State v. Hargrove

348 So.3d 933

STATE of Louisiana

v.Larry Charles HARGROVE

22-158

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

September 28, 2022

Chad M. Ikerd, Louisiana Appellate Project, P. O. Box 2125, Lafayette, LA 70502, (337) 366-8994, COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: Larry Charles Hargrove

J. Phillip Terrell, Jr., District Attorney, Catherine L. Davidson, Assistant District Attorney, Ninth Judicial District, P. O. Box 7358, Alexandria, La 71306-7358, (318) 473-6650, COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE: State of Louisiana

Court composed of Elizabeth A. Pickett, Van H. Kyzar, and Candyce G. Perret, Judges.

KYZAR, Judge.

The defendant, Larry Charles Hargrove, appeals his conviction for the offense of possession of heroin, for which he was sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment of five years at hard labor. He specifically challenges the denial of a pre-trial motion to suppress evidence and the trial court's ruling sustaining the State's objection to a line of questioning during the cross examination of the arresting officer. For the reasons herein, we affirm the conviction and sentence imposed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant was charged by bill of information, filed on February 8, 2021, with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, Schedule I, heroin, between two and twenty-eight grams, in violation of La.R.S. 40:966(C)(4)(b). Following an October 27, 2021 jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count of possession of a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance.

He was later sentenced to serve five years at hard labor.

The basic facts leading to the arrest and conviction of Defendant are not complex. On the night of February 8, 2021, Officer Brian Frost of the Alexandria Police Department (APD), responded to a disturbance call and possible burglary in progress at 1812 Day Street.¹ As he turned his patrol unit onto Day Street, he heard a single gunshot from what he perceived to be a handgun. At that point, Officer Frost alerted the dispatcher regarding the gunshot and proceeded to 1812 Day Street, where he heard the shot fired. As he slowly approached the residence, he testified that he "observed two subjects come from the side of the residence, look out," and take off running towards the corner of Orchard Street and Rapides Avenue. In a call to the dispatcher, Officer Frost described the suspects as two black males, approximately six feet tall and weighing between 150-180 pounds, with medium length hair and wearing dark shirts and pants. He stated that the suspects were running from the area. At some point Officer Frost later learned the names of the suspects and relayed that information over the police radio.

Officer Frost testified Corporal (Cpl.) Silton Innerarity, who was on duty in another patrol unit for APD, had the description from the radio, and Cpl. Innerarity started triangulating the area by turning nearby corners and searching for the suspects. Officer Frost testified that to run a person's information through the reporting system, he would need a first and last name and a date of birth. Officer Frost said that entering only a first name would be difficult for him to do anything with unless it was a nickname or moniker.

Cpl. Innerarity testified at both the trial and the hearing on the motion to suppress and detailed his response to the incident.² While searching for the suspects, he overheard on the radio Officer Frost's description of and at one point a name of at least one of the suspects. Within ten to fifteen minutes of receiving that information, Cpl. Innerarity noticed someone off to his right as he neared the end of Cottage Street. The subject, who was later determined to be Defendant, took off running. Cpl. Innerarity, after circling around, eventually located Defendant at 19 Ball Powell Street, where Defendant was sitting in front of the residence, near a small fire.

When Cpl. Innerarity approached him, Defendant was very uncooperative, refusing to give his full name, but eventually admitting that his first name was Larry. Cpl. Innerarity testified that Defendant, who was sweating, fit the description given by Officer Frost as to the suspects’ physical characteristics and clothing. Based on Defendant's failure to identify himself many times during the course of the encounter, Cpl. Innerarity determined that he had probable cause to arrest him for resisting an officer. He further performed search of Defendant's person for officer safety based on the fact that Defendant had come from the area where shots were fired, he fit the description of the suspects involved in that incident, and he continued to resist Cpl. Innerarity's request for identification. During the search, Cpl. Innerarity found a knife in Defendant's pocket, but no gun, as well as narcotics in his wallet, which was later determined to be heroin. Cpl. Innerarity ultimately placed Defendant under arrest for possession of narcotics but advised Defendant that he was not arresting him for resisting an officer.

