State v. Jackson
| Decision Date | 25 May 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 2015–KA–0809.,2015–KA–0809. |
| Citation | 193 So.3d 425 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Jeffery Washington Myron JACKSON. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Leon A. Cannizzaro, Jr., District Attorney, Matthew C. Kirkham, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for Appellee/State Of Louisiana.
Mary Constance Hanes, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, for Appellant/Defendant/Jeffery Washington.
Katherine M. Franks, Louisiana Appellate Project, Abita Springs, LA, for Appellant/Defendant/Myron Jackson.
(Court composed of Judge TERRI F. LOVE, Judge ROLAND L. BELSOME, Judge ROSEMARY LEDET ).
In this criminal appeal, Jeffrey Washington and Myron Jackson appeal their convictions for second degree murder and attempted second degree murder. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.1
On January 17, 2013, Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson were jointly charged by a grand jury indictment with second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1, and attempted second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:27, 14:30.1. On January 24, 2013, Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson were arraigned and both pleaded not guilty.
In January 2015, a five-day jury trial was held in this matter. The jury found Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson guilty as charged.
On February 27, 2015, the district court denied Mr. Washington's motion for new trial. The district court sentenced him on the second degree murder count to life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence; and on the attempted second degree murder count to fifty years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. On March 13, 2015, the district court imposed on Mr. Jackson the same sentences it imposed on Mr. Washington.
For ease of discussion, we divide our analysis of the facts into the following two sections: the investigation and the witnesses.
The investigation
On October 1, 2012, Sergeant Karla Baker of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the shootings at 7730 Branch Drive in the Little Woods area in New Orleans East. She noticed that a front window of the residence had been shot out. Sergeant Baker testified that she found a female victim, later identified as Marguerite Washington, unresponsive on the bed in one of the bedrooms. After following the trail of blood down the hallway, she found a male victim, Justin Alexander, in his mother's bedroom. At trial, Sergeant Baker testified that although Mr. Alexander was panicked, he was speaking very clearly and told his mother, Yolanda Muse, he was going to die. Sergeant Baker testified that she asked Mr. Alexander who shot him and he responded “Jeffery Washington shot me.” Sergeant Baker later relayed the victim's identification of the shooter to Detective Gregory Hamilton, the lead investigator, and Sergeant Calvin Brazley.
Detective Hamilton, the lead investigator, testified that when he was notified of the shooting, he relocated to the hospital to speak with the surviving victim, Mr. Alexander. After learning that Mr. Alexander was in critical condition and unable to speak, Detective Hamilton relocated to the crime scene where he met with Detective Elizabeth Garcia and Sergeant Brazely. Detective Hamilton learned that Mr. Alexander identified “Jeff” as the shooter. Thereafter, Detective Hamilton transported Ms. Muse to the homicide office to record her statement. Ms. Muse identified Mr. Washington as “Jeff” from a photo lineup and confirmed that he was a friend of Mr. Alexander. On the day after the shooting, Mr. Washington was arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant.
On November 20, 2012, Detective Hamilton met with Mr. Alexander, who then had been released from the hospital, regarding the shooting. During the interview, Mr. Alexander identified Mr. Jackson as a second shooter. Mr. Alexander drew a sketch of Mr. Jackson, depicting several of his facial tattoos; and he identified Mr. Jackson from a photo lineup. Detective Hamilton obtained search warrants for Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson's cell phone records; and he discovered that they were both in Little Woods area at the time the shooting occurred. Detective Hamilton obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson. After videotaping Mr. Jackson's statement, Detective Hamilton arrested him.
Detective Garcia testified that after she arrived at the Branch Drive residence, she contained the crime scene; contacted the crime lab; and documented evidence. Detective Garcia testified that Ms. Washington's body was laying on the bed in the room with the broken window.2 She also testified that a Bryco .9–millimeter handgun was retrieved from Ms. Muse's bedroom. At the direction of Detective Hamilton, Detective Garcia presented Ms. Muse a photo lineup in a double blind procedure at headquarters. Ms. Muse chose the picture of Mr. Washington from the photo lineup.
Homicide Detective Andrew Waldron testified that he assisted Detective Hamilton in the investigation of this case. He conducted a blind lineup process with Mr. Alexander, who identified Mr. Jackson as one of the two men who shot him and Ms. Washington.
