State v. Haire

381 So.3d 230

55,289 (La.App. 2 Cir. 2/28/24)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee

v.Daniel Ralph HAIRE, Appellant

No. 55,289-KA

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Judgment Rendered February 28, 2024

Appealed from the First Judicial District Court for the Parish of Caddo, Louisiana, Trial Court No. 374,478, Honorable Christopher T. Victory, Judge

LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, By: Mary C. "Connie" Hanes, New Orleans, Counsel for Appellant

JAMES E. STEWART, SR., District Attorney, REBECCA A. EDWARDS, KODIE K. SMITH, VICTORIA T. WASHINGTON, Assistant District Attorneys, Counsel for Appellee

Before STONE, HUNTER, and ELLENDER, JJ.

ELLENDER, J.

₁Daniel Ralph Haire ("Haire") was convicted by a unanimous jury of manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Following his adjudication as a second felony offender, Haire was sentenced to a total of 70 years at hard labor. He now appeals his convictions and sentences alleging the trial court erred in both denying one of his challenges for cause and in failing to properly instruct the jury, and that the sentences imposed were unconstitutionally excessive.

FACTS

Haire, Rodney Nordby ("Nordby"), and Dillion Brown ("Brown"), all residents of Caddo Parish, had been mutual friends and were well acquainted with one another. On February 23, 2020, Haire, who had just recently been released from jail following a conviction for possession of methamphetamine, called the Shreveport Police Department to inform them he was receiving harassing calls and threats. Officer Raheem Roque was dispatched to Haire’s home where he lived with his parents in the Broadmoor neighborhood. Haire told the officer he had received death threats from both Nordby and Brown, but he did not want anyone arrested; he just wanted it documented. Ofc. Roque examined Haire’s phone, but the text messages with these individuals were only mutual conversations. Haire claimed the death threats were from the phone calls, not text messages. Though he did not inform the police on this day, Haire later told officers Nordby had chased him in his car a few days prior and had tried to run him off the road.

At some point during daylight hours of February 27, 2020, Haire called Nordby and asked him to come to his house so they could talk and ₂resolve their differences. Haire claimed his intention was for Nordby to come over immediately so they could talk face to face, and he did not expect Nordby to come over that night. Haire also claimed he instructed Nordby to call when he arrived.

At some point after it became dark, Nordby apparently drove his motorcycle near Haire’s home, parked it, and then walked into their backyard. Haire claimed his family, including his parents, sister, and nephew, had already gone to bed, but that he was still awake getting something to eat in the kitchen. Haire said he spotted a dark figure through the window moving about in the backyard, so he grabbed his father’s crossbow for protection and turned off the lights to be able to see better. As Haire continued to observe through the kitchen window, he realized that it was Nordby in the backyard, who he believed was stealing items from the carport. Haire later told officers Nordby was known to steal things from their home, which had made his dad angry, and filled Haire with rage that night. Haire also claimed Nordby was aware his parents didn’t want him in their carport/back-yard area.

After another minute or so of watching, Haire kicked open the door to the carport and fired a shot with the crossbow at Nordby, who was holding a cellphone in his hand. The bolt¹ from the crossbow, which was equipped with a broadhead typically outfitted with razor-sharp blades used to kill wild animals, struck Nordby in the upper left side of the chest, exiting through the middle of Nordby’s back. After being shot, Nordby ran inside the kitchen ₃and fell on the floor bleeding significantly. Haire said he applied pressure to the wound, but claimed he did not call 911 because he was panicking and knew he would go to jail. Nordby ultimately died there on the floor from the wound.

Haire wrapped the body in bed sheets and a comforter, with black floral stitching on it, before putting the body in a trash can and mopping up the blood. Around 3 a.m. the next morning, Haire called Brown, who had a truck, and told him he needed help taking his trash to a dumpster. Though Brown did not know Nordby’s body was in the trash can, they loaded it into the back of Brown’s truck and dropped the can into a dumpster behind a nearby store. After a couple of hours, and while Haire and Brown were hanging out at Brown’s house, Haire urged Brown to again help him move what they had just put into the dumpster. While assisting Haire with this move, Brown quickly realized what they were moving was a dead body wrapped in a comforter. The pair then got back in Brown's track and Haire gave Brown directions to the end of Wallace Lake Road, where they both got out and threw Nordby’s body, wrapped in the comforter, into the shallows of Wallace Lake. While there, Haire also threw the crossbow bolt, used to kill Nordby, into the lake.

