State v. Washington

704 So. 2d 977, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2834, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2946, 1997 WL 790519
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in State v. Washington. Read the opinion of the Court — 691 So. 2d 345
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 22, 1997·No. No. 97-K-2834·Published

Opinion

ItBYRNES, Judge.

The State requests a review of the trial court’s ruling granting the defendant’s motion for production of the supplemental police report. The State claims that the defendant is not entitled to the supplemental police report because production of the original incident report satisfies the requirements of La.R.S. 44:3 and State v. Shropshire, 471 So.2d 707 (La.1985).

Generally, the defendant is entitled only to the initial report made by the officer handling the case. State v. Walters, 582 So.2d 317 (La.App. 4 Cir.1991), writ denied, 584 So.2d 1171 (La.1991); State v. Burnes, 516 So.2d 375 (La.App. 4 Cir.1987). However, the reporting officer or officers may not defeat the purpose of the statute by including only selected information in the initial report and placing the remainder in a subsequent report. State v. McEwen, 504 So.2d 817 (La.1987); State v. Baker, 582 So.2d 1320 (La.App. 4 Cir.1991), writ denied, 590 So.2d 1197 (La.1992), certiorari denied, Baker v. Louisiana, 506 U.S. 818, 113 S.Ct. 62, 121 L.Ed.2d 30 (1992).

La. R.S. 44:3 states that the following information shall be set forth in the initial report:

|2(i) A narrative description of the alleged offense.
(ii) The name and identification of each person charged with or arrested for the alleged offense.
(iii) The time and date of the alleged offense.
(iv) The location of the alleged offense.
(v) The property involved.
(vii) The names of investigating officers.

In the present case at the hearing on defendant’s motion, the trial court stated that the initial police report did not satisfy the requirements of Shropshire, because there was no reference to the defendant by name in that report. The trial court concluded:

Shropshire, non-compliance, no reference to the defendant by name in the report [978]*978that’s been given. I believe the State must give to the Defense the initial report that shows the arrest of the individual and how it is that he or she came to be identified as the person allegedly responsible for the crime alleged. [Emphasis added.]

The trial court stated:

The Court orders the State to provide to the Defense a copy of a police report that would identify or at least refer to the arrest of Mr. Washington for this alleged armed robbery. The report that is given to the public defender in no way refers to Mr. Washington by name. It speaks of an unknown male. [Emphasis added.]

The trial court further explained:

The Court said that it feels that the Shropshire opinion requires that the District Attorney provide to the Defense the initial report that literally shows how the defendant allegedly first became linked to the alleged offense for which he is to be tried. It is that Rreport that I feel that must be turned over to the Defense.

The trial court later added:

... The State of Louisiana is ordered to turn over to the Defense the first report wherein this defendant was mentioned and identified, where he is named as being the person responsible for this alleged offense.

The trial court explained that:

... if you have four reports and they each contain his name, the first of those four, wherein he was first identified as being the alleged culprit, would be the report that you would have to turn over.

In State v. Everridge, 523 So.2d 879 (La.App. 4 Cir.1988), Donna Pace was robbed of her van at gunpoint in a shopping center. This Court stated:

... Mrs. Pace recognized the gunman as one of two suspicious looking men she had noticed in the mall moments before. When the police arrived, Mrs. Pace gave them a detailed description of her assailant and the license plate number of her van.
Two days later, Mrs. Pace’s husband, Paul Pace, received a telephone call from someone who had found some papers which pertained to and were found in the van. Mr. Pace and a friend picked up those papers and then decided to drive around the area in an attempt to locate the van. Soon thereafter, they spotted the van and followed it until the driver stopped. Mr. Pace noticed that the driver of the van matched his wife’s description of her assailant. At that time, Mr. Pace stopped and called the police to report that he had spotted his stolen van.
The police arrived as the van was being driven off and proceeded to follow it. As soon as the driver of the van realized that he was being followed, he accelerated and a high speed chase ensued, ending when the car crashed into the back of a parked truck. The driver and other occupants of the van attempted to flee on foot but were apprehended by the police.
While the police were conducting their investigation at the scene of the accident and without their |4knowledge, Mr. Pace arranged for his wife to come to the accident scene and determine if the driver of the van was the man who had robbed. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Pace arrived and identified the defendant as the man who had robbed her of her van at gunpoint in the shopping center parking lot.

Id. at 880.

In Everridge, this court found that: “The report of the arresting officers was a followup report to the initial report taken on the date of the armed robbery. Therefore, the trial court correctly denied the defendant’s request for a copy of the report of the arresting officers.” [Emphasis added.] Id. at 882.

In the present case, the initial report contains a narrative of what the officers found at the crime scene and follows the other requirements under La. R.S. 44:3 except for stating the name of the defendant. At the scene of the crime the detective spoke to the victim and another witness; however, the witnesses did not know the name of the perpetrator but stated that they could identify him if they ever saw him. At the court hearing, the State informed the trial court that no description or identifications were obtained from the eyewitness on the night of the crime.

[979]*979In Everridge, id., Mrs. Pace gave a description of the perpetrator but could not have known his name until after his arrest two days later. This court held that the report of the arrest was a follow-up report which was not subject to disclosure to the defense.

In State v. Bumes, supra, this court stated:

Accepting as true relator’s allegations concerning police procedure for handling homicides, we find that relator may obtain as a public record the initial report of the officer or officers investigating the complaint, e.g. someone heard a gunshot, someone saw a shooting, someone found a man who had been shot, | .^someone found a dead man, etcetera (sic).

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State v. Washington, 704 So. 2d 977, 97 La.App. 4 Cir. 2834, 1997 La. App. LEXIS 2946, 1997 WL 790519 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

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Related

State v. McEwen
504 So. 2d 817 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1987)
State v. Everridge
523 So. 2d 879 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
State v. Burnes
516 So. 2d 375 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Baker
582 So. 2d 1320 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Walters
582 So. 2d 317 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Shropshire
471 So. 2d 707 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1985)
Baker v. Louisiana
506 U.S. 818 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Baker v. Louisiana
506 U.S. 818 (Supreme Court, 1992)