State v. Beaner

• Decision Date: 05 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. 42,532-KA.,42,532-KA.
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Courtney BEANER, Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

974 So.2d 667

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Courtney BEANER, Appellant.

No. 42,532-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

December 5, 2007.

Louisiana Appellate Project by Annette F. Roach; for Appellant.

Courtney Beaner, Pro se.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Dale G. Cox, John Ford McWilliams, Jr., Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before STEWART, PEATROSS and LOLLEY, JJ.

STEWART, J.

The defendant, Courtney Beaner, was convicted of two counts of second degree murder. The district court imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. The defendant now appeals. Finding no merit in the defendant's claims, we affirm his convictions and sentences.

FACTS

On October 10, 2002, during a pep rally at Woodlawn High School ("Woodlawn"), there was an exchange of threats between members of two gangs, one from the Hollywood Heights area of Shreveport and the other from the Cedar Grove area. Those involved were removed from the rally by school officials.

The following Monday, October 14, 2002, a gunfight broke out between members of the two gangs at Woodlawn as the school day ended. Multiple gunshots were fired from a vehicle driving past the school and a student, Jonathan Guiden, was shot in the leg. Marquell Chambers (identified with the Hollywood group) was later identified as the shooter and arrested.

Later that afternoon, the defendant and some other individuals from the Cedar Grove area, including Carlton Brooks, Phillip Brown, Aaron Wallpool and Jemarcus Monroe, were gathered outside Wallpool's home located at Wallace and West 76th Street. When a Lincoln automobile containing some of the Hollywood group, including Tony Taylor and Jermichael Lewis, drove past, there was an exchange of gunfire between the vehicle occupants and the group standing in front of the West 76th Street house. No one was injured in the shooting.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. that evening, LaDonna Austin returned from work to the Lexington Street home she shared with her sister, LaDorothy Austin, who was there with Brooks, her live-in boyfriend. Also present were the defendant, Phillip Brown, Wallpool, Shamichael Tillman, Arethea Brown and Monroe. Defendant and the others were heard discussing the fight at Woodlawn and making a plan to retaliate against Randy Wilson, who they said was a member of the Hollywood group which had fired shots at them earlier at West 76th Street. Some of the group dressed in black clothing and drove away in a white Honda vehicle.

At approximately 9:00 p.m., Ronnie Chambers drove to a house located at the corner of Oakdale and Ledbetter Streets in Shreveport to pick up his 15-year-old sister, Chiquita Chambers.¹ Their brother Marquell had been arrested earlier for the shooting at Woodlawn. Members of the Hollywood group typically gathered at the house, which was approximately one block away from Hattie Perry Park. At the time, several individuals were standing in the yard, including Randy Wilson and Jermichael Lewis.

A short time later, a white Honda sedan with a sunroof and tinted windows drove by the house. Chiquita was standing in the street behind Ronnie's car when occupants of the Honda began firing numerous shot from the sunroof and rear windows of the car toward those gathered in the yard. Chiquita and Lewis both suffered fatal gunshot wounds, and Randy Wilson was shot in the left arm.

Police later recovered the white Honda sedan, which had been stolen the night before the shooting and burned afterward. After interviewing a number of witnesses, police sought to search the Lexington Street house. While police waited outside the Lexington Street house for a search warrant, the defendant and others pulled up to the house in a car and they were apprehended and taken into custody. After a search of the home, police seized ammunition, a Lorcin .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol and a Bryco .380 semiautomatic pistol that were found in the bedroom shared by LaDorothy and Brooks.

The crime scene investigation yielded numerous .380 and .40 caliber shell casings. Richard Beighley, a firearms expert with the Northwest Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory, tested the bullets recovered from the bodies of the victims and bullets fired from the two handguns seized from the Lexington Street home. Beighley concluded that the bullet recovered from Chiquita's body was fired from the Bryco .380 and determined that six of the .380 caliber casings recovered from the crime scene were fired from the Bryco pistol. He also determined that five additional .380 caliber casings recovered from the crime scene were fired from the Lorcin pistol. Beighley further concluded that the bullet recovered from Lewis' body was fired by a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol, as were six .40 caliber shell casings found at the scene.

