State v. Morgan

671 So. 2d 998, 1996 WL 114368
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 14, 1996
Docket94-KA-2586
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 671 So. 2d 998 (State v. Morgan) 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. Morgan, 671 So. 2d 998, 1996 WL 114368 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

671 So.2d 998 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Jerome MORGAN.

No. 94-KA-2586.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 14, 1996.

*1000 Dwight Doskey, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for Defendant/Appellant, Jerome Morgan.

Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Val M. Solino, Assistant District Attorney of Orleans Parish, New Orleans, for Plaintiff/Appellee, the State of Louisiana.

Before CIACCIO, PLOTKIN and MURRAY, JJ.

MURRAY, Judge.

Jerome Morgan was convicted of the second degree murder of Clarence Landry and was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole. He appeal his conviction.

FACTS

Late in the evening of May 22, 1993, Clarence Landry was shot and killed while attending a party at the Howard Johnson's on Old Gentilly Road in eastern New Orleans. Two other attendees were also shot, but survived. At trial, the state presented various students who attended the party and who testified as to one version of how the shooting occurred. The defense presented the testimony of Mr. Morgan and other students, which portrayed a wholly different picture of the shooting.

I. Testimony of prosecution witnesses

Although there were slight variations between the testimonies of the various state witnesses, their version of the events leading to the shooting, and the shooting itself, is summarized as follows:

Clarence Landry, Kevin Johnson, Antonio Bradley, and Harrison Hogan were at the party together for one or two hours prior to the shooting. The four of them, along with Hakim Shabazz, had been dancing and had attracted a crowd of onlookers. Jerome Morgan, along with several other boys, arrived at the party wearing t-shirts. Mr. Morgan and his friends became angry because Clarence Landry and his friends were getting all of the attention. There was a lot of eye contact and possibly some words between the two groups. Clarence and his friends decided to leave the party to avoid a fight.

Once out of the door, Mr. Landry realized that he had left Ms. Adierah Berger, his younger cousin, inside. As he and Kevin Johnson attempted to re-enter the party they were met at the door by two of the boys wearing t-shirts. A fight ensued, and the rest of Mr. Landry's friends came to the rescue, except for Hakim Shabazz, who tried to break up the fight. Suddenly a shot was fired, hitting Rogers Mitchell, one of the boys in a t-shirt, in the leg. Mr. Landry and his friends tried to run out of the door, but more shots were fired. Clarence Landry was shot five times and was pronounced dead at the scene. Hakim Shabazz was shot in the abdomen, but survived. All of the state's witnesses testified that their backs were to the exit door, and that the shots came from within the room where the party was being held. They also testified that the perpetrator fled the scene. The defendant, Jerome Morgan, was not involved in the actual fight.

Uniformed police officers arrived at the party about thirty to forty-five minutes after the shooting[1] and secured the scene by locking the doors and prohibiting anyone from leaving or entering the party. Detective Wayne Tamborella arrived later to investigate the homicide and collect evidence. Eight spent .22 caliber casings were collected at the scene. The police, including Detective Tamborella, interviewed those remaining at the party, approximately sixty people, but none were able to provide any information. The police wrote down the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all remaining party-goers, and they were released. Jerome Morgan's name was among those listed by the police as remaining after the shooting.

Kevin Johnson, Antonio Bradley and Harrison Hogan provided information to the police at the murder scene and each gave a formal statement at the police station later that night. While Kevin testified that he saw *1001 the shooter, Antonio and Harrison testified that they were looking towards the gunman but did not see his face. Kevin also testified that he and his friends had run away from the hotel after the gunshots were fired, and that the perpetrator ran away at the same time. Kevin chased the perpetrator until he jumped over a fence in a dark alley. He told the officers that the perpetrator's nickname was "J", and he, Antonio and Harrison described the perpetrator as being anywhere from five foot six to five foot eleven inches, approximately seventeen years old, and wearing a white t-shirt, black jeans, and tennis shoes.

On June 3, 1993, Detective Tamborella showed the three witnesses a photographic line-up. Neither Mr. Hogan nor Mr. Bradley made an identification. The detective also concluded that Kevin Johnson had not made an identification. However, after speaking with Clarence's mother, Kevin Johnson stated months later that Detective Tamborella had misunderstood, and that he had chosen appellant's picture from the line-up. At trial, Kevin Johnson explained that when he first saw Jerome Morgan's picture in the line-up, he stated, "oh, it can't be," because he was shocked that someone he used to "rap" with in middle school committed murder.

The photographic line-up was also shown to Hakim Shabazz in August 1993 after he recovered from his gunshot wound. Mr. Shabazz positively identified appellant and gave the police officers Jerome Morgan's name. Based on the identification by Mr. Shabazz, a warrant was issued for Mr. Morgan's arrest. On the day of his arrest, Jerome Morgan gave a statement to Detective Tamborella denying any involvement in the incident and identifying someone named "Glenn" as having done the shooting. Detective Tamborella testified that that was the first time the name "Glenn" had been mentioned in connection with this investigation.

II. Testimony of defense witnesses

The first witness called by the defense was Jeffery Jackson. He testified that he, Jerome Morgan, Rommel Johnson, and Derrick Remble attended the party together, and that it was the other group of boys who wanted to fight. He stated that the shots came from the doorway, not from within the room, and that when the shots rang out, he and Mr. Morgan ran under the D.J. table. He also testified that Jerome Morgan was behind him in line when the detective collected the names and addresses of the party-goers. Finally, he said that he did not see the gunman, only the "fire" from the gun.

On cross-examination, Mr. Jackson testified that people in the neighborhood had told him that Glenn Butler was at the party, and that Glenn was the gunman. He also changed his story and testified that he did see the gunman as he fled, but admitted that he did not tell the police his version of the events.

Next, Rogers Mitchell testified that after he was shot, he ran into the kitchen. He stated that a few minutes after the shooting stopped, Jerome Morgan came into the kitchen, removed his shirt, and attempted to tie it around his leg to stop the bleeding. However, the shirt did not fit, and Rommel Johnson tied a tablecloth around the wounded leg. Mr. Mitchell testified that he did not see who did the shooting.

On direct examination, Rommel Johnson testified that he saw Glenn Butler do the shooting, but did not tell the police of his observations that night. Yet, on cross-examination, he admitted not seeing the shooting and re-emphasized that Jerome Morgan was under the D.J. table during the shooting.

Jerome Morgan and Derrick Remble also testified, corroborating the testimony of the above defense witnesses.

III. Testimony on rebuttal

The state called three rebuttal witnesses: Detective Tamborella, Detective Suarez, and Hakim Shabazz.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Morgan
194 So. 3d 591 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2016)
State v. Harris
765 So. 2d 432 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)
State v. DeSilva
726 So. 2d 44 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1998)
State v. Nelson
705 So. 2d 758 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Whins
692 So. 2d 1350 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
671 So. 2d 998, 1996 WL 114368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morgan-lactapp-1996.