State v. Ordodi

• Decision Date: 29 November 2006
• Docket Number: No. 2006-K-0207.,2006-K-0207.
• Citation: 946 So.2d 654
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Leslie Otto ORDODI.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

946 So.2d 654

STATE of Louisiana v. Leslie Otto ORDODI.

No. 2006-K-0207.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

November 29, 2006.

Rehearing Denied February 2, 2007.

Charles C. Foti, Jr., Attorney General, J. Phil Haney, District Attorney, Jeffrey J. Trosclair, Assistant District Attorney, for Applicant.

Richard A. Spears, New Iberia, for Respondent.

TRAYLOR, Justice.

Leslie Otto Ordodi was charged by bill of information with two counts of attempted armed robbery in violation of La. R.S. 14:64 and La. R.S. 14:27. After trial, the jury found the defendant guilty on both counts. The trial judge sentenced the defendant to concurrent terms of three years imprisonment at hard labor. Ordodi appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. The court of appeal, with one judge concurring, reversed his conviction and sentence. State v. Ordodi, 2005-522 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/2/05), 916 So.2d 439. Upon the state's application, we granted certiorari to review the correctness of that decision. State v. Ordodi, 2006-207 (La.6/23/06), 930 So.2d 990.

FACTS

The following evidence was adduced at trial. Thelma Broussard, a former employee of Regions Bank in New Iberia, Louisiana, was at Regions Bank to do some banking on the morning of May 28, 2004. From where she sat at the customer service desk and spoke to Marla Hebert, a customer service representative, Ms. Broussard faced the street to the side of the bank. From her vantage point, Ms. Broussard observed a man, whom she later identified as the defendant, walking toward the bank pull a gun from a plastic bag and place the gun in his right pants pocket. Ordodi was wearing dark glasses. Ms. Broussard informed Ms. Hebert about what she had seen and left the bank.

Because she was concerned about the bank's employees, Ms. Broussard walked from where her car was parked near the drive-through windows to the other side of the bank. Looking in the window, Ms. Broussard saw the defendant talking to Ms. Hebert with a pamphlet in his hand. She stayed in that location until she saw the defendant leave the bank and enter his truck. Before returning to her car, she re-entered the bank and asked whether the man had been trying to open an account. When the bank employees told her "yes," she left the bank to go to a nearby grocery store.

As Ms. Broussard traveled to the grocery store, she saw the defendant's truck parked in the parking lot of Bank One, another bank located further down on the same street. Ms. Broussard returned to Regions Bank, where Ms. Hebert was on the telephone with the police. Ms. Broussard informed Ms. Hebert that the defendant's truck was now parked at Bank One.

Marella Guidry was employed as a teller at Regions Bank that morning. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the bank was busy with customers. Ms. Guidry saw a customer looking around and asked him if he needed help. When the man mentioned something about an account, she asked if he wanted any brochures and he indicated he did not. She asked him if he wanted to speak to someone and he indicated, "Yes." When Ms. Guidry asked his name, the man hesitated a little and then walked over to ask her to repeat her question. Ms. Guidry again asked him his name so that she could introduce him to a customer service representative. The man responded that his name was "Roy," and then walked over to the person in charge of opening accounts, Ms. Hebert.

Ms. Guidry described the customer as wearing a cap and dark glasses. Ms. Guidry testified that the customer did not pull out a gun or hand her a note demanding money. The customer did not make any verbal demand for money. The only thing about which the customer inquired was opening an account. A security recording of the bank lobby that morning reflects the presence of other bank customers during the time the defendant was in the Regions bank and the defendant's appearance.

Marla Hebert confirmed that Ms. Broussard told her about the man putting a gun in his pocket when the two women were sitting at her desk in the bank's lobby. She turned around to look out of the window and saw a truck with the engine still running and a man walking down the sidewalk. Ms. Hebert observed the man enter the bank and stand in the teller line, waiting for a teller to help him. She saw the man have a conversation with Ms. Guidry and Ms. Guidry gesturing toward her desk.