On September 15, 2021, Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence of the drugs found in his wallet during the search by Cpl. Innerarity. During the October 25, 2021 hearing, the State introduced, in addition to testimony from Cpl. Innerarity, Officer Frost's report, APD's incident report, and a map marked by Cpl. Innerarity. Defendant introduced Cpl. Innerarity's bodycam and dashcam footage.

Cpl. Innerarity's bodycam video reflected the following actions. At approximately thirty seconds into the video, Cpl. Innerarity made contact with a juvenile suspect. During the suppression hearing and the trial, he testified that he believed that the juvenile did not fit with the description given by Officer Frost, as Innerarity had previously observed the juvenile earlier in the day, so he let him move on. At one minute and ten seconds, a voice is heard over the police radio saying that one of the suspects was named "Brandon Eli." During the first five minutes of the video, Cpl. Innerarity was heard accelerating his vehicle and then turning the steering wheel sharply. At approximately six minutes, he was seen exiting his patrol unit and approaching Defendant. At six minutes and ten seconds, Cpl. Innerarity said, "Hey, come see[,]" and told Defendant several times to approach. At six minutes and nineteen seconds, Defendant was seen sitting in a chair next to something smoking and burning in a bucket. Defendant was wearing dark clothing and a hooded, dark jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, with the hoodie on. At six minutes and twenty-one seconds, Cpl. Innerarity asked, "What's your name, my man?" He asked two more times, and Defendant responded, "What'd I do?" Cpl. Innerarity again asked, "What is your name?" Defendant responded, "I'm asking what I done before you question me, cuz [sic] I just got right here." Cpl. Innerarity then said, "I know, you just took off right there whenever I got right there. Stand up for me." Defendant responded, "I ain't running from nowhere." Cpl. Innerarity told Defendant to stand up, and Defendant responded, "I been right here. Man go up and ask them. I ain't come running from nowhere." By this time, another officer arrived on the scene and told Defendant to put his hands up.

At approximately six minutes and forty-seven seconds into the video, Cpl. Innerarity placed handcuffs on Defendant, who began raising his voice and saying that he had been right there. The other officer asked Defendant if he had an ID on him, but Defendant ignored the question and continued talking. Cpl. Innerarity said something along the lines of, "You say you've been here all day but I just saw you running." At seven minutes, Cpl. Innerarity asked Defendant twice what his name was, and Defendant responded, "man, bro." Cpl. Innerarity again asked Defendant for his name. Defendant ignored the question and said the police were arresting him for no reason. At seven minutes and sixteen seconds, the officers asked nearby bystanders for Defendant's name. Defendant continued to yell and curse and insist that he had been sitting there.

At approximately seven minutes and forty seconds into the video, the officers escorted Defendant towards the police unit. Cpl. Innerarity told Defendant to "hang tight until we're done." Defendant replied, "Look bro, you can go ride around. Why do you have to fuck with me though? What I did? You ain't got to fuck with me. I've been right here."³ At eight minutes and twenty seconds, Cpl. Innerarity said, "All I need is your name. That's all I need." Defendant replied, "Bro it's just the fact if I know I ain't do[ne] nothing bro, you really ain't got the right to do this." Defendant continued to curse and say that the police officers did not have the right to do this. Cpl. Innerarity states, "Then give me your name." At eight minutes and forty-one seconds, Defendant said, "My name is Larry bro. I gave you my name. I shouldn't have to give you nothing but Larry because of the fact that I ain't do[ne] nothing." In response, Cpl. Innerarity asked, "Larry what?" A bystander was overheard saying something about hiding, and Defendant said he was not hiding anything. Cpl. Innerarity then stated, "Give me your real name Larry. All I need is your real name."

Defendant continued to yell that the cops were "fucking" with him, and Cpl. Innerarity responded that they were working a shooting. At that point, a bystander began yelling for Defendant to tell the officers his name, and Defendant yelled back at the bystanders around the police unit. At nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds, Cpl. Innerarity patted down Defendant and placed items on the hood of the patrol unit. At nine minutes and fifty seconds, a bystander yelled at Defendant to tell the truth and to tell the officer his name. Defendant said, "Man you're tripping, I'm not doing nothing wrong." Defendant said, "I ain't got no reason to play with you, sir." Cpl. Innerarity responded, "Well you ain't been giving me no information, Larry." At ten minutes...