State v. Raines

788 So. 2d 635, 2001 WL 579810
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 30, 2001
Docket00-KA-1941
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 788 So. 2d 635 (State v. Raines) 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. Raines, 788 So. 2d 635, 2001 WL 579810 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

788 So.2d 635 (2001)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Lawrence RAINES.

No. 00-KA-1941.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

May 30, 2001.

*637 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Churita H. Hansell, Terry M. Boudreaux, Joan S. Benge, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

James A. Williams, Kevin V. Boshea, Michelle H. Hesni, Davidson S. Ehle, III, Gretna, LA, for Defendant-Appellant.

Panel composed of Chief Judge EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, JR., Judges CLARENCE E. McMANUS and JAMES L. GULOTTA, Pro Tem.

DUFRESNE, Chief Judge.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Lawrence Raines, with distribution of cocaine, in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967 A. The matter proceeded to trial before a twelve person jury, at the conclusion of which defendant was found guilty as charged. Defendant thereafter filed a motion for new trial which was heard and denied. Following this denial, defendant indicated that he was ready for sentencing. The trial judge then sentenced him to ten years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The court ordered that the sentence run concurrently with the sentences imposed in two other cases. Defendant now appeals.

FACTS

Agent Corey Wilson, a narcotics officer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, *638 testified that he organized an undercover narcotics investigation in the area of Robinson Street in Marrero after his department received several complaints from "concerned citizens." On September 15, 1998, Frank Williams[1] was assigned to make undercover drug buys in that area. Wilson and other officers waited nearby to assist Williams in the event there was a threat to his safety. Williams's car was fitted with a concealed video camera and audio equipment, so that each transaction could be recorded. Williams was also given two ten-dollar bills with which to purchase narcotics. Those bills were photocopied by the officers prior to their use.

Williams testified that he drove to Robinson Street, where defendant and two other subjects were standing. Williams stopped his car and asked one of the men (not defendant) where he could get a "20," the street term for twenty dollars worth of crack cocaine. Defendant then went into a house across the street. He returned with an off-white, rock-like object. Williams paid defendant with twenty dollars in marked money and defendant handed over the rock. The transaction was recorded by the audio and video equipment.

After completing the transaction, Williams met the surveillance officers at a pre-arranged location. Agent Wilson performed a field test on the substance Williams had purchased. The test was positive for cocaine.

Wilson took the videotape of the transaction to his office, where he played it for Sergeant Ronnie Hoefield. Williams gave Sergeant Hoefield a description of defendant, including what he was wearing at the time of the transaction. Hoefield then went to Robinson Street, where he spotted a man who matched the description. The officer conducted an investigatory stop, at which time he asked to see defendant's driver's license. He learned the man's name was Lawrence Raines, and that the subject resided at 302 Robinson Street. Hoefield did not detain defendant at that time, because to do so would have compromised the undercover operation.

Sergeant Hoefield gave Agent Wilson defendant's personal information. Based on Hoefield's identification, Wilson compiled a photographic lineup and included in it a picture of defendant. Wilson showed the lineup to Williams on October 2, 1998, and Williams immediately identified defendant as the man from whom he had purchased the crack. On October 29, 1998, Wilson obtained a warrant for defendant's arrest for distribution of cocaine. The warrant was executed in June, 1999, when the sheriffs department performed a roundup of all those who had sold drugs to the undercover officer in the course of the operation.

Edgar Dunn, an expert in the field of testing and analysis of controlled dangerous substances, testified that he performed chemical analysis on the rock sold by defendant. The substance was positive for cocaine base. Dunn further testified that the total weight of the crack was .23 grams.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In his first assigned error, defendant challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress identification.

Defendant filed a pre-trial motion to suppress identification, alleging that the identification procedure was impermissibly suggestive, in violation of his constitutional *639 rights. At the December 14, 1999 suppression hearing, Agent Corey Wilson, a narcotics officer with the sheriffs office for ten years, testified that, on September 15, 1998, an undercover agent purchased crack from a man on Robinson Street. The transaction was videotaped. Wilson showed the videotape to other narcotics agents and instructed them to be on the lookout for a suspect whose appearance matched that of the man in the tape. Sergeant Hoefield located the subject in the Robinson Street area and learned his name was Lawrence Raines.

Based on Hoefield's identification, Wilson compiled a photographic lineup. Wilson showed undercover officer Frank Williams the videotape of the transaction to "refresh his memory." He then presented the lineup to Williams. In only seconds, Williams was able to identify defendant as the person from whom he had bought crack cocaine on September 15, 1998. Wilson testified that he did not give Williams any indication as to which photograph he should select, nor did he promise anything or threaten Williams in order to extract an identification. Wilson stated he produced the lineup photographs by computer, so that they would look as much alike as possible. During the motion hearing, defense counsel argued that the photographic lineup was suggestive because the other subjects included in the lineup bore no resemblance to defendant. The trial judge commented that one subject had lighter skin than defendant, but that the other five subjects looked similar to each other. The trial judge then denied the motion to suppress. Defendant now challenges this denial, asserting that the identification procedure was suggestive.

A defendant challenging an identification procedure must prove to the court that it was suggestive and that there was a substantial likelihood of misidentification. State v. Lowenfield, 495 So.2d 1245 (La.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1153, 106 S.Ct. 2259, 90 L.Ed.2d 704 (1986); State v. Pugh, 99-851 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/21/99), 750 So.2d 313, writ denied, 00-0206 (La.8/31/00), 766 So.2d 1273. Even if the identification procedure is found to be suggestive, this alone does not violate due process, as it is the likelihood of misidentification that violates due process, not the mere existence of suggestiveness. State v. Every, 96-185 (La.App. 5 Cir. 7/30/96), 678 So.2d 952.

Fairness is the standard of review for identification procedures, and reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility of identification testimony. Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977). The factors to be considered in assessing reliability were initially set out in Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 93 S.Ct. 375, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972), and approved in Manson v. Brathwaite, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
788 So. 2d 635, 2001 WL 579810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-raines-lactapp-2001.