State v. Bonner

• Decision Date: 22 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 39,187-KA.,39,187-KA.
• Citation: 895 So.2d 1
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Lionel BONNER, Appellant.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 1

895 So.2d 1

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Lionel BONNER, Appellant.

No. 39,187-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

December 22, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Louis G. Scott, Louisiana Appellate Project, Kenota Pulliam Johnson, for Appellant.

Jerry L. Jones, District Attorney, Charles L. Brumfield, Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, CARAWAY and LOLLEY, JJ.

LOLLEY, J.

This criminal appeal arises from the Fourth Judicial District Court, Parish of Morehouse, State of Louisiana. Lionel Bonner was tried by jury and convicted as charged of second degree murder. La. R.S. 14:30.1. Bonner was sentenced to life imprisonment without benefits, and he now appeals. For the following reasons, the defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.

FACTS

On September 2, 1997, the owner of Westside Cab Company contacted the Bastrop Police Department and reported that cab driver Bobby Watson had not returned with his cab on September 1st. Watson's last contact with the cab dispatcher was that he was taking a passenger from the One Stop liquor store in Bastrop to Mer Rouge at about 10:30 on the evening of September 1st.¹ The dispatcher recognized the voice of the person who called from One Stop as belonging to Michael Hobbs, a/k/a Michael Lewis ("Hobbs"), because he had known Hobbs for several years.

The next day, an abandoned vehicle was located in Bastrop. It was identified as belonging to Westside Cab Company and as the cab driven by Watson. The cab had one flat tire, and the .25 caliber pistol that Watson kept in the glove box of the cab was missing. There were no keys in the ignition. The contents of Watson's wallet were scattered on the ground within a quarter of a mile from the cab near some railroad tracks.

Later, on September 16, 1997, a body was discovered in a cotton field outside of Mer Rouge. Some loose change and a broken wrist watch were found on the ground near the body. Dental records were used to positively identity the body as that of Watson. A subsequent autopsy revealed that Watson died of multiple fractures from repeated blows to the head with a blunt object (cranial cerebral trauma secondary to blunt force trauma).

The investigation revealed that a fingerprint on one of the papers found near the cab matched Hobbs'. Also, it was discovered that the pawn ticket found near the cab was for Watson's pistol, which had been pawned by Hobbs. Thereafter, Hobbs and the defendant, Lionel Bonner, were developed as suspects in Watson's murder. A search warrant was executed at Hobbs' residence, where two .25-caliber cartridges (consistent with Watson's pistol) were recovered.

Initially, Hobbs made a statement to police explaining how he obtained Watson's gun and pawned it. He admitted nothing about the murder. Later, on September 21, 1997, Hobbs gave another voluntary statement to investigators implicating Bonner. He also testified at Bonner's trial, where he related that on the night of the crime, he met Bonner on the block near the One Stop. According to Hobbs, he agreed to help Bonner rob Watson. He stated that Bonner made the phone call for the cab, and when Watson arrived, Bonner asked him to drive them to Mer Rouge. Hobbs related that when Bonner directed Watson to drive down a road and turn around, Bonner, who was sitting in the backseat behind Watson, began to choke the victim. Hobbs was sitting in the front passenger seat of the cab, and Bonner told him to get Watson's money. Hobbs testified that he watched in "shock" while Bonner dragged Watson out of the cab into a cotton field and killed Watson by beating him with an "X"-shaped tire tool. Hobbs said Bonner threw the tire tool in the field across the road from where the body was left.

Hobbs stated that Bonner then drove the cab back to Bastrop, where the two abandoned it. According to Hobbs, Bonner took the keys with him and handed Hobbs some papers from Watson's wallet, which fell on the ground on some nearby railroad tracks. Hobbs related that he and Bonner did not find any money from Watson's car or wallet. Hobbs stated that he and Bonner went back up to the block near the One Stop, where he bought Watson's pistol from Bonner for an exchange of drugs. At Hobbs' residence, Bonner allegedly changed into some of Hobbs' shoes.

