State v. Snavely

759 So. 2d 950, 2000 WL 374584
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 12, 2000
Docket99-KA-1223
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 759 So. 2d 950 (State v. Snavely) 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. Snavely, 759 So. 2d 950, 2000 WL 374584 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

759 So.2d 950 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Troy SNAVELY.

No. 99-KA-1223.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

April 12, 2000.

*953 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Assistant D.A. Ellen S. Fantaci, Assistant D.A. Walter G. Amstutz, Assistant D.A., Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Arcenious F. Armond, Jr., Gretna, LA, for Defendant-Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, Jr., SOL GOTHARD and JAMES L. CANNELLA.

DUFRESNE, Judge.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging the defendant, Troy A. Snavely, with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967 A (count one), and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:95.1 (count two). Prior to trial, defense counsel filed several motions, one of which was a motion to suppress evidence. Following the denial of this motion, the matter proceeded to trial on count one before a twelve person jury. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the jury found the defendant guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The trial judge subsequently sentenced the defendant to twenty years at hard labor, without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence.

Subsequent to the resolution of the cocaine charge, the defendant reurged his motion to suppress evidence relating to the firearm charge. The trial judge denied that motion, and the defendant thereafter pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon as set forth in count two of the bill of information. The defendant *954 entered this plea pursuant to State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976), thereby reserving his right to appeal the trial court's ruling on the motion to suppress. In accordance with the plea agreement, the judge sentenced the defendant to ten years at hard labor to run concurrently with the sentence imposed on count one.

Subsequent to the imposition of sentence on count one, the state filed a bill of information seeking to have the defendant adjudicated and sentenced as a third felony offender pursuant to LSA-R.S. 15:529.1. After the defendant admitted his status as a second felony offender, the trial judge vacated the original sentence on count one and imposed an enhanced sentence of thirty-five years at hard labor to run concurrently with the sentence imposed on count two. The defendant thereafter appealed.

On original appeal, the attorney appointed for the defendant filed an Anders[1] brief along with a motion to withdraw. This court denied the motion to withdraw, remanded the case to be supplemented with the transcript from the plea proceedings, and instructed appellate counsel to file a brief addressing the denial of the motion to suppress and the validity of the defendant's guilty plea. Appellate counsel filed a supplemental brief which failed to address the defendant's Crosby plea. In response, this court remanded the matter to the district court with instruction to appoint new appellate counsel to represent the defendant in his appeal. The trial judge complied with this order and appointed new counsel; however, the defendant then retained his own attorney who enrolled as counsel of record. The record was subsequently lodged in this court, and appellate counsel filed a brief on the defendant's behalf, asserting six assignments of errors. It is in this posture that the case is presently before our court.

FACTS

Deputies Edwin Kline and Jeffrey Lehrmann, employed with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, were working together on June 5, 1998. That afternoon, an anonymous individual paged Deputy Kline. When he called the number left on the pager, the person told him that a white male named "Troy," with blond hair and who drove a silver Taurus, was going to make a crack cocaine delivery to 1620 Hesiod Street.

Based on this information, the officers proceeded to 1620 Hesiod Street. When they arrived, a silver Taurus was already parked in front of the residence. The officers then observed the defendant, a white male with blond hair, exit the residence, walk towards the Taurus and open the vehicle's door. The officers, who were in uniform, decided to approach the defendant to investigate. Deputy Kline testified that as he and Deputy Lehrmann walked towards the defendant, he "backed up in a nervous manner, turned around, started heading back towards the house," and dropped a clear plastic bag.

Deputy Lehrmann retrieved the plastic bag, which contained numerous off-white rock-like substances that field tested positive for the presence of cocaine. While Officer Lehrmann secured the narcotics, Deputy Kline pursued the defendant. Following a brief struggle, the officers arrested the defendant. A search incident to that arrest revealed a loaded handgun in the defendant's right front pants pocket.

In addition to the testimony of the police officers, the state also introduced the testimony of Tom Angelica of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office Crime Lab. After being accepted as an expert in the field of drug chemistry, Mr. Angelica testified that in connection with this case, he analyzed pieces of off-white material in a plastic bag. His testing revealed that the evidence in the plastic bag was cocaine.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In his first assigned error, the defendant contends that he was deprived of *955 his right of confrontation because the trial court erroneously ruled the state was not required to disclose the identity of the person who provided the information leading to his arrest.

The record, in the present case, supports the conclusion that the tip was provided by an anonymous source and not a confidential informant. At trial, Deputy Kline testified he had given his pager number to many people for the purpose of receiving anonymous tips such as the one received in this case. He further testified that he did not know the anonymous source's identity, and that anonymous sources frequently will not reveal their names. In addition, the police report which was produced to the defendant, indicated that the deputies were given the information by "an anonymous source." Given these circumstances, we find that the trial judge did not err in denying the defendant's motion to disclose the informant's identity.

We further note that even if the tipster had been a confidential informant, disclosure of that person's identity was not required, given the fact that the informant merely supplied information and did not participate in the transaction leading to the defendant's arrest. See State v. Biglane, 99-111 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/19/99), 738 So.2d 630.

The defendant next asserts that the trial judge improperly sustained the state's objection when defense counsel asked Deputy Kline whether additional drug activity had been transpiring at the Hesiod residence that day. However, the transcript reflects that defense counsel voluntarily withdrew the question and thus, this argument presents nothing for review.

The defendant further asserts that the exclusion of evidence that other narcotics activity was occurring at the residence violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), which held that the state has a duty to disclose evidence favorable to the defendant when it is material to the defendant's guilt or punishment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 So. 2d 950, 2000 WL 374584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-snavely-lactapp-2000.