State v. White

593 So. 2d 882, 1992 WL 9574
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 22, 1992
Docket22946-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 593 So. 2d 882 (State v. White) 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. White, 593 So. 2d 882, 1992 WL 9574 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

593 So.2d 882 (1992)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
William Lynn WHITE, Appellant.

No. 22946-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

January 22, 1992.

*884 Wilson Rambo, Monroe, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, Jerry L. Jones, Dist. Atty., John Spires, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before SEXTON, LINDSAY and HIGHTOWER, JJ.

HIGHTOWER, Judge.

A jury found defendant, William Lynn White, guilty as charged of armed robbery and second degree kidnapping, violations of LSA-R.S. 14:64 and LSA-R.S. 14:44.1, respectively. After considering a presentence investigation report (PSI), the trial court responded to the robbery offense by imposing thirty-three years of imprisonment at hard labor to be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension. The second degree kidnapping conviction resulted in a sentence of twenty years at hard labor with the first five years to be similarly without such benefit. Additionally, the district judge directed that both terms of confinement be served concurrently.

Defendant now appeals, reserving four assignments of error. For the reasons hereinafter expressed, we affirm both convictions and sentences.

FACTS

In traveling toward California, defendant and Thomas Earl Hatchett, Jr., found themselves stranded in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Lacking funds to repair their inoperable vehicle, they took refuge for several days in an abandoned house near the interstate highway. On the morning of February 5, 1990, the two itinerants observed an elderly man, Emmett McGough, park his pickup in the driveway of the residence before walking into a nearby wooded area, apparently to hunt game. During the ensuing hours, while awaiting this individual's return, the pair decided to rob him and take his vehicle.

At approximately 2:00 p.m., when McGough again approached the house, the two men pointed sawed-off shotguns from inside the building and threatened to kill him. They soon stated their robbery intentions *885 and ordered him both to put down his hunting weapon and to hold his hands in the air. While Hatchett held a gun on their prey, White came outside. When the victim begged not to be robbed, White brutally struck him on the side of the head with the butt of his firearm. After the 69-year-old citizen emptied his pockets as demanded, the two robbers took possession of his truck keys and money, before leading him into the house. There, the malefactors restrained McGough with a rope and gagged him. Finally, after tying him to an exposed partition support, the pair fled in the pickup.

Shortly thereafter, the victim succeeded in freeing himself from the wall. Then, even with his arms and legs still bound, he managed to roll his body out of the dwelling, down the driveway, and onto the edge of an adjacent road. Fortunately, a law enforcement officer soon spotted him. Nonetheless, before receiving medical attention, McGough insisted upon giving a full statement concerning the incident. Authorities then quickly apprehended the two offenders driving the stolen truck, and White later admitted his actions.

DISCUSSION

Motion to Suppress

We first address defendant's fourth assignment of error. He there complains of the denial of his motion to suppress the confession given officers after his arrest. Specifically, it is contended that the recorded statement did not result freely and voluntarily but, instead, through the influence of alcohol and drugs. Also, he obliquely asserts that coercion transpired with reference to certain requested medical attention and the changing of his colostomy bag.

Of course, before introducing a confession into evidence, the state must prove that the defendant made the statement freely and voluntarily and without the influence of fear, duress, intimidation, menaces, threats, inducements or promises. LSA-R.S. 15:451; State v. Simmons, 443 So.2d 512 (La.1983); State v. Moseley, 587 So.2d 46 (La.App.2d Cir.1991), writ denied, 589 So.2d 1066 (La.1991); State v. English, 582 So.2d 1358 (La.App.2d Cir.1991), writ denied, 584 So.2d 1172 (La.1991). Likewise, when an accused has been questioned in a custodial environment, the prosecution is required to establish that his interrogators followed the dictates of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). State v. Simmons, supra.

Whether the state has adequately shown that the defendant spoke freely and voluntarily depends on the facts of each case. Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 95 S.Ct. 2254, 45 L.Ed.2d 416 (1975); State v. Benoit, 440 So.2d 129 (La.1983); State v. English, supra. Moreover, a confession challenged on grounds of intoxication during interrogation remains admissible, unless the effect of the intoxicant negated the defendant's comprehension and rendered him unconscious of the consequences of what he said. State v. Robinson, 384 So.2d 332 (La.1980); State v. King, 573 So.2d 604 (La.App.2d Cir.1991).

Both investigating deputies in the present case stated that, after a full disclosure of his Miranda rights, defendant signed a standard waiver form and agreed to give a recorded statement. He then, according to these witnesses, consistently responded to their inquiries in an appropriate and rational manner. Each officer emphatically denied that any coercion or promises transpired, and additionally testified to observing nothing suggesting the influence of intoxicants. In fact, in answer to a direct question during the recording, White disclaimed any effects of alcohol or drugs, although mentioning the consumption of one beer about an hour earlier. One of the officers recalled defendant, upon briefly referring to a colostomy bag, being told that a nurse would later assist him. However, according to the officer, by no means did such care depend upon the accused giving a statement.

Conversely, defendant testified to having "taken two hits [of LSD] on the day [the offense] occurred," and also to drinking beer. He further contended that, upon requesting to change the colostomy bag, the *886 officer's response precluded any such care until after the interrogation concluded.

In deciding the free and voluntary nature of a confession, the trial court's ruling is entitled to great deference and will not be disturbed unless unsupported by the evidence. State v. Benoit, supra; State v. English, supra. So too, on such an issue, the fact-trier's conclusions as to the credibility of testimony are accorded great weight. State v. Messiah, 538 So.2d 175 (La.1988), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1063, 110 S.Ct. 880, 107 L.Ed.2d 963 (1990); State v. Moseley, supra; State v. King, supra.

Here, the district court chose the testimony of the two investigating officers as being more credible. Their statements, in addition to refuting coercion, clearly negate any claim of intoxication sufficient to vitiate voluntariness. Furthermore, our review indicates defendant to have been coherent and capable of understanding the consequences of his admissions. Thus, the record more than adequately supports the rejection of White's assertions of intoxication and vague contentions of coercion.

This assignment lacks merit.

Denial of Motion for Mistrial

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Bluebook (online)
593 So. 2d 882, 1992 WL 9574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-white-lactapp-1992.