State v. Lavigne
| Docket Number | 22-KA-282 |
| Decision Date | 24 May 2023 |
| Parties | STATE OF LOUISIANA v. LANARD A. LAVIGNE |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 18-6525, DIVISION "C" HONORABLE JUNE B. DARENSBURG, JUDGE PRESIDING
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr. Thomas J. Butler Andrea F. Long Douglas E. Rushton, Jr.
Panel composed of Judges Jude G. Gravois, Stephen J. Windhorst, and John J. Molaison, Jr.
CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED; SENTENCES VACATED; REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING WITH INSTRUCTIONS
JGG
SJW
Defendant/appellant, Lanard A. Lavigne, appeals his convictions of second degree murder, obstruction of justice, and aggravated criminal damage to property. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's convictions; however, we vacate defendant's sentences and remand the matter for resentencing and advisal of postconviction relief as per La. C.Cr.P. art. 930.8, as instructed below.
On January 31, 2019, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury returned an indictment charging defendant, Lanard A. Lavigne, with the second degree murder of Kerwin Connor in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 (count one), obstruction of justice in violation of La. R.S. 14:130.1 (count two),[1] and aggravated criminal damage to property in violation of La. R.S. 14:55 (count three), all of which were alleged to have occurred on March 14, 2018. Defendant was arraigned on February 1, 2019 and pled not guilty.[2]
On September 23, 2019, defendant filed an "Unopposed Motion to Produce CAC Video Interview of Minor Child." The trial court granted the motion on that same day. Also, on September 23, 2019, defendant filed a "Motion in Limine to Introduce Evidence of Decedent's Reputation." Defendant also filed a memorandum in support of that motion.[3] On October 21, 2019, the State filed a response to that motion in limine, along with a motion to seal. That same day, the trial court ordered that the State's response and notice be sealed.
On December 12, 2019, the trial court held a hearing on the motion in limine, and deferred rendering a ruling thereon until after both sides filed written memoranda. Thereafter, on January 17, 2020, the State filed a "Supplement [sic] Memorandum in Response to Defendant's Motion in Limine to Introduce Evidence of Decedent's Reputation." On February 3, 2020, defense counsel filed a supplemental memorandum in support of his motion in limine. That same day, the trial court denied defense counsel's motion in limine. Defense counsel subsequently filed a writ application with this Court challenging that ruling. On April 16, 2020, this Court denied the writ. See State v. Lanard, 20-K-113 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/16/20) (unpublished writ disposition).[4]
On October 18, 2021, the State filed a notice of additional information, wherein it provided the statements of K.C.,[5] the victim's daughter, about the events of the shooting. On that same day, defense counsel filed a motion in limine to prohibit the introduction of any victim impact testimony and of the video containing the interview of the victim's daughter at the Child Advocacy Center ("CAC"). The trial court denied defendant's objections to the CAC video being played at trial.[6] According to minute entries included with the record, defendant withdrew his plea of not guilty and pled guilty as charged to count two (obstruction of justice) on October 18, 2021. Sentencing on count two was deferred until the day of sentencing on counts one and three.
On October 18, 2021, trial commenced before a twelve-person jury, and on October 21, 2021, the State filed a motion for a request for special jury charges, which was granted. On that same day, the jury unanimously found defendant guilty as charged on counts one and three.
