State v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 16 September 2009
• Docket Number: No. 2009-KA-0259.,2009-KA-0259.
• Citation: 22 So.3d 205
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Clarence JOHNSON.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

22 So.3d 205

STATE of Louisiana v. Clarence JOHNSON.

No. 2009-KA-0259.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

September 16, 2009.

Leon A. Cannizzaro, Jr., District Attorney, Matthew Caplan, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for State of Louisiana.

Autumn Town, Law Office of Autumn Town, New Orleans, LA, for Clarence Johnson.

(Court composed of Chief Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG, Judge MAX N. TOBIAS, JR., Judge PAUL A. BONIN).

PAUL A. BONIN, Judge.

On April 5, 2007, the defendant, Clarence Johnson, was indicted for the second-degree murder of Robert Dawson, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. The defendant's mother, Vanessa Johnson, was also charged with the same crime¹. The defendant pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on April 11, 2007. On May 9, 2007, the defendant filed Motions to Suppress the Evidence and Identification, which were denied on September 21, 2007. On November 9, 2007, the State elected to sever the two defendants. After a two-day jury trial in August of 2008, the defendant was convicted of second-degree murder. On August 18, 2008, the court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence with credit for time served. That same day, the defendant filed oral Motions for New Trial and Appeal. The trial court denied the Motion for New Trial and granted the Motion for Appeal. For the reasons which follow, we affirm.

FACTS

Robert Dawson was shot and killed on February 7, 2007, near the Melpomene Housing Development. New Orleans Police Officer Mark McCraney, a resident of and liaison officer² to the housing development, received an anonymous phone call on that day shortly after 7:00 p.m. informing him that someone had been shot near the intersection of Simon Bolivar Avenue and Clio Street. When Officer McCraney arrived at the scene, other New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers were securing the site. Officer McCraney found the victim lying unconscious in the grass, with several bullet wounds to his torso. As the EMTs placed Robert Dawson in the ambulance, he regained consciousness and told Officer McCraney that the defendant was the man who shot him. Officer McCraney identified the defendant at trial as the person whom Robert Dawson said had shot him. The officer also identified an aerial photograph of the housing development, pointing out the location of the crime scene and his own apartment in relation thereto. Further, Officer McCraney also identified pictures of the apartment occupied by Mrs. Vanessa Johnson, the defendant's mother. He stated that Mrs. Terrell Rayfield and her son, Darryl, lived in the apartment directly across the hall from the Johnson's apartment.

Tim Carter, a city paramedic, responded to the call regarding the shooting. Carter arrived at the scene at approximately 7:15 p.m. and worked on Robert Dawson's wounds before transporting him to the hospital. Carter assessed that the victim suffered from several bullet wounds, but Carter noted that the victim was coherent and able to answer questions. Carter stated that he also remembered the victim conversing with a police officer as he was placed in the ambulance. Carter recalled that the victim asked him if he was going to die.

On the night of February 7, 2007, NOPD Officer Robert Norris responded to a call of aggravated battery by shooting at Clio Street and Simon Bolivar Avenue. Officer Norris noted that the victim was sitting up in the ambulance, speaking to the EMTs. Officer Norris observed bullet casings, a blue bicycle, and black hat at the scene. He spoke to Officer Robert O'Bryan and observed Officer McCraney at the scene. Officer Norris returned to his vehicle and wrote a report on the incident based on what he learned from police officers at the scene.

Tanesha Santemore, forensic scientist for the NOPD, processed the crime scene by taking photographs, collecting evidence, and eventually rendering a report of her findings. At trial, Ms. Santemore identified pictures of the crime scene noting a blue bicycle, a baseball cap, and five orange cones marking the positions of bullet casings. She also identified in court those items as evidence collected at the crime scene.

Meredith Acosta, expert firearms examiner with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, tested five bullet casings supplied to her by Officer Keys. Ms. Acosta determined that those casings were from .380 caliber bullets and were fired by a Larsen, model L380 semi-automatic pistol bearing serial number 440721. The bag containing the bullet casings bore Item number B 010707.

