State ex rel. R.B.
| Decision Date | 26 August 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2022-CA-0277 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana IN the INTEREST OF R.B. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Katherine M. Franks, LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, P.O. Box 220, Madisonville, LA 70447, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT
Jason Rogers Williams, District Attorney, Brad Scott, Chief of Appeals, Victoria J. Cvitanovic, Assistant District Attorney, ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, 619 S. White Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, COUNSEL FOR THE STATE/APPELLEE
(Court composed of Judge Joy Cossich Lobrano, Judge Paula A. Brown, Judge Dale N. Atkins )
This is a juvenile delinquency appeal. The juvenile, R.B.,1 was charged by a delinquency petition with one count of principal to attempted second degree murder, one count of aggravated second degree battery, one count of armed robbery, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and one count of illegal carrying of weapons. Following the adjudication hearing, the juvenile court found R.B. delinquent of one count of principal to attempted second degree murder, one count of principal to aggravated second degree battery, one count of principal to armed robbery, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and one count of illegal carrying of weapons. At the disposition hearing, the juvenile court sentenced R.B. to juvenile life for principal to second degree murder, aggravated second degree battery and principal to armed robbery, two years for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and six months for illegal carrying of weapons. The signed written judgment issued the same day erroneously reflected that R.B. was adjudicated delinquent of illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile and principal to "2 counts" of armed robbery. For the reasons that follow, we affirm R.B.’s delinquency adjudication of principal to armed robbery, we reverse R.B.’s delinquency adjudication of principal to attempted second degree murder and principal to aggravated second degree battery, and we remand this matter to the juvenile court with instructions to correct the written judgment to properly reflect the offenses for which R.B. was adjudicated and sentenced in the transcript.
On January 27, 2022, the State filed a delinquency petition (the "Petition") in the Juvenile Court for the Parish of Orleans, charging seventeen-year-old R.B. with one count of principal to attempted second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:(27)30.1, one count of aggravated second degree battery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:34.7, one count of armed robbery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a violation of La. R.S. 14:68.4, and one count of illegal carrying of [weapons], a violation of La. R.S. 14:95(A).2 In the Petition, the State alleged that R.B., and three other juveniles – J.K., D.D. and K.C. – participated in a crime spree that involved four victims and spanned over a two-week period. The State contended that the crimes began on December 26, 2021, when a vehicle owned by Victim 1, Mr. Rumsey, was stolen from his home and later used as a getaway vehicle on January 6, 2022, during the armed robbery of Victim 2, Mr. Crafton, and the attempted second degree murder and aggravated second degree battery of Victim 3, Ms. Mantle, approximately twenty-four minutes later. When R.B. was arrested the next day, he was carrying a weapon and he had Mr. Rumsey's key. R.B. answered the Petition with a plea of not guilty on all counts.3
On March 14, 2022, R.B. filed a motion to quash the Petition in the juvenile court. In the motion to quash, R.B. argued that his charges were unconstitutional because the attempted second degree murder and aggravated second degree battery charges are a violation of the double jeopardy clause of both the United States Constitution and the Louisiana Constitution. The juvenile court did not schedule the motion to quash for hearing or hear any arguments in connection with the motion to quash.
On March 21, 2022, the State amended count one of the Petition, charging R.B. with principal to attempted second degree murder, a violation of 14:(24)(27)30.1. The State did not amend any other portions of the Petition. Shortly afterward, on March 25, 2022, the adjudication hearing commenced.4
Mr. Rumsey testified that on December 26, 2021, his 2015 gray Jeep Grand Cherokee (the "Jeep") was stolen out of his driveway. Mr. Rumsey acknowledged that he reported his Jeep stolen but testified that he did not know which perpetrator stole his vehicle. Mr. Rumsey was also unable to make an in-court identification of R.B. but testified that he had not given anyone, including R.B., consent to occupy his vehicle.5
Mr. Crafton testified that on the evening of January 6, 2022, at approximately 7:30 p.m., while sitting in his parked black Lexus in the 5900 block of Constance Street, an SUV (later identified as Mr. Rumsey's Jeep) drove up and parked next to his vehicle.6 Two females, one who was later identified as J.K., exited the Jeep and surrounded Mr. Crafton's vehicle. Mr. Crafton said that he immediately exited his vehicle, at which time J.K. and her female accomplice placed their guns to his head and stomach and demanded his possessions. Mr. Crafton said he surrendered his car key and cellphone to them. He then hid behind a gate, waiting for J.K. and her female accomplice to leave in his vehicle. Mr. Crafton relayed that after they failed to start his vehicle, a short-statured black male wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt exited the Jeep and also attempted to start his vehicle, but the male was unable to get the vehicle to start. The three perpetrators ran back to the Jeep and drove away. Mr. Crafton reported the crime to the New Orleans Police Department ("NOPD").
