State v. Singleton

723 So. 2d 484, 1998 WL 781957
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 28, 1998
Docket98-KA-387
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 723 So. 2d 484 (State v. Singleton) 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. Singleton, 723 So. 2d 484, 1998 WL 781957 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

723 So.2d 484 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Ronald SINGLETON.

No. 98-KA-387.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

October 28, 1998.

*485 Bruce G. Whittaker, Louisiana Appellate Project, Gretna, for Appellant.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Rebecca J. Becker, Counsel of Record on Appeal, Terry Boudreaux, Michael Ciaccio, Quentin Kelly, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, for Appellee.

Panel Composed of Judges SOL GOTHARD, JAMES L. CANNELLA and THOMAS C. WICKER, Jr., Pro Tempore.

THOMAS C. WICKER, Jr., Judge Pro Tem.

The defendant, Ronald Singleton (Singleton), was charged by indictment with the second degree murder of Leroy Woodard (Woodard) in violation of La.R.S. 14:30.1. Singleton filed a motion to withdraw his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. The trial court held a sanity hearing and found the defendant competent to stand trial. Singleton filed a motion to suppress evidence seized as the result of a search warrant. The trial judge denied the motion to suppress. After trial by jury, the defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial judge sentenced the defendant to the mandatory term of life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Singleton now appeals. We affirm.

On appeal Singleton assigns the following errors:

1. The trial court erred in denying appellant's motion to suppress.
2. The trial court erred in permitting the state, in rebuttal, to play selected portions of a taped statement obtained from appellant by the state's forensic psychiatrist.
3. The trial court erred in denying appellant's motion for a mistrial premised upon the state's explicit reference to the fact *486 that appellant was incarcerated at the time of trial.
4. Assigned as error are any and all errors patent on the face of the record.

The testimony at trial set forth the following. Singleton testified as follows. On Halloween night, 1996, he was at home with his daughter when he received a telephone call from a friend, Carlos Lawrence (Lawrence). Lawrence told Singleton that Woodard and two friends, who were armed, were looking for Singleton. Approximately ten minutes after receiving this information, Singleton spotted a red Cutlass driving in front of his (Singleton's) house. Singleton was frightened. He took his daughter to his brother's house.[1] Thereafter Singleton went to a club accompanied by some friends. When he and his friends saw the red Cutlass pull up to the club, they left and went to Schnell's Restaurant. As Singleton was walking into the restaurant, he saw Woodard staring at him. He stated he was frightened. He testified that he saw Woodard enter his car and reach down under the seat. At this point the defendant started shooting his gun toward Woodard. He stated that he was approximately one car length away from Woodard, and that his eyes were closed when he shot Woodard. The defendant testified that he felt that if he didn't shoot Woodard, Woodard would have "pulled a gun" on him.

Singleton explained he had previous altercations with Woodard; namely, a shooting incident, being "pistol whipped" by Woodard, and having his car burned by Woodard. Singleton stated that he was frightened of Woodard, tense, nervous, and scared for his life. He testified that he ran away after the shooting because he was afraid. He admitted that in his first statement to Detective Ralph Sacks (Sacks) he had denied shooting Woodard. He explained that at that time of his denial he did not think Sacks would understand if he admitted the shooting. However, Singleton stated he gave a second statement on a later date admitting he shot Woodard. He explained that he did so after Sacks informed him the investigation revealed that Woodard was a "scumbag" and that Singleton had done society a favor. Singleton also testified that Sacks told him he would probably receive a light sentence. As a result, Singleton stated he trusted Sacks and confessed.

Clifton Lewis (Lewis) testified he had known Woodard for years. Lewis stated he spoke with Woodard prior to the shooting when Woodard entered Schnell's Restaurant. Upon leaving the restaurant, he and Woodard walked toward different areas of the parking lot. Lewis heard gunshots and noticed these were coming from the direction of a fence. He saw the person who fired the shots but could not identify the assailant because he was dressed in black and wore a mask. Singleton testified that at the time of the shooting he was wearing blue jeans and a black sweatshirt but that shortly before the incident he wore a white tee shirt.

The state's witnesses established that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest.

Sacks testified he was called at approximately 3:00 a.m. on November 1, 1996 to investigate Woodard's murder at Schnell's Restaurant in Marrero. Sacks obtained a search warrant on November 4, 1996, to search the defendant's residence at 1988 South Forest Lawn, Apt. 17, in Gretna, Louisiana. The search warrant described the perpetrator of the crime to be a tall thin man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and a hockey-type mask. The search warrant also enumerated incidents in an ongoing feud between the defendant and the victim. Specifically, the warrant discussed 1) a shooting in which the defendant and some friends fired shots at the victim from a moving vehicle, 2) the defendant being "pistol whipped" by the victim, 3) the defendant's car being burned, allegedly by the victim and 4) the defendant and the victim engaging in a fist fight with the victim showing the defendant a handgun. Sacks testified that he *487 executed the search warrant and recovered a black hooded sweatshirt and black sweat pants from the defendant's residence, and a blue hooded sweatshirt from the defendant's car. Sacks stated he did not find a mask or gun during his search. That same evening Singleton waived his rights and gave Sacks a voluntary statement in which he denied responsibility for the murder. Singleton also admitted having an ongoing problem with Woodard. Singleton was released.

Sacks further testified he subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant, and arrested him on November 6,1996. Following his arrest, the defendant again waived his rights and gave another statement to Sacks. However, in the second statement Singleton admitted he shot the victim because of an ongoing feud. Sacks further testified Singleton never stated he was afraid of the victim, nor did he tell Sacks that he shot the victim in self-defense. Sacks denied telling Singleton that he would get a "light sentence" if Singleton admitted shooting the victim.

Louis John Favorite testified he witnessed an incident in October 1996 in which Woodard beat Singleton in the head with a pistol in an unprovoked attack. Greg Favorite, another witness, stated he heard the noise from the altercation and observed Woodard in possession of a gun but did not see Singleton. Charles Simmons testified that in October 1996 Singleton ran into his shop telling him he was hit in the side of the head with a gun. Charles Simmons stated he saw a bruised area on Singleton's head. Angela Mouton, the defendant's ex-girlfriend, stated that in May of 1995 Singleton borrowed her car. The car was returned with bullet holes. She also testified that on another occasion she saw Woodard threaten Singleton with a gun.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
723 So. 2d 484, 1998 WL 781957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-singleton-lactapp-1998.