State v. Crow, 52,817-KA
| Decision Date | 26 June 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 52,817-KA,52,817-KA |
| Citation | 278 So.3d 416 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Lee Vester CROW, Jr., Appellant |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, By: Peggy J. Sullivan, Counsel for Appellant
J. SCHUYLER MARVIN, District Attorney, Counsel for Appellee
HUGO A. HOLLAND, JR., JOHN M. LAWRENCE, Assistant District Attorneys
Before WILLIAMS, GARRETT, and STEPHENS, JJ.
The defendant, Lee Vester Crow, Jr., was charged by bill of indictment with second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. Following a jury trial, he was found guilty of the responsive verdict of manslaughter, La. R.S. 14:31. He was sentenced to serve 26 years in prison at hard labor. For the following reasons we affirm.
On August 30, 2017, at approximately 4:00 a.m., James Morgan was driving down a rural road in Shongaloo, Louisiana, when he saw the tail lights of a vehicle off the road near a line of trees. Morgan recognized the vehicle as the one usually driven by his neighbor's teenage daughter, MiKaylah, who he suspected had been involved in an automobile accident. Morgan turned his vehicle around and called 911. Following the instructions of the 911 operator, Morgan approached the vehicle and called out to its occupant; the person in the vehicle did not respond. As Morgan moved closer to the vehicle, he noticed a hole in the back window on the driver's side and a woman slumped over in the seat. After calling out again and receiving no response, Morgan went to the home where MiKaylah lived with her mother, Kameka Brantley, and the defendant, Lee Vester Crow, Jr. (Kameka's husband of approximately three years). Morgan knocked and MiKaylah eventually answered the door. At that point, Morgan suspected that the woman in the vehicle was Kameka. He took MiKaylah to her grandmother's house located nearby and returned to the vehicle to wait for law enforcement officers to arrive.1
Detective Scott Tucker, of the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office, was the first detective to arrive on the scene. The deceased female in the vehicle was identified as Kameka Brantley. After interviewing MiKaylah, the deputies quickly developed the defendant as a suspect in the shooting death of Kameka.
A warrant was obtained for the defendant's arrest. Soon after the warrant was issued, the deputies learned that the defendant had been arrested that morning in Claiborne Parish for driving while intoxicated ("DWI"). The officers traveled to Claiborne Parish, where the defendant had just been processed for the DWI offense. The deputies transported the defendant and his vehicle back to Webster Parish.2 The defendant was advised of his rights and executed a waiver of rights form. Thereafter, he gave a statement to the deputies, during which he initially denied killing Kameka and denied shooting a firearm that morning. However, later during the interview, the defendant admitted that he fired the gun toward Kameka's car, stating, The defendant also stated that he needed to go to Haynesville because that was where he had disposed of the gun. Subsequently, Det. Tucker, accompanied by another deputy, drove the defendant to Haynesville and retrieved the gun.
On October 23, 2017, the Webster Parish Grand Jury returned an indictment charging the defendant with second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. On March 13, 2018, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the statements he made to the law enforcement officers. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress.
The defendant's trial commenced on September 19, 2018. James Morgan, the neighbor who discovered Kameka's body in the vehicle, testified with regard to the events of that morning.
Dr. Jennifer Forsyth, the pathologist who performed the autopsy of Kameka, also testified at the defendant's trial. Dr. Forsyth testified as follows: the autopsy revealed that Kameka sustained three gunshot wounds
; the first gunshot wound entered the left side of her back and penetrated her heart and both of her lungs; the first wound caused a large amount of internal bleeding and caused the injuries that led to Kameka's death; the bullet from the first gunshot wound did not exit the body and was recovered and sent to the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office; the second gunshot wound came from a bullet traveling in the same direction as the first; the second bullet entered and exited Kameka's left breast and did not strike any organs; and the third gunshot wound was a superficial "graze" wound on the back of her right arm.
