State v. Wright

441 So. 2d 1301
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 22, 1983
Docket83 KA 0393
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 441 So. 2d 1301 (State v. Wright) 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. Wright, 441 So. 2d 1301 (La. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

441 So.2d 1301 (1983)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Ricky O'Neal WRIGHT.

No. 83 KA 0393.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 22, 1983.
Rehearing Denied December 22, 1983.

*1302 Leon A. Picou, Jr., Dist. Atty., St. Francisville, for plaintiff.

Charles Griffin, II and Stanley E. Branton, St. Francisville, for defendant.

Before PONDER, WATKINS and CARTER, JJ.

WATKINS, Judge.

Defendant, Ricky O'Neal Wright, was indicted for second degree murder, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1 in connection with the death of Robert Bibbens, Jr. After a trial by jury, he was convicted as charged and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. He has appealed, alleging five assignments of error, as follows:

1. The trial court erred in denying a motion to suppress the statement made by defendant to the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's deputies;
2. The trial court erred in denying a motion to suppress items of defendant's clothing which were obtained from his home without a search warrant;
3. The trial court erred in overruling defendant's objection to the introduction of the seized clothing into evidence (based on an incomplete chain of custody);
4. The trial court erred in overruling defendant's objection to the introduction of the clothing into evidence (based on incomplete discovery);
5. The trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for a mistrial.

We affirm.

The incident from which these charges resulted occurred on January 31, 1982, at a bar called "The Golden Disco of the South" in West Feliciana Parish. Defendant and the victim, Robert Bibbens, Jr., exchanged words in the restroom of the bar after Bibbens claimed defendant had urinated on him. After the exchange, defendant walked outside the club, followed a short time later by the victim. According to defendant's statement, he believed the victim was about to pull a weapon on him, so he hit the victim in the face, knocking him to the ground; he then began kicking the victim in the face and head. Defendant immediately left the area. Soon afterward the victim was pronounced dead at the scene by the assistant coroner, the final diagnosis being sixteen stab wounds to the head and face, crush injuries to the central face (including the left eye, bridge of the nose, and frontal bones), and a fracture to the base of the skull.

Defendant left the bar to return to his home in Woodville, Mississippi, where he *1303 changed his clothes. He returned to St. Francisville, Louisiana, and turned himself in to the Sheriff's office. He was arrested for manslaughter, and later that day gave a statement to the police. The grand jury subsequently indicted defendant for second-degree murder.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE:

Defendant submits that the trial court erred in denying a motion to suppress the statement (confession) given to the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff's deputies. He alleges that this statement was taken in violation of his constitutional rights, specifically the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 13 of the Louisiana Constitution.

More specifically, defendant contends that he was not fully advised of his Constitutional rights before his statement was given, because the law enforcement personnel did not read his Miranda rights to him and they did not ascertain whether he comprehended what rights he was waiving by giving the statement.

Approximately twelve hours after defendant turned himself in to the Sheriff's office and was arrested, he was first questioned about the incidents of the night before. At that time, defendant made a full statement admitting that he had first hit the victim, knocking him to the ground, then "stomped" his head repeatedly. This confession was introduced at trial subject to defendant's objection.

Initially, we note that defendant's argument on appeal addresses the denial of a motion to suppress the confession on grounds which were not asserted in the motion to suppress filed in the trial court. The motion to suppress this confession was sought only on the grounds that he was intoxicated when the statement was made, and thus it was not given voluntarily. This motion was denied on November 2, 1982.

LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 703 provides in part as follows:

"F. A ruling prior to trial on the merits, upon a motion to suppress, is binding at the trial. Failure to file a motion to suppress evidence in accordance with this Article prevents the defendant from objecting to its admissibility at the trial on the merits on a ground assertable by a motion to suppress." (Emphasis added.)

The grounds asserted in defendant's written motion to suppress filed prior to trial and the grounds asserted in his argument on appeal, although both concerned with voluntariness of the confession, are unrelated. We believe defendant forfeited his right to object to the introduction of the confession at trial through his failure to include in the pre-trial motion to suppress the grounds he now asserts. LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 703. Nevertheless, because of the important constitutional questions presented by the admission of an allegedly "involuntary" confession, we have considered defendant's arguments, and find no error in the admission of the confession.

Defendant alleges that this statement was obtained from him without a determination of whether he comprehended what rights he was waiving by giving this statement.

Before the State may introduce a confession into evidence, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the statement was free and voluntary. LSA-R.S. 15:451; State v. Neslo, 433 So.2d 73 (La.1983). When the defendant alleges actual police misconduct to obtain the confession, the State must rebut the allegations specifically. State v. Neslo, supra.

Defendant does not allege that he was unaware of the effect of his actions, but simply that no effort was made to determine if he did understand what he was doing. Deputy Cutrer testified that he verbally advised defendant of his rights. He also testified that, after having verbally explained his rights, he gave defendant the written waiver of rights form to read, after asking defendant to read a few paragraphs out loud to insure that defendant was able to read. Deputy Cutrer further testified that, after defendant had read the written waiver form, defendant said that he understood that document. Defendant signed *1304 the waiver of rights form, and it was admitted into evidence at the trial.

Defendant urges in his brief that the confession is inadmissible because Deputy Cutrer did not read the waiver of rights form to defendant. If the testimony otherwise indicates that defendant was informed of his rights, it is not necessary that his rights be read to him. State v. Yates, 357 So.2d 541 (La.1978). Defendant admits in brief that he read the waiver of rights form. The confession he signed specifies that Deputy Cutrer advised him of his rights. Deputy Cutrer testified that defendant read the form and indicated that he understood his rights. The trial court obviously believed Deputy Cutrer's testimony that defendant understood his rights. The credibility choices of the trial court in ruling on the voluntariness of a confession will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. State v. Harper, 430 So.2d 627 (La.1983).

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Bluebook (online)
441 So. 2d 1301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wright-lactapp-1983.