State v. Brown

• Decision Date: 30 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 01-KA-160.,01-KA-160.
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Giovanni BROWN.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

788 So.2d 667

STATE of Louisiana v. Giovanni BROWN.

No. 01-KA-160.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

May 30, 2001.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Thomas J. Butler, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Bruce G. Whittaker, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, Attorney for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges SOL GOTHARD, SUSAN M. CHEHARDY and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

GOTHARD, Judge.

Defendant, Giovanni Brown,¹ and co-defendant, Eddie Christoff, were indicted by a grand jury on December 16, 1999 on one count of aggravated kidnaping and four counts of armed robbery occurring on October 27, 1999 in violation of LSA R.S. 14:44 and 14:64 respectively. Both pled not guilty and proceeded to separate trials.²

Numerous pre-trial motions were filed including motions to suppress defendant's identification, his statement and evidence seized pursuant to several different search warrants all which were denied by the trial court. In addition, the State filed a Prieur³ notice seeking to use evidence of other crimes, and a request for a special jury charge. During the Prieur hearing, defendant made an oral Motion in Limine to exclude the evidence of prior crimes the State sought to introduce. The Court also denied the State's request for a special jury charge on flight.⁴

Defendant's first trial commenced on July 19, 2000. However, it ended in a mistrial when a juror admitted having read a newspaper article relating to the trial after being instructed by the trial court not to do so. Defendant proceeded to a second trial on July 21, 2000. After a three-day trial, the jury unanimously found defendant guilty as charged on all counts. Defendant filed a Motion for New Trial which was denied.

Defendant was subsequently sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence on count one, aggravated kidnaping. In addition, defendant was sentenced to ten years, without benefits, on each of the four armed robbery counts. All sentences are to run consecutively. Defendant now appeals his convictions and sentences.

FACTS

Between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on October 27, 1999, William Boada, Jr. ("Bill Jr."), age 17, was outside his home on Lake Lynn Drive in Harvey washing his father's black BMW when he was approached by defendant Brown and co-defendant Christoff. Defendant asked Bill Jr. if he wanted to buy a phone card to support defendant's school. When Bill Jr. declined, defendant asked for a pen. Bill Jr. could not find a pen in the car so he went inside the house. As he entered his house, defendant put a gun to his back.⁵ Once inside, the perpetrators removed the phone from the hook, and instructed Bill Jr. to lie on the ground. Defendant demanded to know whether anyone else was in the house. Bill Jr. informed defendant his younger brother, Brian, age 15, was taking a shower. Defendant went looking for Brian while Christoff stood over Bill Jr. with a gun. Defendant was unable to find Brian and returned insisting to know Brian's whereabouts. Bill Jr. went to the locked bathroom and tried to get his brother out of the shower during which time defendant made several unsuccessful attempts to kick down the bathroom door. When Brian came out, defendant and Christoff pointed their guns at his face.

Bill Jr. and Brian were brought to the living room and asked various questions about money in the house and when their father, William Boada, Sr. ("Mr. Boada"), would be home. The victims were then taken at gunpoint to an upstairs bedroom and told to strip to their underwear. Both victims were bound with duct tape from their wrists to their elbows, from their ankles to their knees and around the head and mouth. A small hole was cut in the duct tape covering the victims' mouths. The victims were then dragged to the bathroom and left lying on their sides. Although the bathroom door was closed, Bill Jr. and Brian could hear defendant and Christoff rummaging through the house.

At approximately 7:00 p.m., Amanda King, Bill Jr.'s girlfriend, came to the house which she often did after her classes at Delgado. She knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, but there was no response. She saw shadows on the upstairs wall and thought someone was home, but not answering the door. Amanda went to a pay phone and called the house, but the line was busy. She returned to the house and rang the doorbell again. When no one answered, she opened the door slightly. She saw defendant and Christoff, both with guns, coming down the stairs. Amanda was then brought into the kitchen by the assailants.

