State v. Morris

882 So. 2d 1221, 2004 WL 2101826
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 22, 2004·No. 38,928-KA·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

882 So.2d 1221 (2004)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Lemarcus MORRIS, Appellant.

No. 38,928-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 22, 2004.

*1222 Louisiana Appellate Project, by Carey J. Ellis, III, for Appellant.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Hugo Holland, Jr., J. Thomas Butler, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, WILLIAMS and MOORE, JJ.

MOORE, J.

LeMarcus Morris[1] was indicted on two counts of first degree murder arising from an armed robbery with two fatal shootings in northern Caddo Parish. Pursuant to a plea bargain, he pled guilty to one count of first degree murder, one count of second degree murder and one count of armed robbery, reserving his right to appeal the *1223 denial of his motion to suppress his recorded statement. As part of the plea bargain, Morris received concurrent life sentences for the homicide charges and a consecutive 20-year hard-labor term for the armed robbery charge. He now appeals, advancing one assignment of error through counsel and five assignments pro se. For the reasons expressed, we affirm.

Factual Background

On the evening of December 14, 2001, Morris and his cousin, DeMarcus Morris (hereinafter "Mark"), along with 16-year-old Willie Johnson, planned to rob Strickland's Grocery on Hwy. 71 in Hosston, Louisiana. Mark was already armed; after rounding up two more handguns (one from a relative and the other from an abandoned trailer), the three put on hooded jackets and went to Strickland's about 10 p.m. A witness, David Green, saw the men standing outside the store; although they had hoods on their heads and pantyhose over their faces, he recognized them from the neighborhood. He asked what they were doing; they replied they were going to rob the place and warned him to leave "if he knew what was good for him." Green left and went to tell one of Johnson's relatives what was afoot.

While Johnson stood lookout, Morris and Mark entered the store. Mark fired several rounds at the cashier, Allen Bounds, hitting him twice in the face and once in the chest. Morris fired two shots, but neither hit the victim. The store's owner (and Bounds's aunt), Cynthia Rangel, heard the gunfire and emerged from the residential area in the back of the building. Mark shot her once in the neck.

Ms. Rangel's son, Chris, was also in the rear of the store when he heard the gunshots. He came out and saw one of the men running out while the other struggled to remove the cash register from the counter. After the second man left, Chris grabbed a pistol from under the counter and ran outside, but the two men had already left. He then called 911. Ms. Rangel was pronounced dead at the scene; Bounds was DOA at North Caddo Memorial Hospital.

The three robbers fled to the abandoned trailer where they changed clothes and divided the contents of the cash register. They also paid at least two people to keep silent about the robbery.

David Green, who had seen the three men standing outside the store shortly before the robbery, gave their names to sheriff's deputies. Soon after receiving this information, Deputies Bradford and Morgan found Johnson hiding under a bed at his grandmother's house in Hosston. In the presence of his father, Johnson gave a statement admitting that he, Mark and Morris had planned and carried out the robbery. Early the next morning, Deputies Morgan, Long and Duncan spotted Mark and Morris walking along Pine Hill Road in Shreveport. Both suspects fled; Dep. Morgan ran down Morris in a wooded field, arrested him and gave him his Miranda rights. A short while later, Dep. Long arrested Mark at his mother's house. Both suspects were taken to the Vivian Substation for questioning. Both gave recorded statements admitting their roles in the armed robbery.

Morris was indicted on two counts of first degree murder. He filed a motion to suppress his recorded statement, which the district court denied after a hearing in October 2003. He then agreed to plead guilty to an amended indictment charging him as a principal to the first degree murder of Ms. Rangel and second degree murder of Bounds, and with the armed robbery of Bounds. Morris reserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress, pursuant to State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). The district court *1224 sentenced him in accordance with the plea agreement, to concurrent life terms for the homicides and a consecutive term of 20 years at hard labor, without benefits, for the armed robbery. He has appealed.

Discussion: Motion to Suppress

Through appellate counsel, Morris urges that he did not knowingly waive his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) and Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), and that his statement was involuntary because of psychological coercion and false promises made by his interrogators, in violation of Mincey v. Arizona, 434 U.S. 1343, 98 S.Ct. 23, 54 L.Ed.2d 56 (1977), and Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964). He contends that he was taken into custody at 8:20 a.m. and interrogated for four hours before signing a waiver of rights form at 12:15 p.m.; he was handcuffed during this time and denied water and access to a telephone or toilet; he was never advised that his statement could be used against him, and in fact was promised he could get less than life in prison if he gave a statement. He urges that the totality of these facts made his statement inadmissible. By pro se brief, Morris reiterates these claims, adding that his arrest was illegal because deputies did not obtain a warrant and lacked probable cause to arrest; he actually asserted his Miranda rights but officers continued to question him; and as a 17-year-old, inexperienced with the legal system, he did not grasp the significance of waiving his rights and incriminating himself.

The state responds that Morris's own testimony at the motion to suppress undermines most of his factual claims, particularly that he was interrogated for hours before he signed the waiver at 12:15 p.m. The state also cites the detectives' testimony that the four-hour delay occurred while they were questioning Mark, the other suspect. Finally, the state urges that nothing in Morris's recorded statement or the testimony adduced at the hearing supports the claim that deputies coerced his statement.

The Louisiana Supreme Court recently summarized the law governing the admissibility of confessions:

As a general matter, before a confession may be admitted into evidence, the State has the burden of affirmatively showing that it was made freely and voluntarily and not under the influence of fear, duress, intimidation, menace, threats, inducements, or promises. La. R.S. 15:451; State v. West, 408 So.2d 1302, 1307 (La.1982); State v. Dewey, 408 So.2d 1255, 1258 (La.1982). Furthermore, if the statement was made during custodial interrogation, the state must show that the defendant was advised of his constitutional rights. Miranda v. Arizona, [supra]; State v. Petterway, 403 So.2d 1157 (La.1981); State v. Sonnier,

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State v. Morris, 882 So. 2d 1221, 2004 WL 2101826 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

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