Opinion ID: 1908081
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence of Unadjudicated Second Degree Murder

Text: The record shows that the Jackson hearing was held on the day following the appellate court's order. After hearing the evidence presented by the state on the unadjudicated charge of second degree murder, the trial court limited the state's evidence to the testimony of two law enforcement officers who investigated the case and obtained evidence from the crime scene, an eyewitness, and a DNA expert. [52] In the penalty phase, the state presented the following evidence: Debra Clements testified that on August 21, 2000, she was driving her car with her boyfriend as a passenger. Her boyfriend was later identified as Antonio Washington. Ms. Clements and Mr. Washington stopped at Justin Bradley's house at 1808 Acorn Street in Shreveport, Louisiana. They asked Mr. Bradley if he wanted to go with them to the store down the street. When Mr. Bradley refused, they drove to the store and soon returned. On their return, Ms. Clements remained in the car while Mr. Washington exited the car and knocked on the front door of Mr. Bradley's house. Ms. Clements was able to see a commotion taking place inside the house through the curtains and saw the front door open and then slam shut. Mr. Washington had not entered the house and was still standing at the door. Ms. Clements heard something drop inside the house and some words being spoken, although she could not discern what was being said. Ms. Clements next heard a gunshot from within the house. Mr. Washington jumped off the porch and started running down the street. Ms. Clements heard another gunshot and saw a man she did not recognize come out of the front door of Mr. Bradley's house. Ms. Clements and the man looked at each other for several seconds, making eye contact, and then Ms. Clements quickly drove away. Ms. Clements described the man as dark skinned and stocky. The man was wearing dark jeans and a black t-shirt and had a stocking cap on his head. She could see that he carried a gun at his side. Because the man was holding the gun toward his back, she was unable to determine what kind of weapon it was. As she drove away, Ms. Clements called 911. She drove down the street and picked up Mr. Washington, who was about a block away. They stopped at a friend's house to see if anyone had heard the gun shots, then drove back to Mr. Bradley's house. While Ms. Clements continued to talk to the 911 operator, Mr. Washington and another person entered Mr. Bradley's house. When the police arrived, Ms. Clements told them what she had seen and described the man she had seen walk out of Mr. Bradley's house after the gun shots. At the police station, Ms. Clements was shown a photographic lineup and identified the defendant as the person she saw walking out of Mr. Bradley's house. Ms. Clements, who appeared in jail attire for her testimony, admitted that she was serving a three year sentence as a principal to two counts of carjacking. Her co-defendant on those charges was her boyfriend, Antonio Washington. She also admitted to a prior forgery conviction in 1992. She told the jury she had not been promised, nor did she receive, any leniency in connection with those convictions in exchange for her testimony. On cross-examination, Ms. Clements admitted that she had a pistol in her car but that the gun stayed in the car and was not removed by her or Mr. Washington. She told the officers at the scene about the gun in her car when they asked to search her car. The gun was later confiscated by the police. She admitted that it was getting dark when she observed the man leave Mr. Bradley's house, but that there was sufficient light outside to identify him. Ms. Clements told the jury she walked into the house to check on Mr. Bradley's condition while speaking to the 911 operator, but left immediately after she saw the wound in the back of his head. She then sat in her car to await the police. Ms. Clements stated that she saw marijuana in the house on a couch and that Mr. Washington stayed inside the house when she walked outside. Because she was talking to the 911 operator, she did not notice what her boyfriend was doing while she waited for the police to arrive. Her car was later confiscated by the police when they found Mr. Bradley's boots with blood on them in the trunk, along with some marijuana and a pill bottle. Ms. Clements believed that Mr. Bradley was wearing khaki-colored pants and shoes when she saw him lying on his floor. She told the jury that no clothing or shoes were taken from her that night for testing nor was she arrested on any charges. To her knowledge, Mr. Washington was not arrested on any charge that night and none of his clothing was taken for testing. She admitted that no tests of any sort were run on her or her clothing. On redirect examination, Ms. Clements stated that she had consented to the police search of her car. Corporal Van Zandt of the crime scene investigations unit of the Shreveport Police Department took pictures of Mr. Bradley's house in the course of his investigation. The photographs show a cordless telephone lying on the floor of Mr. Bradley's residence just inside the door. They also show Mr. Bradley's body lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The victim was wearing long jean shorts at the time he was murdered. Other photographs