On December 6, 2021, defendant filed a "Motion for New Trial and Motion for Post-Verdict Judgment of Acquittal,"[7] which the trial court denied prior to sentencing on that same day. After a waiver of delays, the trial court sentenced defendant on count one (second decree murder) to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, on count two (obstruction of justice) to forty years' imprisonment at hard labor, and on count three (aggravated criminal damage to property) to fifteen years' imprisonment at hard labor.[8] The trial court further ordered that defendant's sentences "run concurrently with each other and with any other sentence."[9]
Immediately following the imposition of defendant's sentences, defense counsel made an oral motion to reconsider sentence and indicated that he would supplement the motion in writing. The trial judge replied, On December 7, 2021, defendant filed a written "Motion to Reconsider Sentence."[10] That same day, defendant filed a "Motion to Appeal Conviction and Sentence," which was granted by the trial court on December 15, 2021. Defendant now appeals, asserting five assignments of error.[11]
On March 14, 2018, Kerwin Connor (a/k/a "Puddy") was shot three times while outside of his residence in the 300 block of Clemson Place in Kenner, Louisiana.[12] After Mr Connor was transported to the hospital, he died of his injuries.[13]
Denise Nelson, a neighbor, testified on March 14, 2018, she was with a "little boy" outside of her home at 318 Clemson Place. Ms. Nelson testified that she saw Mr. Connor arguing and "fussing" and that she told him to stop.[14] She recalled that she grabbed Mr. Connor by his shirt because he was close to her. She testified that she was in her parking spot by her apartment and that this was located on the same side of the street as Mr. Connor. Ms. Nelson denied seeing Mr. Connor with a gun at that time. When asked if she saw the person Mr. Connor was arguing with, she said that she could see "a person." She denied that she saw Mr. Connor approach that person or point a gun at that person. When asked if "that person" had a gun, Ms. Nelson answered, "No, not for me to see." She confirmed that she heard gunshots while she was on the "pave walk" by her house. She recalled that she heard gunfire and that Mr. Connor's back was to her. She grabbed the boy, got underneath a truck, and heard five more gunshots. She indicated that she saw Mr. Connor again by his door. She denied seeing the "other person" again that day or seeing anyone firing a gun that day. She did not remember telling a detective that she saw someone shoot Mr. Connor. She asserted that she only saw him running and a person running behind him.[15]
Malyssa Acevado Connor testified that she met Mr. Connor in 2007, and they were in a relationship for eleven and one-half years. In 2018, she lived in an apartment located at 308 Clemson Place with Mr. Connor and their daughter, K.C.[16] On March 14, 2018, she walked K.C. to the bus stop for school prior to going to work until 4:10 p.m. After returning home that evening, she showered and lay down on the couch. She recalled that K.C. played a videogame in the living room and that Mr. Connor went outside to work on his truck, which was parked in the field directly across the street. At some point, Mr. Connor came back inside the apartment, went upstairs, and left again. She was not aware of any altercation taking place outside at this time. Ms. Connor heard a "loud bang" from outside. She testified that K.C. climbed on top of the deep freezer, which was located near a window, looked outside, and started screaming.
Ms. Connor then jumped up and opened her door about three or four inches, but closed it after hearing a gunshot. She stated that she felt a "vibration in [her] chest" and knew "he" was on the other side of the door. She testified that she heard three gunshots. She recounted that Mr. Connor "fell through the door" and his friend Kevin was with him. Mr. Connor told her, "He shot me call 9-1-1," and he fell on the sofa and rolled on the floor. When she went outside with K.C., she saw a silver revolver outside of the door, and they jumped over it. Ms. Connor explained that she did not know that it was Mr. Connor's gun at that time. She believed he had previously gotten rid of a similar gun that he owned. After she called 9-1-1, EMS came to the scene and took Mr. Connor, who was shot in the legs, to University Hospital, where he died. She testified that it took a long time for the ambulance to arrive because of traffic. She said that Mr. Connor coded about five minutes from the hospital.
Ms Connor testified that she provided a recorded statement to the lead investigator in this case. She admitted that she did not initially tell the detective about the silver gun she saw outside their apartment. When she brought K.C. to her interview at the CAC, Ms. Connor told the detective that she did not touch the gun. She further told him that she did not know to whom it belonged. She testified that the gun was gone when the police arrived on the scene. She denied knowing the identity of the "the other guy" that was with Mr. Connor in the truck across the street. She also informed the detective of her discovery of a bullet hole in the mop near her front door. Additionally, Ms. Connor testified that she received information regarding the identity of the shooter from someone in the neighborhood. This person sent Ms. Connor photographs from Instagram, which she provided to the lead detective. She also showed these photographs to K.C. K.C., who was thirteen years old at the time of trial, stated that she was present the day that her father, Mr. Connor, died. She was...
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