When the customer approached Ms. Hebert's desk, she asked him to have a seat but the man continued to stand. The customer was wearing a baseball cap and dark colored sunglasses which prevented Ms. Hebert from being able to identify him as the defendant. While Ms. Hebert asked the customer questions prior to opening an account, the man kept putting his hands in and out of his pockets. The customer interrupted Ms. Hebert in the middle of a question to tell her he was not ready to open a new account and that he would return at a later time. The man then took a brochure and left.

After the man left the bank, Ms. Hebert called the main office for advice on what she should do, as she found the man's behavior odd. She was advised to call 911, which she did immediately thereafter. Ms. Hebert was still on the phone with the police when Ms. Broussard returned a second time to tell them the same truck which the armed man drove was now parked by Bank One. Ms. Hebert informed the police of that fact. Ms. Hebert stated that personnel at the main office called other area banks to inform them about the armed man.

Shelly Hughes was working at Bank One that morning. A customer, whom she later identified as the defendant, entered the lobby of the bank wearing a cap and dark sunglasses. She asked the defendant if she could help him with anything. The defendant told her that he would like to open a checking account. Ms. Hughes asked the defendant if he had any identification. When he said that he did, Ms Hughes asked him to wait in a chair because there was another customer ahead of him. A security recording of Bank One's lobby shows the defendant sitting in the chair waiting and the presence of other bank customers.

Ms. Hughes said that the defendant sat in the chair but then saw him walk to a desk where a bank representative was sitting. Ms. Hughes subsequently saw the defendant leave the bank. She said that the defendant seemed nervous and fidgety, as though he did not have the time to wait. As soon as the defendant left the bank, Ms. Hughes saw the authorities immediately confront the defendant in front of the bank's door.

Ms. Hughes testified the defendant never demanded money from her, never produced a gun while he was in the bank, and never reached over any teller's counter to grab for money. Ms. Hughes confirmed that the defendant only inquired about a checking account.

Tiffany Thibodeaux handled new accounts at Bank One. She heard Ms. Hughes tell a customer, whom she later identified as the defendant, that he needed to speak with her for a new account. She called the defendant over to her desk after she finished with a customer. The defendant, who was wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses, told Ms. Thibodeaux that he was interested in opening a checking account but just wanted a brochure.

Even so, Ms. Thibodeaux began to ask the defendant different questions regarding his banking needs. She stated the defendant was very short with his answers and did not talk much but just kept asking for a brochure. However, he answered questions regarding his home ownership and whether he had any other bank accounts. He told Ms. Thibodeaux that his name was "Roy." According to Ms. Thibodeaux, the defendant appeared very fidgety, as though he was in a hurry or did not have time to sit and talk. When Ms. Thibodeaux finished with her questions, she recommended a product and got up to obtain a brochure. She then walked back to her desk, handed the brochure to the defendant, shook his hand and walked him to the door.

After the defendant left the bank, another teller told Ms. Thibodeaux to lock the door. After she did so, Ms. Thibodeaux saw all of the police officers outside and the defendant on his knees.¹

Kevin Bourque, Greg Pete and James Altman were employed as police officers by the New Iberia City Police on May 28, 2004. They responded to a call from Regions Bank and were on their way to that location when they received the call that the person for whom they were looking had moved on to Bank One. The officers were met outside Bank One by one of the tellers, who informed them that the defendant was inside but had not made any threats. The teller told the police that Bank One had been alerted about the defendant by another bank.

When the defendant walked out of Bank One, the officers confronted him with weapons drawn, requesting that the defendant put up his hands. After the defendant was handcuffed, the officers searched him. In the defendant's pockets, the police found an empty grocery bag and a revolver.

Investigation revealed that Ordodi's truck was still running in the parking lot of Bank One with the keys inside. The license plate of the defendant's truck had been removed. The license plate, the screws which had held the license plate onto the bumper of the truck, and the wrench used to remove the license plate were found on the front seat of the truck. A spent .38 caliber shell casing was found in the weapon recovered from the defendant, as well as four live rounds of .38 caliber ammunition. In addition, the state presented evidence of a newspaper notice dated about ten days after the defendant's arrest which showed that the defendant's house had been seized and was for sale.

A video recording of Ordodi's interrogation showed Ordodi professed he had no idea why the police arrested him. He continually stated that he had done nothing wrong. He told the detective that he went into both banks looking for a free checking account because his current account charged a monthly fee and he was shopping around for the...