State v. Pleasant

102 So. 3d 247, 2011 La.App. 4 Cir. 1675, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1314, 2012 WL 4955308
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 17, 2012
DocketNo. 2011-KA-1675
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 102 So. 3d 247 (State v. Pleasant) 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. Pleasant, 102 So. 3d 247, 2011 La.App. 4 Cir. 1675, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1314, 2012 WL 4955308 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROSEMARYLEDET, Judge.

| j Marcus Pleasant appeals his conviction and life sentence for second degree murder, asserting that the evidence failed to [249]*249support the jury’s verdict. Finding no error, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On June 23, 2005, the State of Louisiana obtained an indictment charging Mr. Pleasant with the first degree murder of Alissa Kovach.1 Mr. Pleasant subsequently pled not guilty to the charge. The court denied Mr. Pleasant’s motion to suppress the statement on October 15, 2009. The State amended the charge to second degree murder on the first day of trial, February 9, 2011. The next day, at the conclusion of trial, a jury found him guilty as charged. Mr. Pleasant filed motions for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and new trial, which the court denied on March 11, 2011.2 The court then sentenced Mr. Pleasant to life | ^imprisonment without benefit of parole. The court also granted his motion for appeal.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Ms. Kovach was shot and killed during an armed robbery that occurred in the early morning hours of April 18, 2005. At trial, the parties stipulated to the results of an autopsy that showed that Ms. Kovach died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of her head. Stippling around the wound indicated that the shot that killed Ms. Kovach was fired within one to two feet of her head. The parties also stipulated to the authenticity of the 911 tape of the report of the shooting, which was played for the jury.

Stephanie Knight was with Ms. Kovach when she was killed. Ms. Knight was a friend and co-worker of Ms. Kovach. The two women had completed their shift at the Crescent City Brewhouse in the French Quarter in the late afternoon of the murder. Later, they had a few drinks at a bar in the French Quarter, and accompanied a friend to her house in Mid-City, where they ate dinner. They returned to the French Quarter later that evening, drank another beer, then went to catch a streetcar Uptown to Ms. Knight’s apartment. After waiting some time for the streetcar, they elected to take a cab instead.

Although Ms. Knight’s apartment was at the corner of Robert and Danneel Streets, the women left the cab at Robert Street and St. Charles Avenue sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m., and walked to the apartment. They did this to give them time to smoke a cigarette. Ms. Knight testified that they each were carrying a lapurse and a beer bottle. She stated that as they neared her apartment, she stopped to light another cigarette and handed her purse to Ms. Kovach. At that moment, she noticed two men behind them. She stated that one of the men asked how to get to Tchoupitoulas Street. She turned to point back toward St. Charles, and then she heard a bottle break. She turned back and saw that Ms. Kovach was struggling with the other man, who was trying to take Ms. Knight’s purse. That man then shot Ms. Kovach in the head, and she fell to the ground. Ms. Knight testified that both [250]*250men ran away but the man who shot Ms. Kovach returned to rip Ms. Kovach’s purse off of her shoulder and then fled with his companion toward St. Charles Avenue. Ms. Knight stated that after the men fled, she went to Ms. Kovach to see if she was okay. After seeing that Ms. Kovach had been shot, Ms. Knight ran to her apartment to call 911 because her cell phone had died.

Ms. Knight indicated that the shooter of the two men was wearing a baggy white t-shirt, dark jeans, a bandana around his head, and “twists” in his hair. She described the other robber, who watched the struggle between Ms. Kovach and the shooter, as taller than the shooter, with a lighter complexion, and wearing dark pants and a dark shirt. Ms. Knight testified that she did not see the men get out of a vehicle prior to the robbery or enter a vehicle afterward.

Ms. Knight was presented with a photographic lineup from which she identified the man who shot Ms. Kovach. She stated that she was shown two other photographic lineups, but was unable to make an identification from one and wrongly identified someone else in the third one.

|4On cross-examination, Ms. Knight stated that she had consumed about five or six beers over the course of the evening, but she insisted that by the time of the shooting, she was not impaired. She reiterated that she only saw two robbers and no car connected to them. She did not see Mr. Pleasant at the scene. On redirect, Ms. Knight testified that she viewed the lineups one or two months after the murder. She was unable to identify anyone in the lineup that contained Mr. Pleasant or Ahmad Hill’s photograph. However, she positively identified Darnell Gilmore as the man who was struggling with and shot Ms. Kovach.

The State called Mr. Hill, who indicated that he would not testify. The court thus declared him a hostile witness. Mr. Hill stated that he knew Mr. Pleasant, but he initially refused to answer any other questions. After he testified that he did not remember making a statement to the police in April 2005, the State played the tape of this statement. In the statement, after being advised of his rights, Mr. Hill initially indicated that he wanted an attorney, and the detectives taking the statement concluded it at that point. The statement resumed half an hour later with the explanation that Mr. Hill meant that he wanted an attorney after giving his statement, and he stated that he wanted to tell the detectives what happened. He said that his agreement to give a statement was not the result of any force or promises, and that it was the product of his free will. The detectives again advised him of his rights via a waiver form that Mr. Hill initialed and signed. He also acknowledged that he had been advised of his rights earlier.

| ¡¡Mr. Hill told the officers that on the night of the shooting, he was riding his bicycle back from a party when he encountered Mr. Pleasant and Mr. Gilmore on Clara Street. Mr. Hill stated Mr. Pleasant left shortly thereafter and later pulled up in a burgundy Jeep. They told him that they were about to get some money by snatching purses, and they invited him to join them. The trio entered the Jeep, and they drove around until they passed two women walking on the street. Mr. Hill stated that Mr. Pleasant pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road. The trio exited the jeep, and Mr. Hill and Mr. Gilmore walked up to the two women. Mr. Hill stated that he and Mr. Gilmore walked up behind the women before accosting them, but he denied that either he or Mr. Gilmore asked the women for directions. Instead, Mr. Gilmore merely [251]*251told them to “give it up.” He stated that Mr. Pleasant remained back by the Jeep during the robbery because Mr. Pleasant walked with a severe limp. Mr. Hill stated that he was four feet from Mr. Gilmore and one of the women. He stated that Mr. Gilmore took the beer bottle that the woman was holding from her and hit her in the head with it. When that woman would not give up her purse, Mr. Gilmore shot her. He stated that Mr. Gilmore fired only once and then took the victim’s purse. The trio then ran back to the Jeep; entered it, and Mr. Pleasant drove away from the scene. Mr. Hill stated that Mr. Gilmore did not answer when he asked him why he shot the woman. Mr. Hill said that he then told Mr. Pleasant to take him home, and Mr. Pleasant complied.

Mr. Hill insisted that he only saw one purse, and he saw Mr. Gilmore remove money from the purse, but Mr. Hill did not receive any of the money.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
102 So. 3d 247, 2011 La.App. 4 Cir. 1675, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1314, 2012 WL 4955308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pleasant-lactapp-2012.