State v. Snyder, 12–KA–896.

• Decision Date: 09 October 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–KA–896.,12–KA–896.
• Citation: 128 So.3d 370
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Allen SNYDER.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

128 So.3d 370

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Allen SNYDER.

No. 12–KA–896.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana,
Fifth Circuit.

Oct. 9, 2013.

[128 So.3d 371]

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Anne M. Wallis—Appellate Counsel, J. Brandon Kinnett, Kellie M. Rish, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, Louisiana, for Appellee, State of Louisiana.

Jane L. Beebe, Attorney at Law, Louisiana Appellate, New Orleans, Louisiana, for Appellant, Allen Snyder.

Panel composed of Judges SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, MARC E. JOHNSON, and STEPHEN J. WINDHORST.

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, Chief Judge.

On appeal, defendant seeks review of his conviction for second degree murder and life sentence. For the following reasons,

[128 So.3d 372]

we affirm his conviction and sentence.

Procedural History

This matter has an extensive procedural history. On August 29, 1996, defendant, Allen Snyder, was convicted by a twelve-member jury of first degree murder and subsequently sentenced to death. Defendant appealed his conviction. In 1999, the Supreme Court of Louisiana conditionally affirmed his conviction and sentence but remanded for a “nunc pro tunc hearing to determine whether defendant was competent at the time of his trial.” ¹

On October 26, 2000, after a hearing as ordered by the Louisiana Supreme Court, the district court ruled that, “Based on the evidence taken as a whole, the Court finds that the defendant was competent on the date of his trial.” ² On April 14, 2004, the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed.³

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court granted defendant's petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court for consideration of defendant's Batson⁴ claims, in light of Miller–El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231, 125 S.Ct. 2317, 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005).⁵ On remand, the Louisiana Supreme Court found no merit in defendant's claim that the State excused potential jurors in a racially discriminatory manner and again affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence.⁶

The United States Supreme Court again granted petitioner's writ of certiorari. ⁷ In Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. 472, 128 S.Ct. 1203, 170 L.Ed.2d 175 (2008), the United States Supreme Court held that the trial judge committed clear error in rejecting defendant's claim that the prosecution exercised peremptory challenges based on race, in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), which required reversal and remand of the matter to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Thereafter, the Louisiana Supreme Court remanded the matter to the district court for “further proceedings in accord with the law.” ⁸

On January 29, 2009, a Jefferson Parish Grand Jury indicted defendant on one count of second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1, for the homicide of Howard Wilson. On February 12, 2009, defendant pled not guilty. Subsequently, the State filed Notices of Intent to Use Evidence of Other Crimes. On May 4, 2010, a Prieur⁹ hearing was held. On May 27, 2010, the trial court granted the State's motion. Defendant sought review of that ruling in this Court, which denied relief.¹⁰

On January 31, 2012, trial of this matter commenced. After a three-day trial, a

[128 So.3d 373]

twelve-member jury found defendant guilty as charged on February 2, 2012. On March 1, 2012, the trial judge heard and denied numerous post-trial motions. That same day, after defendant waived the statutory delays, the trial court sentenced defendant, as statutorily mandated, to life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant timely filed a Motion for Appeal, which was granted on March 5, 2012. This appeal follows.

Facts

In 1995, Allen Snyder and his then-wife, Mary Beth, had a troubled marriage.¹¹ According to Mary Beth, however, after the birth of their third child, Allen became very controlling and jealous. He would not allow her to speak to other men and prohibited her from leaving the house alone.

Eventually, Allen's jealousy escalated to physical abuse. Mary Beth testified that, on March 18, 1995, Allen, using his hand, violently shoved her head against the passenger side window of his car, which caused injuries to her face. Mary Beth did not seek medical treatment that night.

About three months later, in May of 1995, Allen struck Mary Beth in the leg with a baseball bat as she lay sleeping. She had a large bruise and limped for about a week. Not long after that incident, Allen drove Mary Beth to an isolated road, opened the trunk of his car, and threatened her that he could do “whatever he wanted to” her and “nobody would ever find” her.

That summer the violence escalated. On the morning of June 11, 1995, Allen “slammed” Mary Beth's head into the wall of their children's bedroom, which caused injuries requiring hospitalization.¹² After this instance, which their children witnessed, Mary Beth took their children and went to stay at her parents' house on Wilker Neal Street in River Ridge.