Immediately thereafter, Mr. Boada came home and was met by defendant and Christoff, who advised they had been waiting for him. Defendant and Christoff stated that they did not want to hurt anyone but they would hurt the bound victims if Mr. Boada did "anything stupid". Defendant demanded money. While being held at gunpoint, Mr. Boada explained there was no large sum of money in the house. Defendant then inquired about a safe box he found upstairs but Mr. Boada stated there was nothing in it but papers. Mr. Boada was forced to open the box to show that it did not contain any money. At some point, defendant asked about the victim's ATM card. It was determined that Mr. Boada would go with defendant to an ATM machine and withdraw money. However, prior to leaving, Mr. Boada insisted on seeing his children.

Mr. Boada and Amanda were taken upstairs. Amanda was bound with duct tape in the same manner as Bill Jr. and Brian, and placed in the bathroom with the other victims. Mr. Boada was able to see Bill Jr. and Brian who were bound and visibly frightened.

Still wielding a gun, defendant forced Mr. Boada to drive Amanda's car, a gold Malibu, to the bank. Prior to their departure, Christoff threatened that if defendant and Mr. Boada didn't return, he would hurt the remaining victims. Once at the bank, Mr. Boada discovered he did not have his ATM card. Defendant was irritated and immediately decided they would return to the house. Mr. Boada testified that defendant appeared concerned about visibility at the bank. Defendant placed Amanda's purse, which apparently was still in the car, in front of his face so the surveillance camera at the bank could not see him in the passenger seat.

Upon returning to the house, Mr. Boada was bound with duct tape and placed in the bathroom with the other victims. However, unlike the other victims, Mr. Boada's mouth was not taped. Defendant and Christoff continued to ransack the house, periodically checking on the victims. At one point, defendant told the victims he would let them know when he and Christoff were leaving. The victims believed defendant's statement meant he was going to kill them before he left. They all testified that they thought they were going to die.

Some time passed and the house became quiet. After concluding that defendant and Christoff had left, the victims untied each other. By this time, Bill Jr.'s hands were swollen and numb from lack of circulation, and he was having difficulty breathing. Mr. Boada grabbed his gun from the night stand in his bedroom and all the victims went to the neighbor's house where they called the police.

Detective Damon Johnson arrived on the scene around 9:30 p.m. and was the first police officer to arrive. He noted the house was disorderly and looked like it had been ransacked. During the investigation, it was determined that various items had been taken from the house including clothes, shoes, two watches, a stereo, computer, camcorder and digital camera. In addition, Mr. Boada's black BMW and Amanda's gold Malibu had been taken.

The investigators took photographs and lifted fingerprints from the scene. There were several identifiable fingerprints lifted from the duct tape and a Hi C Box at the scene that matched defendant's fingerprints. The victims gave a description of the perpetrators as well as the name, "Divante," which they heard Christoff call defendant.

While the police were still at Mr. Boada's house, they received a broadcast regarding the pursuit of the black BMW which was being driven by a person matching the description of one of the perpetrators. However, the driver fled after hitting another vehicle and was not apprehended. Fingerprints taken from the BMW yielded no useable prints.

Approximately three to four days after the incident, Amanda's gold Malibu was found in the river in New Orleans. Inside the car, items belonging to Amanda and Mr. Boada were found. The car appeared to have been wiped down, so efforts to obtain fingerprints were unsuccessful.

Detective John Duzac from the New Orleans police department received information from a confidential informant that two young black men were bragging about committing the Stonebridge robbery. Detective Duzac was given the names "Mike Flagstaff," who was later determined to be co-defendant Eddie Christoff, and "Giavante." On November 12, 1999, a search warrant was prepared for Christoff's last known place of residence. Prior to executing the search warrant, police showed a photo lineup containing Christoff to the victims. Bill Jr. and Brian made immediate positive identifications of Christoff, while Mr. Boada made a tentative identification and Amanda made no identification. Police executed the search warrant and found several of the items stolen from the Boada house. Christoff was subsequently arrested and gave a statement to the police. Christoff's statement led the police to defendant and a search warrant was prepared for defendant's last known address. More items that had been taken from the Boada home were found at defendant's residence. A photo lineup with defendant was then shown to the victims. Mr. Boada and Brian immediately identified defendant as one of the perpetrators of the October 27, 1999 incident. However, Bill Jr. and Amanda were unable...