State v. Sparkman

136 So. 3d 98, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 640, 2014 WL 553454, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 309
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 12, 2014
DocketNo. 13-KA-640
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 136 So. 3d 98 (State v. Sparkman) 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. Sparkman, 136 So. 3d 98, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 640, 2014 WL 553454, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 309 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Chief Judge.

pOn appeal, defendant challenges his convictions and sentences for second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, aggravated burglary, and possession of a firearm by a felon. For the following reasons, we affirm his convictions and sentences for second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon, but remand for correction of patent error in defendant’s sentence for aggravated burglary.

Procedural History

On June 28, 2012, the Jefferson Parish Grand Jury indicted NaKeith Sparkman, defendant-herein, and co-defendant, Michael C. Shelby, on one count of second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 (Count 1). Further, Sparkman was also indicted for attempted second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1 (Count 2); aggravated burglary, in violation of La. R.S. 14:60 (Count 3); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1 (Count 4).

|3On May 7, 8, and 9, 2013, the matter was tried before a twelve-person jury, which found defendant guilty as charged on all counts.1 Defendant filed a timely motion for new trial, which was denied on May 17, 2013. On May 22, 2013, the trial judge sentenced defendant to consecutive sentences as follows: on Count 1, life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence; on Count 2, 45 years at hard labor; on Count 3, 25 years at hard labor, and, on Count 4, 20 years at hard labor.2 That same day, defendant filed a timely motion [102]*102for appeal that was granted. This appeal follows.

Facts

At trial, Shartina Norman testified that, on November 14, 2011, at approximately 8:00 p.m., she was hanging out with her boyfriend, Ranard “Deuce” Brown, Jr., when he got a call from NaKeith Spark-man about purchasing marijuana. After speaking with Mr. Sparkman, Mr. Brown told Ms. Norman that they were going to pick up Mr. Sparkman in Algiers. Mr. Sparkman called Mr. Brown back to tell Mr. Brown not to bring any guns since there would be a lot of people around when they picked him up.

When Mr. Brown and Ms. Norman finally located Mr. Sparkman, he was standing around with five or six guys in the parking lot of an apartment complex. After Mr. Sparkman got into their vehicle, Mr. Brown drove them back to his apartment to pick up marijuana. When they arrived at his apartment complex, Mr. Brown parked away from his apartment in an attempt to conceal its exact location. While Mr. Brown went to his apartment, Ms. Norman and Mr. Sparkman stayed in the car; Ms. Norman had a “bad vibe” that Mr. Sparkman was trying to scout out the exact location of Mr. Brown’s apartment.

| ¿When Mr. Brown returned to the car, he was carrying a backpack, which he put in the vehicle’s trunk. Mr. Brown drove the group to the “W” Hotel to meet Mr. Sparkman’s “friend” that wanted to purchase marijuana. After arriving, Ms. Norman waited in the vehicle while Mr. Brown and Mr. Sparkman went inside. After about 30 minutes, Mr. Brown and Mr. Sparkman returned; Mr. Brown was angry because Mr. Sparkman’s “friend” would not complete the deal. Ms. Norman told Mr. Brown that Mr. Sparkman was setting him up, but Mr. Brown refused to believe it. Not long after, Mr. Brown picked up his cousin, Craig Smith, then dropped Mr. Sparkman off at a gas station on Claiborne.

Craig Smith testified that, after they dropped Mr. Sparkman off, they went to Mr. Brown’s new apartment in Waggaman. Mr. Smith remembered that they arrived at Mr. Brown’s apartment about 9:00 p.m. Ms. Norman testified that, when they got out of the car, she noticed a man, who looked just like one of the men that was “hanging” with Mr. Sparkman earlier in Algiers. She thought that he looked suspicious because he kept looking at them while he talked on a cell phone and paced back and forth in a lot across from Mr. Brown’s apartment. Ms. Norman voiced her concerns but Mr. Brown disregarded her.

After they returned to Mr. Brown’s apartment, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith smoked marijuana while the three watched a movie.3 When Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith “got the munchies,” they sent Ms. Norman — with a list typed on Mr. Brown’s cell phone — to “Brother’s Market” for food.

When Ms. Norman returned to the apartment complex, she called Mr. Smith from Mr. Brown’s phone because, as she parked and turned off the lights, she noticed someone move “real fast” away from Mr. Brown’s door. When Mr. Brown opened the door, NaKeith Sparkman was standing on his stoop and came | ^toward him with a gun drawn. A struggle ensued. Once Mr. Brown stepped back into the apartment, Mr. Smith saw Mr. Sparkman [103]*103pull back and shoot Mr. Brown in the face. Mr. Brown later died as a result of the gunshot wound to his head.

Mr. Smith tried to find a weapon or a way out but he could not. As he knelt on the floor, he asked Mr. Sparkman to spare him, then raised his hand in defense. Mr. Sparkman shot Mr. Smith; the bullet pierced his hand and grazed his scalp. Next, Mr.'Smith played “dead” while Mr. Sparkman rifled through the apartment, looking in the oven and the living room closet. After Mr. Sparkman left without taking anything, Mr. Smith got up and locked the door. Mr. Smith ran into the bathroom while Mr. Brown tried to crawl out of the room.

Ms. Norman testified that, right after she saw Mr. Sparkman shoot “Deuce,” she saw a second man running toward her with a gun so she quickly fled in Mr. Brown’s car.4 Mr. Smith ultimately left the apartment to try to get help.

Gerard Palisi, who lived at the same apartment complex as Mr. Brown, testified that he was awakened by someone knocking on his door. When he went outside, a young man approached, asking him to call 9-1-1 because he and his friend had been shot. Mr. Palisi called 9-1-1, reported the shootings, and informed the 9-1-1 operator that the injured man said that “Nak-eith” shot them. A little while later, Mr. Palisi went to the street to flag down the sheriffs officers since the building was not clearly marked.

Deputy Timothy Massenburg of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office (“JPSO”) responded to the apartment complex to investigate. When he arrived, the front door of the apartment was ajar and there was blood on the floor in the entryway. Immediately, Deputy Massenburg observed two victims lying on the floor in the main room of the apartment. The officers secured the scene until EMS | ^arrived. Craig Smith told the officers what had happened and identified the shooter as “Nakia Magee.” Mr. Smith identified NaKeith Sparkman, defendant-herein, as the man that had shot him and Mr. Brown from a six-person photographic lineup. Mr. Smith denied that either he or Mr. Brown had a gun during the incident.

Ms. Norman also talked to a JPSO detective and gave statements. Ms. Norman positively identified defendant in a photographic lineup as the man that shot Mr. Brown. At trial, Ms. Norman testified that Mr. Smith did not have a gun, and she did not remember telling police that he had a gun or that there was a gun in the apartment.

Deputy Jamey Perque of the JPSO Crime Scene Division took photographs and collected evidence at the scene. He retrieved two cartridge casings, one projectile, an ammunition magazine, a firearm holster, and various illegal narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia. However, no guns were found in the apartment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
136 So. 3d 98, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 640, 2014 WL 553454, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 309, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sparkman-lactapp-2014.