State v. Turner

850 So. 2d 811, 2003 WL 21411228
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 19, 2003
Docket03-KA-325
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 850 So. 2d 811 (State v. Turner) 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. Turner, 850 So. 2d 811, 2003 WL 21411228 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

850 So.2d 811 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Kendrick TURNER.

No. 03-KA-325.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

June 19, 2003.

*813 Margaret Smith Sollars, Louisiana Appellate Project, Thibodaux, LA, for Appellant, Kendrick Turner.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Andrea F. Long Bradley R. Burget, Thomas S. Block, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Appellee, State of Louisiana.

Panel composed of Judges THOMAS F. DALEY, MARION F. EDWARDS and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Judge.

On September 27, 2000, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Kendrick Turner, with armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Willie Cotton was charged as a co-defendant on the armed robbery charge only. Defendant was arraigned on September 28, 2000, and pled not guilty.

On May 23, 2001, trial against defendant commenced. After a two-day trial, the 12-person jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged on both counts. On May 29, 2001, the trial court sentenced defendant to 50 years at hard labor for armed robbery and 15 years at hard labor for possession of firearm by a convicted felon. The court ordered both sentences to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence and to run concurrently. Defendant made an oral motion for appeal, which the court granted.

Immediately following sentencing, the State filed a habitual offender bill of information, alleging that defendant was a second felony offender. Defendant was apprised of the allegations, which he denied. After the habitual offender hearing, the trial court found that defendant was a second felony offender. The court thereafter vacated defendant's original sentence for armed robbery and imposed an enhanced sentence of 100 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The court instructed that the sentence be served concurrently with the sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and consecutively with any other sentence defendant was serving. Defendant made an oral motion for appeal of the habitual offender ruling and sentence, which the trial court granted.

Facts

On August 16, 2000, Willie Cotton picked up his cousin, Kendrick Turner, at his house about 3:30 p.m. and the two had drinks together and visited their girlfriends in Algiers. At about 9:00 p.m. that evening, Cotton and Turner stopped at the E-Z Serve in Westwego in Cotton's truck so that Cotton could get change to use the pay phone. After making a phone call, Cotton left his truck parked near the E-Z Serve and walked to a nearby apartment complex to deliver a package for an associate.

On August 16, 2000, Anika Murth was working the evening shift at the E-Z Serve Convenience Store at 1200 Westbank Expressway in Westwego, Louisiana. At trial, Ms. Murth testified that, at about 9:30 p.m. that night, a black man, who was about 21 years of age, between 5 § 9 and 6 § tall, and between 180-190 pounds, entered the store, pulled a semi-automatic handgun from his waistband, and demanded money. Ms. Murth gave him the cash from the store's cash register. Once the gunman left the store, Ms. Murth locked *814 the doors, called police, and hid in the bathroom until officers arrived.

When she was interviewed by the police, Ms. Murth indicated that the gunman was wearing a white t-shirt and blue or black shorts. The gunman covered the lower part of his face with a white shirt so Ms. Murth was only able to see his eyes, which she described as bloodshot.

At that same time, Rodney Long and his wife, Michelle, were in their truck at the corner of Central Avenue and Westbank Expressway, waiting at a red traffic light. They were about 300 feet from the entrance of the E-Z Serve. Mr. Long saw a black man, who was about 6 § tall, approximately 200 pounds, and wearing a white t-shirt and dark-colored shorts, quickly exit the E-Z Serve, walk to the Central Avenue side of the building, then jog south on Central toward Lapalco. When he saw the store's clerk run to the front door and lock it, Rodney Long thought that a robbery had occurred.

About this time, Cotton returned to the truck and found defendant was not there. Cotton started the truck and began to drive away slowly. Defendant ran from the direction of the E-Z Serve and jumped into the passenger seat of Cotton's truck. According to Cotton, defendant was carrying a bag.

After the defendant got into the passenger side of the truck waiting at the corner of Central Avenue and Hickory, the Longs decided to follow the truck, which sped away. The Longs followed the truck, which they described as blue with primer spots and body damage, for some time attempting to ascertain the vehicle's license plate number, which they eventually did. Soon after the Longs got the truck's license plate number, the subject leaned out of the truck's passenger window and fired two shots at the Longs. The Longs ended their pursuit immediately and reported the truck's license plate number and description to the police.

After the chase, the Longs headed back toward the E-Z Serve. While en route, they flagged down Sergeant Warren Martin of the Westwego Police Department, gave him a description of the truck, and told him in which direction the suspect was traveling. Although Sergeant Martin canvassed the area for the truck, he did not find it. He ran the license plate number on the police computer system and found that the truck was registered to Willie Cotton.

While on his way to the address at which the truck was registered, Sergeant Martin received information from the dispatcher that a truck matching the description of the one leaving the E-Z Serve robbery was in a parking lot in the 1500 block of Westwood. When Sergeant Martin arrived at that location, he found the truck and learned that Willie Cotton's mother had informed the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office that he was at this location. Cotton was arrested. Sergeant Martin transported him to the Westwego Police Department headquarters, where Cotton consented to a search of his truck. Sergeant Martin recovered a live .380 caliber bullet on the seat of Cotton's truck and a bag.

After arriving at Westwego Police headquarters, Sergeant Martin conducted a tape-recorded interview with Cotton. According to Cotton, defendant told Cotton he had robbed the E-Z Serve. Cotton also saw a truck following them when they left the area. Cotton thought they were being followed because of the robbery. Cotton realized that defendant had a gun when defendant fired shots at their pursuers as Cotton attempted to elude them. After they eluded the Longs, Cotton and defendant went to Keisha Heard's apartment. The two men went upstairs, where *815 defendant gave Cotton approximately $40.00 in cash, some of which was in a brown E-Z Serve bag.

After interviewing Cotton, Sergeant Martin went to Keisha Heard's[1] apartment, which was located at 1500 Westwood, the street where Willie Cotton had been apprehended. Sergeant Martin then interviewed Ms. Heard at police headquarters. In her statement, Ms. Heard told Sergeant Martin that Cotton and defendant arrived at her apartment between 9:45 and 10:00 p.m. the night of August 16, 2000. She also stated that the men were acting strangely because every time a visitor knocked on her door, the two ran upstairs to hide. She recounted that when she asked defendant and Cotton why they were acting suspiciously, they told her there had been a shootout.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
850 So. 2d 811, 2003 WL 21411228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-turner-lactapp-2003.