On June 18, 1995, Allen tried to speak with Mary Beth, but she refused. Later that night, Allen disconnected the electrical box outside Mary Beth's parents' home, entered the home, and stabbed Mary Beth nine times in the neck, head, and arms. Mrs. Snyder was treated at the hospital for her injuries.¹³

Approximately two months later, on August 15, 1995, Allen called Mary Beth to discuss reconciliation. Mary Beth agreed to meet with him the following day, telling Allen that she had plans with her cousin that night. Allen, however, wanted to begin their reconciliation that night so he

[128 So.3d 374]

paged Mary Beth numerous times while he waited outside of her cousin's house, which is less than a block away from Mary Beth's parents' house.

In truth, Mary Beth went out with another man, Howard Wilson. Around 1:30 a.m., Howard Wilson drove Mary Beth back to her parents' house. Allen, who admitted that he was carrying a nine-inch-long knife to “scare” Mary Beth into talking to him, was hiding next to a nearby house and waiting for Mary Beth to return.

Not long after Howard Wilson stopped his car in front of Mary Beth's parents' house, Allen yanked open the driver's side door, leaned over Howard Wilson, and stabbed Mary Beth in the face, which, according to Allen “slowed her down.” Allen then “tussled” with Howard, who “got stabbed” because he floored the car's accelerator causing Allen to fall onto Howard during the fight. At some point, Howard Wilson exited his car and stumbled down the street. Allen then got into Wilson's car and attempted to drive off with Mary Beth, who fought and pled for her life. Almost immediately, however, Allen crashed the car into a nearby fire hydrant then fled.¹⁴

That night, Gwendolyn Williams was walking home on Wilker Neal Street when she observed a man “stooping down on the side of a trailer” with a knife. She saw the man run from behind the trailer toward a car parked across the street, then open the driver's door, jump inside, and start “tussling” with the driver. When the driver exited the car, Ms. Williams observed that his “throat was cut.” Then, the car moved forward until it hit a fire hydrant.

According to Ms. Williams, she could hear Mary Beth Snyder, who was inside the car, screaming for help while the man, who she recognized as Mary Beth's husband, “started cutting on her.” Ms. Williams, who had known Mary Beth for a long time, screamed at the man, who jumped out of the car and fled. Ms. Williams then helped Mary Beth, who was cut “everywhere she could be cut” to her mother's house and waited for the paramedics and the police to arrive.

Deputy Michael Cooke of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (“JPSO”) was on patrol when he was dispatched to a “traffic accident” at 312 Wilker Neal Street. When he arrived at the scene, he noticed that a white car had struck a fire hydrant. There were no passengers inside the vehicle; however, large amounts of blood were present on the ceiling and dashboard. Deputy Cooke then located Howard Wilson and Mary Beth Snyder, who each had sustained wounds that appeared to be from a sharp instrument, such as a knife. After both victims were determined to be free of weapons, they were rushed to the hospital.

According to medical records that were introduced at trial, Howard Wilson died from exsanguination caused by sharp force injuries inflicted with a double-edged blade. Dr. Susan Garcia, an expert forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on the victim, testified that Howard Wilson sustained nine sharp force injuries to his upper torso. Of those nine, two wounds, which punctured his lung and opened an artery, were lethal. The manner of Mr.

[128 So.3d 375]

Wilson's death was homicide.¹⁵

Meanwhile, as a result of investigation, Allen Snyder, defendant herein, was developed as a suspect. Approximately 12 hours later, defendant called the police claiming that he “cut some people and that he was considering suicide,” and requested that an officer be sent to his house.

Officer Vic Giglio of the Kenner Police Department was dispatched to 508 Hanson Street, in Kenner, in response to the call. Defendant allowed Officer Giglio to enter his house then retreated to another room in the house, where he continued to speak with the dispatcher. Defendant did not have any visible injuries. Almost immediately, Sergeant Giglio realized that defendant was wanted for questioning regarding the homicide on Wilker Neal so he detained defendant for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Detective Debbie Labit of the JPSO arrived at defendant's home and advised him of his Miranda¹⁶ rights. She observed injuries to defendant's right hand, which appeared to be fresh and “indicative of offensive-type of injuries during an altercation where a knife is used.” Detective Labit had defendant transported to the Detective's Bureau, where defendant told her that “he had cut them and that he had been beaten up emotionally by his ex—by his wife and...