State v. Brown

• Decision Date: 26 September 2018
• Docket Number: No. 52,266-KA,52,266-KA
• Citation: 256 So.3d 431
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Kelvin Demarcus BROWN, II, Appellant
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

256 So.3d 431

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee

v.Kelvin Demarcus BROWN, II, Appellant

No. 52,266-KA

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Judgment rendered September 26, 2018

LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, By: Edward K. Bauman, Lake Charles, Counsel for Appellant

KELVIN DEMARCUS BROWN, II, Pro Se

JAMES E. STEWART, SR., District Attorney, Counsel for Appellee

TOMMY J. JOHNSON, Shreveport, BRITNEY A. GREEN, Assistant District Attorneys

Before BROWN, WILLIAMS, and McCALLUM, JJ.

BROWN, C.J.

Defendant, Kelvin Demarcus Brown, II, was charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. After a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty as charged and sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and argues that the trial court erred in allowing certain La. C.E. art. 404(B) evidence and impermissible hearsay to be admitted at trial. Defendant has also filed a pro se brief raising additional assignments of error. For the following reasons, Defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.

FACTS

In the early hours of December 6, 2014, Officer Kevin Duck of the Shreveport Police Department was dispatched to a residence at 2903 Oak Forest Lane, Shreveport, Louisiana. Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Duck made contact with the victim, Alicia West, who had received multiple knife wounds

to her body and throat. While they were waiting for an ambulance, Ms. West advised Officer Duck that she had been attacked by Defendant. Ms. West died shortly after her arrival at the hospital.

On January 22, 2015, Defendant was charged by grand jury indictment with the first degree murder of Alicia West. An amended indictment was filed on March 31, 2015, reducing the charge to second degree murder. At arraignment, Defendant pled not guilty and elected to have a jury trial. On March 15, 2017, however, Defendant waived his right to a jury trial and opted for a trial by judge.

Defendant's bench trial commenced on October 30, 2017. Exa Bloomer, the victim's mother, testified that she was asleep at her daughter's house because Ms. Bloomer was babysitting her grandson on December 6, 2014. Around 4:00 a.m. that morning, Ms. Bloomer woke up to the sound of water running outside. Ms. Bloomer called Ms. West, who was at work, and told her that someone had turned the water on outside. Ms. West advised her mother not to go outside and said that she would call the police first. Ms. Bloomer got up and waited until she saw Ms. West's vehicle pull into the driveway. Ms. Bloomer testified that she suddenly heard Ms. West screaming. Ms. Bloomer went outside into the carport and saw Defendant on top of her daughter's back. Ms. Bloomer stated that the carport light was on, and she recognized Defendant because he and Ms. West had previously dated. Defendant jumped up when he saw Ms. Bloomer and looked directly at her. Defendant then fled into a wooded area near the home. Ms. West stood up but was bleeding profusely, and she fell back toward her vehicle. The police arrived shortly thereafter. Ms. Bloomer's grandson appeared at the carport door and began screaming at the sight of his mother's bleeding body. Ms. Bloomer took her grandson back into the house as instructed by officers and tried to console him. After the incident, Ms. Bloomer was interviewed by the police. She identified Defendant in open court as the man who attacked Ms.West.

On cross-examination, Ms. Bloomer admitted that she was unable to pick Defendant out of a photographic lineup during her interview with the police. Ms. Bloomer is completely blind in her right eye, but she said that she was standing approximately four feet from Defendant when he attacked her daughter and could clearly see that the assailant was Defendant.

Monique Bradley testified that she lives in Coushatta, Louisiana, and has known Defendant since 2007 when they were both at Northwestern State University. On December 6, 2014, Defendant came to the home she shared with an aunt early in the morning and asked if he could stay there for a few hours before he went to visit his child. Ms. Bradley got her aunt's permission for Defendant to stay, and Defendant took a nap in Ms. Bradley's room before leaving at about 9:00 a.m. Before leaving, Defendant told Ms. Bradley that if anyone came looking for him, she was to tell them that he had been with her. At the time, Ms. Bradley did not know what Defendant was referring to. She noted that it was not unusual for Defendant to arrive unannounced at her home, but it was not typical for him to come to her home that early in the morning. Defendant returned to Ms. Bradley's home later that afternoon when several other people were present. Ms. Bradley testified that Defendant had conversations with people and played with her niece. According to Ms. Bradley, Defendant did not appear to be worried and told her that he would return the following day to eat. Ms. Bradley got a text from a friend who is a police officer in Natchitoches later that evening notifying her that Defendant had been arrested for murder. Ms. Bradley contacted the police after she realized that defendant had been to her house that day. Defendant had left a green army-type bag at Ms. Bradley's home, which the police collected as possible evidence. Ms. Bradley testified that she thought the bag only contained a pair of boxers and a muscle shirt.