Det. Tucker testified as follows: the vehicle in which Kameka was discovered had to be covered by a tarp to be processed because it was raining heavily; he was able to partially process the vehicle at the scene; the vehicle was transported to a secure area, out of the rain, where the officers could complete the processing of the vehicle; due to the wetness of the ground, he was able to clearly see how the vehicle traveled before it came to rest in the area near the trees; he observed tire tracks from Kameka's yard to the road, approximately 150 to 200 yards from the home Kameka shared with the defendant; it appeared that the vehicle "left the yard, came up and just went right back down"; there was "very minor, minor" damage to the front of the vehicle, as it appeared the car "was just rolling"; he did not see any other tire tracks in the yard, and there was no indication that the vehicle went back and forth, or was spinning in the yard; while he was in Kameka's yard, a car pulled up with MiKaylah inside; after talking to MiKaylah, the defendant was developed as a suspect and a warrant was issued for his arrest; while processing Kameka's vehicle, the officers recovered two bullets; one bullet appeared to have entered the driver's side window, hit the console, and entered the passenger seat; the other bullet entered the back driver's side window, struck something metal in the back seat and lodged there; the second bullet did not strike Kameka; later that morning, he learned that the defendant had been arrested in Claiborne Parish; at approximately 1:30 p.m., he and another detective transported the defendant and his vehicle back to Webster Parish; and he searched the defendant's vehicle prior to interrogating him.
On cross-examination, Det. Tucker testified that the bullet lodged in the back seat of Kameka's vehicle was recovered before he interviewed the defendant. During Det. Tucker's testimony, the jury was shown the video of the defendant's statement wherein he initially denied any knowledge of Kameka's homicide, boasted about his proficiency in shooting a firearm, and initially denied having fired a gun that day. The video also showed that the defendant became emotional and told the officers that they needed to go to Haynesville, which is where he threw the gun out of his vehicle, and that shooting his wife was an accident. Det. Tucker testified that following the interview, the defendant directed police officers to the area where he had discarded the gun and that the gun was quickly retrieved.3
During his testimony on cross-examination, Det. Tucker testified that he had confirmed that the defendant's blood-alcohol concentration ("BAC") was .143 when he was arrested earlier that day in Claiborne Parish. However, the detective stated that the defendant did not show any signs of intoxication when he was interviewed that afternoon. Det. Tucker also testified that during the interview, he and the other officers were attempting to ascertain what had occurred between the defendant and Kameka when the defendant finally stated that he had fired the gun and that the shooting was an accident.
Kameka's sister, Essence Brantley, testified with regard to the contentious relationship between the defendant and Kameka. More specifically, Essence testified about a previous incident between Kameka and the defendant, after which she observed that Kameka had a "busted" lip.
Webster Parish Sheriff Deputy Terry Brown also testified at trial. He informed the jury of a separate incident of violence involving the defendant and Kameka. He stated that he was able to use his body camera to copy a recording from Kameka's phone, which had captured the incident. According to Deputy Brown, the defendant was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated assault and domestic abuse battery for allegedly pulling a knife on Kameka.
Kameka's mother, Minnie Brantley, also testified. She described the emotional impact Kameka's death has had on her family, particularly MiKaylah. Minnie testified that the defendant and Kameka were "high school sweethearts," who went their separate ways and later reconnected. She stated that the defendant and Kameka had been married for approximately three years when the shooting occurred. On cross-examination, Minnie described the relationship between Kameka and the defendant as "stormy."
Lieutenant Shawn Baker, a narcotics supervisor for the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office, was called to testify as a witness for the defense. He testified that he had known the defendant more than 40 years. He also testified regarding a prior incident involving the defendant and Kameka. He stated that several months before Kameka's death, he went to a store in Shongaloo, driving his personal vehicle, and the defendant pulled up next to him and asked for his help. According to Lt. Baker, the defendant explained that Kameka had called him stating that her vehicle had broken down on Wiley Road, an isolated area about five miles away. He stated that the defendant expressed some apprehension about going to this location alone, particularly because Kameka's car was "fairly new and it should not be breaking down." Lt. Baker testified that the defendant asked him to go with him to the location, and he agreed to accompany the defendant. Lt. Baker further testified that...
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