that they were in her bed when her phone rang. She answered, told the caller to leave them alone, and told Knox the caller was the defendant. Knox also testified as follows: He had begun dating Cuccia several months before the murder, and, on the evening of October 6, 1982, when he and Cuccia were in her bed there was a telephone call. Cuccia unplugged the telephone saying it was a former boy friend who was harassing her. Several minutes later the defendant burst into the house and into the bedroom brandishing a pistol. When Cuccia ordered him out he struck her, threatened Knox, and left, breaking glass on the way out. Shortly after he left Knox heard a gun shot.

Because of the October incident and continuing harassment afterward, Knox got nervous and left when the telephone call came on December 7. When he drove off he was followed by an automobile he thought was defendant's. After driving around a few minutes the following car disappeared and Knox drove past Cuccia's house, which appeared to be as he left it. He went to a service station for gas and then to his own home, but after a few minutes he became concerned for Cuccia and returned to her house after arming himself with a knife and a shot gun. This time he saw a car he thought to be defendant's parked across from her house and thought "something had changed" about the house. He pulled behind the parked car, took the license number, and drove toward a nearby coffee shop where he had just seen a police car. However, this car was now gone, so he went back to Cuccia's house and found the police on the scene.

When the police learned from Knox of defendant's involvement they went to defendant's house which was a short distance away, arriving there at about 2:15 AM. Defendant was a police officer himself and was acquainted with the lead detective and some of the others involved in the investigation. When they informed him that Cuccia had been attacked he seemed upset, and they asked him if he could account for his whereabouts at the time of the crime. He stated that he had been drinking at the Parkway Tavern after getting off work as a horse mounted patrolman and then went *51 to the police stable to check his horse. Subsequent investigation disclosed that defendant had been in the tavern with several fellow officers until about 11:30 PM when he left. He was wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweat pants, and a blue windbreaker. However, when police personnel saw defendant at the stables at about 12:15 AM, he was wearing a black baseball jersey and white shorts. The detectives also interviewed Knox who was at the police crime lab and learned that he had seen defendant's car on the scene, taking down the license number which proved to be defendant's. After getting this information the detectives returned to defendant's house at about 6:45 AM. In the meantime the detectives had asked a close friend of defendant's, Officer McCord, to stay with him.

When the detectives told defendant Cuccia had died, he broke down and cried. They proceeded to interview him, asking what he was wearing when he was at the tavern. Defendant told them a white T-shirt, gray sweat pants, and blue windbreaker and stated that these clothes were in a pile of clothing in the kitchen. At the top of the pile was a blue windbreaker which appeared to be stained with fresh blood. With defendant's permission and assistance the house was searched for the shirt and pants, but they were not found. Defendant told the detectives that he had returned to his home after leaving the tavern and changed clothes intending to go jogging.

Police technicians established that the fresh blood stains on the jacket were type O, which matched Cuccia's and was shared by one percent of the population. There were also some stains on the inside of the jacket which were type A, defendant's type, shared by forty percent of the population.

It was established that the distances between the various points involved, i.e., defendant's home, the tavern, the victim's home, and the police stables, are all short and capable of being covered in an automobile in a few minutes.

Two days later, defendant's sister, who had his automobile, was asked to bring it to the police. She did so and asked the police if they would assist her in removing defendant's personal property from the vehicle. When the console was opened, a buck-type knife was discovered whereupon the police held up their search and obtained a search warrant before proceeding. Expert testimony established that this type of knife could have inflicted the wounds found on the victim.

Defendant testified and denied having committed the crime. He stated that he had worn a blue windbreaker to the tavern, came home and changed clothes intending to go jogging with his dog, but decided instead to go to the stables. Asked whether the jacket in evidence was his he said it looked like his but wasn't necessarily the same one. He admitted a close relationship with Cuccia of six years duration and stated that he had discovered her in bed with Knox in October. Although this upset him he denied having the gun at the time or threatening Knox. By the time of the murder he was going with a new girl and he stated that Cuccia's involvement with Knox was not of great concern to him.

Cuccia's brother testified in rebuttal that after the October incident, defendant had often expressed his displeasure over Cuccia's involvement with Knox.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR 1

By this assignment defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the knife recovered from his car because the knife's original discovery was improper so that reference to it in the affidavit for the search warrant was also improper. Defendant contends that the original discovery of the knife was improper because defendant's sister had no standing or authority to permit a search of his automobile. However, the facts do not support this position. The officers were not searching the vehicle when they discovered the knife. They were assiting the sister, at her request, in the removal of personal property. When the knife was *52 seen it was not seized and no further action was taken until a warrant was issued.

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Related

State v. Kimbrough
673 So. 2d 1187 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Garner
621 So. 2d 1203 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
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481 So. 2d 1388 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Moran
456 So. 2d 165 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
451 So. 2d 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-moran-lactapp-1984.