Ebony Morgan testified that she met Defendant when they were both employed at the Horseshoe Casino in 2013. Ms. Morgan and Defendant became friends while working together, but she had not been in contact with Brown for a month or two prior to December 6, 2014. Ms. Morgan testified that on that morning, she had called Defendant around 2:00 a.m. while she was headed home because she wanted to be on the phone with someone until she was safely in her home. Defendant called her back at 5:00 a.m., but she did not answer. Around 7:00 a.m., Ms. Morgan called Defendant a second time, and he sounded sleepy. Ms. Morgan testified that she did not see Defendant on December 6, 2014. Ms. Morgan testified that she did not know the victim but one her coworkers did. Ms. Morgan learned of Alicia. West's death that morning when Ms. Morgan got to work.

Corporal John Madjerick, a crime scene investigator with the Shreveport Police Department, testified that he was dispatched to Ms. West's home to collect evidence. Upon his arrival at the scene, Cpl. Madjerick made contact with Detective Joseph Brown to obtain a brief summary of the events and to do a walk-through of the scene. Ms. West had already been transported to the hospital prior to Cpl. Madjerick's arrival. Cpl. Madjerick took photographs of the scene, which he identified in open court. Ms. West's vehicle was at the scene, and the photographs depict her blood on the driveway. Ms. West's wig and a pool of her blood were located toward the rear of her vehicle, indicating the spot where she collapsed before being transported to the hospital. While photographing the home's exterior, Cpl. Madjerick observed an outside spigot and noted wet ground beneath it, indicating that it had recently been used. A black skullcap found in the grass near the corner of the home was collected and sent to the North Louisiana Crime Lab for testing.

Droplets of blood found near the skullcap traveled toward the partial chain link fence on the side of the home. Cpl. Madjerick testified that the blood found at the scene continued from the grassy area near the partial chain link fence and ended at the driveway where Ms. West collapsed and the blood pooled. A portion of a window screen had been cut, and Cpl. Madjerick recovered a latent fingerprint from the window. The print was later determined to be of non-comparison value. No other fingerprints were recovered from the scene.

Cpl. Madjerick also took photographs of Ms. West after she died, which he also identified in open court. The photos show the numerous wounds

suffered by the victim during the attack and several of her tattoos, including a tattoo of Brown's full name, "Kelvin D. Brown, II," above her pubis.

Monnie Michalik, an expert in forensic DNA analysis, performed a DNA analysis on the following items recovered from the scene: the black skullcap, a bloodstain card from the victim, reference swabs taken from Defendant, and a swab taken from the surface of a knife blade. Ms. Michalik completed one report in April 2015, but wrote a second report in June 2015 when additional evidence was analyzed. She stated that a partial Y-chromosome profile was found on suspected blood swabbed from the black skullcap, indicating that the cap had been worn by a man of Defendant's paternal lineage at some point. Due to the incomplete nature of the partial profile, Ms. Michalik was unable to definitively match it to Defendant; however, the partial profile was consistent with Defendant's DNA profile.

Victor Cooks testified that he knew Defendant through Alicia West and through serving in the National Guard with Defendant during their annual training in June of 2014. Cooks met Ms. West in February of 2014 when they both worked at the El Dorado Casino. Cooks and Ms. West began dating in November 2014, and, while they were dating, Defendant would frequently visit Ms. West's home unannounced late at night or early in the morning. Defendant would bang on the doors and windows, scream outside, and demand that Ms. West answer the door. Cooks testified that Ms. West appeared frightened during these incidents. Ms. West told Cooks that she did not understand why Defendant kept coming to her home, and that she obtained a restraining order against Defendant. Each incident lasted between 30 minutes and an hour. Defendant contacted Cooks via Facebook Messenger in November 2014 and informed him that Defendant was no longer interested in dating Ms. West but he still wanted to be in her life. In the messages, Defen...