NOPD crime scene technicians, Veronica Manuel and Erin Cunningham, collected evidence, photographed the crime scene, and drafted reports regarding their findings. At trial, Ms. Manuel identified the seven spent casings—three CCI .45 millimeter auto casings, four Win .9 millimeter Logan casings, and two NCCI R .9 millimeter Logan casings—that she collected at the crime scene. Ms. Cunningham testified that she collected a firearm and magazine containing twelve live rounds from Mr. Alexander's bedroom. She also identified spent casings and bullet fragments that she collected from outside window where the shooting occurred.3
Sergeant Marc Boudreaux, NOPD forensic firearms examiner, performed ballistics testing on the nine casings retrieved from the crime scene and the weapon found in the victim's residence. He testified that the results indicated that more than one weapon was used in the shooting—four .45 caliber cartridge casings were fired by the same weapon and two of the .9 millimeter cartridge casings retrieved were fired from a different weapon, although neither of the two weapons used were retrieved. He further testified that a .38 caliber class bullet, which is consistent with a .9 millimeter, was retrieved from Ms. Washington's body. Sergeant Boudreaux determined that only one of the .9 millimeter casings, which was found in the rear of the victim's residence “near [the] pool,” was fired from the .38 caliber class weapon retrieved from the victim's residence.4
Dr. Samantha Huber, Chief Forensic Pathologist in the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office, performed the autopsy on Ms. Washington's body. She testified that Ms. Washington sustained four gunshot wounds to her torso. Dr. Huber further testified that the fatal wound was inflicted by the bullet that entered her upper left chest, passed through both lungs and the top of the heart, and lacerated the liver.
The witnesses
Mr. Alexander testified that the deceased victim, Ms. Washington, was his girlfriend in October 2012. On October 1, 2012, he and Ms. Washington were watching television in his bedroom in Little Woods area where he lived with his mother, Ms. Muse. Mr. Alexander testified that after hearing tap on the outside of his bedroom window,5 he pulled some of the blinds down and looked through the window. He testified that he saw Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson6 began shooting into his bedroom. Mr. Alexander attempted to push Ms. Washington out of the way and grabbed his gun which was located on his bed.7 Unable to shoot his gun after sustaining three gunshot wounds, Mr. Alexander attempted to run from his bedroom and collapsed in his mother's arms. Mr. Alexander testified that his mother then placed him on her bed and went to check on Ms. Washington.
Mr. Alexander further testified that he did not recall speaking to police on the night of the shooting, but he did tell his stepbrother and EMS personnel that Jeffery Washington shot him. Mr. Alexander was later transported to the hospital, where he remained for approximately one month. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, he slipped into a coma, which lasted about two weeks. When his condition improved, Mr. Alexander informed Detective Hamilton that Mr. Jackson was the second shooter. He recalled drawing a sketch of Mr. Jackson and identifying Mr. Jackson from a photo lineup.
At trial, Mr. Alexander testified that around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. on the Friday before the shooting, he was with Chanquiell “Quielly” Watts8 at her house in Little Woods, along with Mr. Washington, Mr. Jackson, and Davonna “Vee” Franklin. He testified that he argued with Mr. Washington regarding Ms. Watts' brother's gun, which he claimed Mr. Washington had taken from the Watts' residence. Ms. Watts asked everyone except Mr. Alexander to leave. Later, Mr. Washington called Mr. Alexander to inform him that they were no longer friends. At trial, Mr. Alexander identified Mr. Washington and Mr. Jackson as the two individuals he saw standing outside his bedroom on the night of the shooting.
Ms. Muse testified that she was living with her son, Mr. Alexander, at the Branch Street residence on the night of the shooting. After hearing eight or nine gunshots, Ms. Muse testified that she left her room, crossed the hallway, and started toward her son's room. He opened his bedroom door and collapsed in her arms. Ms. Muse testified that she noticed he was bleeding profusely. She placed him on her bed and called 911.9 During the 911 call, Ms. Muse handed the phone to her stepson while she checked on Ms. Washington, who had not moved from Mr. Alexander's bed. Ms. Muse did not see the shooters. She testified that later that morning, she relocated to the police station and viewed a photo lineup from which she identified the picture of...
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