Subsequently, the defendant was charged with two counts of second degree murder. A jury unanimously found defendant guilty as charged on count 1 (Chambers' murder), and found defendant guilty as charged on count 2 (Lewis' murder) by a 10-2 vote. The district court imposed concurrent life sentences at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Defendant now appeals.

DISCUSSION

Motion To Suppress

The defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying the Motion to Suppress Statements. Arguing that he was not adequately advised of his rights and he did not have the mental capacity to understand his Miranda rights, he asserts that there was no intelligent and knowing waiver. He claims that he was not given sufficient time and explanation about his Miranda rights, and that he is a mentally retarded 18-year-old who can barely read and cannot comprehend more than one idea at a time.

The state argues that the record supports the trial court's findings that Beaner was expressly read his Miranda rights and that he had the mental capacity to understand his constitutional rights for purposes of making a voluntary, knowing and intelligent waiver, as evidenced by the defendant's stated and apparent understanding of his rights at the time of his statements, his ability to give chronological details about the events of the crime, his changed stories, his ability to change language between "street slang" and more articulate language, and the expert testimony and evaluations of Beaner concerning his mental capacity.

Beaner's motion to suppress was presented before two different judges at two different hearings, and testimony was adduced at both motions.

Judge Jeanette Garrett heard the first motion. At this hearing, testimony was taken from Detectives Sean Hindenberger and Jeff Brown of the Shreveport Police Department, as well as from Beaner pursuant to La. C. Cr. P. art. 703(E).

Detective Hindenberger testified that he and Brown first interviewed the defendant at 11:05 p.m. on October 16, 2002. This first interview was not recorded. Before advising Beaner of his Miranda rights and prior to questioning him about the crime, Hindenberger asked Beaner the highest grade he completed in school. Beaner responded the 12th grade and said that he had graduated. Hindenberger also asked Beaner if he knew how to read and write, to which Beaner responded yes. Both detectives testified that Beaner did not appear to be under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, and Beaner told the detectives he was not under the influence.

Detective Hindenberger gave Beaner a written copy of the Miranda rights card and asked Beaner to read along with him. Hindenberger read the first paragraph to Beaner, which advised Beaner of his Miranda rights, and at the conclusion, asked Beaner if he understood those rights. Beaner said yes. Hindenberger proceeded to read the second paragraph of the card concerning whether Beaner wished to waive those rights. After reading the paragraph, Hindenberger asked if he wanted to waive the rights and make a statement. Beaner said yes and signed the form. Beaner denied any involvement in the shooting and gave the detectives an alibi, saying that he was with a man named Saul Williams playing solitaire on the computer and watching TV. The first interview lasted about 30 minutes. At the conclusion of the interview, Hindenberger told Beaner he was under arrest for first degree murder. Hindenberger also read, Beaner the "Epithelial Cells Consent Form" and asked Beaner if he was willing to consent to a swab of his mouth for DNA. Beaner consented to the swab and signed the form by printing his name. The swab was taken at approximately 11:30 p.m.

The detectives next interviewed Jemarcus Monroe, an occupant of the car in the drive-by shooting. Approximately two hours after the initial interview, Detective Hindenberger told Beaner he had spoken to Monroe and asked Beaner if he was "ready to tell the truth." Beaner said "yes."

At 1:05 a.m. on October 17, 2002, Detectives Hindenberger and Brown conducted a second interview with Beaner. This interview was recorded. Once again, Hindenberger asked Beaner the highest grade he completed in school, whether he could read and write, and whether he was under the influence. Beaner gave the same answers as before. Once again, Hindenberger advised Beaner of his Miranda rights, which Beaner acknowledged that he understood. Once again, Beaner told the detectives that he wanted to waive those rights and make a statement. He signed the card by printing his name.

Beaner proceeded to give a detailed account of the events of the night of the shooting. He admitted that he was in the car and that he participated in the shooting. Beaner also told the detectives the make, model and type of gun he used. Finally, Beaner admitted that he told detectives he was not forced or coerced into making the statement and that he gave the statement voluntarily. Detective Brown corroborated Detective Hindenberger's...