Hobbs testified regarding further events following the crime, including that he and Bonner rode with Turner Robinson to Mer Rouge at about 6:30 on the morning after the crime. Hobbs and Bonner went to Ruth Hobbs' home in Mer Rouge. Ruth then gave both men a ride to various locations. Hobbs admitted that he pawned Watson's pistol.² Approximately 20 days after the crime, investigators retrieved the tire tool from the location described by Hobbs. The tool contained no blood evidence or fingerprints.

On or about October 2, 1997, Bonner was originally charged by bill of indictment with the first degree murder of Watson. By an amended bill of information, Bonner was later charged with second degree murder.

Bonner was tried by a jury. Hobbs, who pled guilty to simple robbery and was sentenced to a six-year prison sentence, testified at trial against Bonner. The state's evidence also included the testimony of the investigating officers, the cab dispatcher, Watson's previous cab passenger, and other witnesses. The defense also presented witnesses and evidence. At the trial's conclusion, Bonner was convicted as charged of second degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without benefits. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, Bonner maintains that the jury verdict convicting him of second degree murder failed to meet the legal standard of sufficiency of the evidence. Specifically, Bonner maintains that the state failed to meet its burden of proving his identity as the perpetrator.

The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Cummings, 95-1377 (La.02/28/96), 668 So.2d 1132; State v. Hunter, 33,066 (La.App.2d Cir.09/27/00), 768 So.2d 687, writs denied, 2000-3070 (La.10/26/01), 799 So.2d 1150, 2001-2087 (La.04/19/02), 813 So.2d 424. This standard, now legislatively embodied in La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Robertson, 96-1048 (La. 10/04/96), 680 So.2d 1165. The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, 94-3116 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the direct evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. When the direct evidence is thus viewed, the facts established by the direct evidence and inferred from the circumstances established by that evidence must be sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of every essential element of the crime. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983); State v. Owens, 30,903 (La.App.2d Cir.09/25/98), 719 So.2d 610, writ denied, 1998-2723 (La.02/05/99), 737 So.2d 747.

In cases involving a defendant's claim that he was not the person who committed the crime, the Jackson rationale requires the state to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Powell, 27,959 (La.App.2d Cir.04/12/96), 677 So.2d 1008, writ denied, 96-1807 (La.02/21/97), 688 So.2d 520.

A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Gilliam, 36,118 (La.App.2d Cir.08/30/02), 827 So.2d 508, writ denied, State ex rel. Gilliam v. State, 2002-3090 (La.11/14/03), 858 So.2d 422.

A jury may convict upon a co-defendant's uncorroborated testimony. State v. Matthews, 450 So.2d 644, 647 (La.1984); State v. Jetton, 32,893 (La.App.2d Cir.04/05/00), 756 So.2d 1206, writ denied, 2000-1568 (La.03/16/01), 787 So.2d 299. An accomplice is a competent witness to testify against his co-perpetrator even if the prosecution offers him inducements to testify; those inducements only affect the witness's credibility. State v. Jetton, supra, and cases cited therein. The credibility of a co-defendant's testimony is not within the province of the court of appeal to decide. Id. Rather, credibility evaluations are well within the province of the trier of fact. Id.

In this case, Bonner contends that the state relied on Hobbs' "questionable and suspect" testimony to prove that Bonner committed the offense. He asserts that Hobbs' testimony should not have been considered credible because he gained a lesser charge and sentence in exchange for testifying against the defendant. The defense further notes that all physical evidence pointed to Hobbs as the perpetrator — the pistol was pawned by him, his fingerprint was found on the victim's papers, and (despite his version of events) his voice was identified as the person who called the cab to the One Stop. Moreover, the defense argues that no physical evidence linked Bonner to this crime. All of these are strong arguments.

However, evidence existed that Bonner and Hobbs were together the morning after the murder. Also, the jury heard Hobbs' testimony, including his cross-examination, and chose to convict Bonner of Watson's murder — for the most part on the sole evidence of Hobbs' testimony. As noted, a jury may convict upon a co-defendant's uncorroborated testimony. State v. Matthews, supra; State v. Jetton, supra. Although we...