State v. Warner

116 So. 3d 811, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 0085, 2013 WL 1840049, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 871
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 1, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-KA-0085
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 116 So. 3d 811 (State v. Warner) 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. Warner, 116 So. 3d 811, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 0085, 2013 WL 1840049, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 871 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

MADELEINE M. LANDRIEU, Judge.

12Appellant, Jimmie Warner, was indicted for the second degree murder of Mr. Walter Jovel in violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:30.1. Following a jury trial, Mr. Warner was found guilty of the lesser included offense of negligent homicide and sentenced to serve a five-year sentence. He has filed the instant appeal of his conviction, alleging two assignments of error.

In his first assignment of error, Mr. Warner argues that the trial court erred when it allowed the State to introduce into evidence an out-of-court statement given by a witness who was called to testify but refused to answer questions asked of her. In his second assignment of error, Mr. Warner argues that the court erred when it allowed the State to introduce certain character evidence. We find no merit in these assignments of error and find no errors patent on the face of the record. Accordingly, we affirm Mr. Warner’s conviction and sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

In the early morning hours of July 20, 2008, Mr. Walter Jovel was shot and killed at the corner of N. Derbigny and Spain Streets. He was first found by military police officers who happened to be in the area on the evening of the shooting. They observed the victim to be unresponsive, apparently from multiple gunshot wounds. The military police contacted New Orleans police officers who investigated the shooting as a homicide. The investigation led to the arrest of the defendant, Mr. Jimmie Warner.

According to testimony elicited during Mr. Warner’s trial, the victim was found in the driver’s seat of a black truck, lying across the console in a large pool of blood. The car was still running when first responders arrived on the scene, and the car had apparently backed into a street sign. An autopsy later determined Mr. |3Jovel had been shot three times in the left side of his lower abdomen and buttocks and died of massive internal bleeding. The trajectory of the bullets were consistent with Mr. Jovel having been shot through an open door or window of the car, while in the driver’s seat leaning across the front seat toward the passenger side of the vehicle.

In addition to those involved in the investigation, such as police, investigators and the coroner, two witnesses whose testimony is at issue in this appeal were called to the stand: Ms. Nadia Stark and Ms. Laverne King. The defendant’s assignments of error relate to the direct testimony of Ms. Stark and the cross-examination of Ms. King.

MS. STARK

On the evening of the shooting, Detective Nicholas Gernon canvassed the area looking for anyone who might have had information that would assist police in their investigation. He testified during the trial that he knocked on the door of 1703 Spain Street, a double on the corner of the intersection where the shooting occurred. Ms. Nadia Stark came to the door in response to his knock but told Det. Gernon she had been sleeping in the back room of the residence at the time of the shooting and had not heard or seen anything. Detective Gernon did not believe Ms. Stark as she was dressed in regular clothing and she did not appear to have been sleeping. However, he did not ques[813]*813tion her further at that point because it was shortly after the shooting, approximately 3:00 a.m., and he did not have authority to enter her residence. Det. Gernon gave Ms. Stark’s name to Det. Regina Williams, the officer in charge of the investigation.

Based upon the information received from Det. Gernon, Det. Williams went to 1703 Spain Street and spoke with Ms. Stark. Det. Williams later took a |4recorded statement from Ms. Stark and showed her a photographic lineup, from which Ms. Stark identified the defendant, Mr. Jimmie Warner, as the shooter. Following Ms. Stark’s statement and identification of Mr. Warner, Det. Williams booked Mr. Warner with the murder of Walter Jovel.

On the day before she was called to testify at trial, the court questioned Ms. Stark in the presence of counsel for the state and defense, but outside the presence of the jury. Ms. Stark informed the court that she would not answer any questions at trial, but would invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege.1 The court then suspended all questioning of Ms. Stark until such time as Ms. Stark’s lawyer could be present. Once Ms. Stark’s lawyer was present, the court allowed the parties to question Ms. Stark about her intentions with respect to giving testimony. The transcript of the proceedings reflects a three-fold purpose for this questioning: to ensure that in the presence of the jury no one discussed another alleged murder in which Ms. Stark’s boyfriend, Seymour Quinn, and the defendant in this alleged murder, Jimmie Warner, were suspects; to determine whether Ms. Stark had the right to invoke her right against self-incrimination; and to determine the admissibility of Ms. Stark’s recorded statement.

During this questioning, Ms. Stark testified that she was in custody for a probation violation in connection with a charge of theft of goods valued over $500 and that she knew Mr. Warner. She then, in response to a question posed by the State, testified that she would invoke her rights under the Fifth Amendment if she were called to testify in Jimmie Warner’s case. The State asked if she was invoking her right because she was concerned that she would be prosecuted for |Bperjury. She responded that she was pleading “the Fifth.” The State asked if she would testify to the truth if the State called her to testify, and she asked to speak with her lawyer. After she conferred with counsel, Ms. Stark responded: “I have not [sic] intention of testifying at all and I plan to plead the Fifth.” She then identified Mr. Warner. The State asked Ms. Stark if she would identify him in court and if she would testify as to the truth of what happened on the night of the shooting. Ms. Stark again conferred with her attorney and then stated: “I don’t plan to testify. I just plan to state my name and my voice on the tape.”

At this point, the court noted that Ms. Stark could not invoke her Fifth Amendment right in front of the jury and ordered the State to question her more fully. The State then asked her: if she saw Mr. Warner kill a Hispanic man in a black truck on July 20, 2008; if she killed the man; if she was at 1703 Spain Street on that night; if she was drinking or taking drugs that night; if she saw the Hispanic man arrive in the black truck; if she saw where the man came from; if she gave a statement to Det. Williams; if the state[814]*814ment was true; if she knew Mr. Quinn and if he lived at 1703 Spain; for a description of that address; what happened when the Hispanic male pulled up to the scene; who else was on the scene; what she saw when Mr. Warner walked up to the victim’s truck; and if she saw Mr. Warner with a gun, get into the truck, and then get out of the truck. In response to all of these questions, with the exception of two, Ms. Stark responded that she pled “the Fifth.” Ms. Stark only affirmatively testified that that she gave a statement to the police and that she did not kill the man in the black truck.

l„At this juncture, the State filed a motion to compel Ms.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brown, Frederick L.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2021
State of Louisiana v. Dave A. Turner
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2020
State v. Maestas
412 P.3d 79 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2018)
State v. Griffin
169 So. 3d 473 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. McClure
169 So. 3d 510 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Johnson
151 So. 3d 683 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
116 So. 3d 811, 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 0085, 2013 WL 1840049, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 871, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-warner-lactapp-2013.