Sergeant Ronald Ruiz, Jr., the lead investigator in the case, arrived at the crime scene upon being notified that the victim had died in surgery. After speaking with witnesses Edward Wilbon and Darryl Rayfield, Sgt. Ruiz developed defendant Clarence Johnson and his mother, Vanessa Johnson, as suspects. Sgt. Ruiz located a photograph of Vanessa Johnson which he presented to Edward Wilbon in a six-photo lineup. Wilbon identified the picture of Vanessa Johnson as defendant's mother. Sgt. Ruiz subsequently obtained arrest warrants for the suspects and a search warrant for their apartment. Sgt. Ruiz executed the search warrant at approximately 1:30 a.m. on February 8, 2007, while Vanessa Johnson was at home. Pursuant to the search, Sgt. Ruiz confiscated four pictures of the defendant. Shortly thereafter, Sgt. Ruiz charged Vanessa Johnson with murder. The defendant turned himself in to the police on February 9, 2007.

Edward Wilbon testified that he knew the victim and attended school with the defendant. On the day of the shooting, Wilbon and a few of his friends (among them, Darryl Rayfield), played basketball with the victim on a court in the housing development. During this time, the defendant and the victim got into a fight. When the fight ended, the victim took the defendant's hat. Wilbon asked the defendant what the dispute was about and suggested to the defendant that he and the victim reconcile their differences. The defendant left the area indicating that he would return. A short while later, Wilbon and his friends went to the grocery store on Clio and Simon Bolivar; soon after, they returned to the basketball court. From there, Wilbon accompanied Darryl Rayfield to Rayfield's apartment, which was across the hall from the Johnsons' apartment. As Wilbon sat in Rayfield's kitchen, he could hear the defendant speaking with his mother in their apartment. When Wilbon left Rayfield's apartment, he noticed that the defendant was dressed in black clothing. Wilbon saw the defendant leave his apartment and drive away in a gold car with two other people. Wilbon returned to the basketball court, where he saw the victim riding his bike through the housing development.

Fifteen minutes later, Wilbon, Rayfield, the victim, and another friend decided to ride their bikes to Wilbon's aunt's home near St. Claude Avenue. As the group rode toward Simon Bolivar, Wilbon saw the defendant in the same gold car make a U-turn on Simon Bolivar and drive toward Wilbon and the victim. Wilbon alerted the victim that the defendant was approaching in a car and suggested he leave the area. At that point, Wilbon saw the defendant jump from the back seat of the gold car and shoot the victim. After firing several shots, the defendant jumped back into the back seat of the gold car and rode away. Wilbon did not recognize the driver or the other passenger in the gold car. Wilbon then sought Officer McCraney. When he could not find Officer McCraney, Wilbon returned to comfort the victim until an ambulance transported the victim to the hospital. After Officer McCraney arrived and spoke to the victim, he accompanied Wilbon to the Sixth District police station where Wilbon recounted the day's events, and he identified the defendant as the shooter. It was then that Wilbon identified a picture of Vanessa Johnson from a photographic lineup. In court, Wilbon identified the defendant as the man Wilbon saw shoot the victim.

Dr. Samantha Huber, a forensic pathologist with the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office, performed the autopsy on the body and determined that the victim suffered from eight gunshot wounds. Two of the wounds hit vital organs—causing the victim to bleed to death. Dr. Huber retrieved several bullets from the body.

The State and the defense stipulated that a .380 Larsen semi-automatic pistol was recovered on March 23, 2007, but not at the Johnsons' apartment.

The defense called Sgt. Ronald Ruiz, Jr., to testify about his interaction with Edward Wilbon on the night of the shooting. Sgt. Ruiz recalled that he interviewed Wilbon twice that night; the first interview was not recorded, but the second interview was. Sgt. Ruiz identified the audio recording of the statements of Officer McCraney and Wilbon taken on the night of the shooting. Sgt. Ruiz stated that he placed the audio tape in Central Evidence and Property at the NOPD.

Edward Wilbon was called by the defense and questioned about statements he made during prior motions hearings in the case. Wilbon denied saying that he saw Vanessa Johnson hand a gun to the defendant, but he did claim to hear Vanessa Johnson tell the defendant to "go get them mother f* * * * * *." When asked by defense counsel if he remembered testifying before the grand jury, Wilbon responded in the negative.

ERRORS PATENT

A review of the records for errors patent reveals none.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER 1

In his first assignment of error, the defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction.

To evaluate whether evidence is constitutionally sufficient to support a conviction, an appellate court must determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 334, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2797, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); ...