NOPD Officer Jack Wilson ( ) testified that he was involved in the investigation of the armed robbery of Mr. Crafton. As a part of his investigation, Ofc. Wilson canvassed the area where the crime occurred and secured video footage of Constance Street (the "Constance Street footage"), together with a pair of Nike flip-flops left on the floorboard inside Mr. Crafton's vehicle7 and Mr. Crafton's car key.
NOPD Detective Timothy Jones ("Det. T. Jones") testified that he was assigned to investigate Mr. Crafton's armed robbery. As part of his investigation, he reviewed the Constance Street footage that captured the crime. Det. T. Jones confirmed the Constance Street footage showed the perpetrators arriving and leaving in Mr. Rumsey's Jeep. Det. T. Jones recounted that after stopping alongside Mr. Crafton's vehicle two individuals exited the Jeep and surrounded Mr. Crafton's vehicle. One of these two individuals was a short-statured male wearing a gray sweatshirt, stonewash jeans and a white glove and carrying a short-barreled rifle.8 The two individuals immediately went back to the Jeep and moved it a short distance into a parking spot on the left-hand side of the street. After the Jeep was parked, J.K. and her female accomplice exited the Jeep and surrounded Mr. Crafton's vehicle, robbed Mr. Crafton at gunpoint, then stole his car key and cellphone. The Constance Street footage showed J.K. and her female accomplice entering Mr. Crafton's vehicle in an attempt to start the vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the short-statured male reappeared after exiting the Jeep, entered Mr. Crafton's vehicle and also attempted to start it. After Mr. Crafton's vehicle failed to start, all three perpetrators ran back to the Jeep and drove away.
Ms. Mantle testified that on the evening of January 6, 2022, she was sitting in her vehicle near the intersection of Freret and Jena Streets when two females, one later identified as J.K., approached her car. One of the females knocked on Ms. Mantle's driver-side window, brandishing a gun in her right hand, while the other female attempted to open the passenger door. Ms. Mantle panicked and sped away. J.K. and her female accomplice fired gunshots into Ms. Mantle's vehicle as Ms. Mantle attempted to flee. One of the bullets grazed Ms. Mantle's arm and another bullet penetrated the driver's seat headrest.9 Ms. Mantle sustained a gunshot wound to her right triceps and a large contusion injury to the right side of her abdomen. Ballistics evidence revealed two separate firearms were used in the shooting.
Det. T. Jones testified that he was also investigating the shooting incident involving Ms. Mantle which occurred on January 6, 2022. In carrying out that investigation, he reviewed surveillance video footage of Jena Street (the "Jena Street footage") near the location where shots were fired at Ms. Mantle's vehicle.10 According to Det. T. Jones, he identified J.K. and her female accomplice as the perpetrators approaching Ms. Mantle's vehicle with firearms. He noticed that the Jeep was present in both the Constance and Jena Streets footage, leading him to believe that the same perpetrators were involved in committing both crimes. Because the Jeep had previously been reported stolen, Det. T. Jones attempted to track its location by Sirius XM radio technology, but was notified by another NOPD officer that the Jeep was seen near an apartment, surrounded by four individuals. The Jeep was later recovered on Pauger Street near Richard's Food Store ("Richard's").
NOPD Detective David Jones ("Det. D. Jones") testified that on the morning of January 7, 2022, he was dispatched to assist a few other NOPD detectives in conducting a surveillance operation at Richard's, which is located on the corner of Allen and Rocheblave Streets. According to Det. D. Jones, R.B. was arrested together with J.K. and the other two juveniles. At the time of his arrest, R.B. was illegally carrying a rifle and was in possession of Mr. Rumsey's car key, which was hooked onto his pants.11 Det. D. Jones confirmed that R.B. was arrested wearing the identical gray hooded sweatshirt, stonewash jeans and white...
To continue reading
Request your trial