The next day, Haire and Brown visited three area pawn shops and unsuccessfully attempted to pawn the crossbow. Haire and Brown also secured the motorcycle that Nordby had driven to Haire’s house and gave it to one of their friends, Daniel Young ("Young"), who repainted it and stored it at Brown’s residence.

Two days after the shooting, on February 29, 2020, the Caddo Parish Sherriff’s Office ("CPSO") received a report of a suspicious bundle of ₄bedding located at the end of Wallace Lake Road. Officers responded to the scene and found the body of Nordby wrapped in a comforter. Upon inspection, Nordby was discovered to have a one-inch cut to his upper left chest and a similar injury to his back. An autopsy was later performed, which confirmed he died as a result of these wounds.

The ensuing CPSO investigation revealed Haire was one of Nordby’s known associates. Detectives went to Haire’s residence, where Haire’s father gave consent to enter and search the home. The twin beds in Haire’s bedroom were missing their linens and comforters, but pillow shams in Haire’s closet were found with the same black floral stitching as was on the comforter found in Wallace Lake wrapped around Nordby’s body. A cross-bow bolt was also found in Haire’s room, mounted with a practice tip. Trace amounts of blood were discovered on the floors in the home, which officers determined had been mostly cleaned up with solutions.

While at the Haire household, the CPSO learned Brown was also a known associate of Haire. On the night of February 29, 2020, detectives went to Brown’s residence, where he lived with his grandparents a few blocks from Haire, and received permission from Brown’s grandmother to search the home. While conducting the search, they spotted a motorcycle in a shed outside and, after obtaining a search warrant, found the motorcycle to have been recently painted. Brown’s grandmother informed them Young had been working on the motorcycle. She also told the detectives that Brown, his girlfriend, and Haire had left earlier that night to go gambling at the casinos. After receiving more information about the type of car they were in, the vehicle was eventually located and stopped as it was returning to the Brown residence. Haire was found in the backseat of the car by ₅himself, with a crossbow and a .22 rifle. The driver, Amy Willis, and passengers, Brown and Haire, were all taken into custody.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Haire was charged by indictment with one count of second degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.² Trial commenced on May 9, 2022, and the jury ultimately found Haire guilty of the responsive verdict of manslaughter, and guilty, as charged, of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On May 19, 2022, the state filed an habitual offender bill of information charging Haire as a second felony offender based on his previous felony conviction for possession of marijuana-third offense, arising from a guilty plea on December 8, 2014. A hearing was held on June 23, 2022, where Haire voluntarily pled guilty to being a second felony offender.

On July 14, 2022, Haire was sentenced to 70 years at hard labor, without the benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. For his conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Haire was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor, without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, and a fine of $2,500. This sentence was set to run concurrently with his 70-year sentence. Haire filed a motion to reconsider, which was subsequently denied. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Challenge for Cause

[1] In his first assignment of error, Haire claims the trial court erred in denying his challenge for cause against potential juror Carlos Chenevert h("Chenevert"). Haire was forced to use a peremptory challenge against Chenevert and ultimately exhausted all of his peremptory strikes. Haire challenged Chenevert because he was a CPSO deputy, knew several of the officers who had worked Haire’s case, had worked on other cases with the prosecutor, and Chenevert’s wife was also a deputy.

[2–4] La. C. Cr. P. art. 797 provides five grounds a defendant may use to challenge a juror for cause:

(1) The juror lacks a qualification required by law;

(2) The juror is not impartial, whatever the cause of his partiality. An opinion or impression as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant shall not of itself be sufficient ground of challenge to a juror, if he declares, and the court is satisfied, that he can render an impartial verdict according to the law and the evidence;

(3) The relationship, whether by blood, marriage, employment, friendship, or enmity between the juror and the defendant, the person injured by the offense, the district attorney, or defense counsel, is such that it is reasonable to...