show the gun shots to the victim's right wrist and to the back of his head. Shot gun shells were found in the house in various locations. Marijuana was found in the victim's house packaged in a plastic bag. Corporal Van Zandt saw that Mr. Bradley was barefoot as he investigated the scene, and that Mr. Bradley's feet were clean even though the floors of the house were dirty. Although no shoes were found inside of the house, investigating officers subsequently located a pair of boots in the trunk of Ms. Clements' vehicle. Corporal Van Zandt photographed the boots in the trunk, as well as money and marijuana. The packaging of the marijuana found in the victim's house and in the trunk of Ms. Clements' car appeared to be the same. Detective Jeter was employed with the Shreveport Police Department in the violent crimes division at the time of Mr. Bradley's murder. [53] Detective Jeter was the lead detective on the homicide and initially spoke with Ms. Clements at the crime scene. Ms. Clements told the detective that she and her boyfriend had come to the victim's house to pick up something that belonged to someone else. She told the detective she had heard arguing coming from inside the residence and then two gunshots. She described the man she had seen leaving Mr. Bradley's house after she heard the gunshots as being approximately 6 foot tall, 220 pounds and carrying a long gun. At the police station, Detective Jeter showed to Ms. Clemens a photographic lineup which contained a picture of the defendant. Ms. Clements immediately picked the defendant's photograph as the individual she saw leaving Mr. Bradley's house after she heard two gun shots. Detective Jeter then requested an arrest warrant for the defendant. The police looked for the defendant at several residences and places that he frequented pursuant to the warrant but were unable to find him. The defendant turned himself in to the police the next day. The detective attended the autopsy of Mr. Bradley. Photographs taken during the autopsy were admitted in evidence and shown to the jury. The photographs showed the various wounds received by Mr. Bradley. Detective Jeter made an in-court identification of the defendant as the man he arrested for the homicide of Justin Bradley. Detective Jeter also testified on cross-examination that Ms. Clements told him at the scene that her boyfriend had picked up something from inside Mr. Bradley's house, although she did not know what he had taken. She later admitted to the detective that Mr. Washington had taken Mr. Bradley's shoes. Detective Jeter was also struck by the fact that Mr. Bradley's feet were clean even though he wore no shoes, considering that the floors of the house were dirty. Mr. Bradley's shoes were later found in Ms. Clements' trunk, along with a $10 bill and a cellophane baggy containing 88 grams of marijuana having a street value of $880. After this discovery, Ms. Clements' car was seized and transported to the police department's impound lot. Detective Jeter stated that the marijuana seized inside Mr. Bradley's house was similar in size to the marijuana seized from Ms. Clements' trunk. No shoes or clothing were ever seized from Ms. Clements or Mr. Washington. No tests for gunshot residue were performed on the defendant's hands after he was arrested. Connie Brown, a DNA expert, testified that blood found on the defendant's shoe was consistent with that of Mr. Bradley. The statistical probability of the blood on the defendant's shoe belonging to another African-American male other than Mr. Bradley was 1 in 7.4 quadrillion. Ms. Brown stated she did not know at what time Mr. Bradley's blood was conveyed to the defendant's shoe. Ms. Brown also stated that the blood on the boots found in Ms. Clements' car was determined to be Mr. Bradley's in the same statistical proportion. [54] The defendant argues that the evidence presented with regard to the Bradley homicide actually established that Antonio Washington was more likely to have been responsible for the murder than he was. Consequently, he asserts that the state could not have met the clear and convincing evidence standard required for unadjudicated crimes evidence in the penalty phase. The defendant asserts that Mr. Washington had a motive to kill Mr. Bradley, in that he wanted to steal the victim's marijuana; that Mr. Washington possessed Mr. Bradley's boots covered in Mr. Bradley's blood; that both Mr. Washington and his girlfriend, Ms. Clements, initially lied to police at the scene by stating they had not taken anything from inside Mr. Bradley's house; that Ms. Clements had a motive to lie at the hearing to protect her boyfriend; and that Mr. Washington had the opportunity to kill Mr. Bradley. However, the jury was aware of all of these facts, having heard them from the witnesses and in defense counsel's closing argument. The conclusions which the defense argues here require credibility determinations that were solely within the province of the jury to make. Given the evidence presented to the jury, we find the state offered clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was responsible for the murder of Justin Bradley. Ms. Clements identified the defendant as the man leaving Mr. Bradley's house immediately after hearing two gunshots, and the defendant was arrested in the possession of shoes with Mr. Bradley's blood on them. While Mr. Washington and Ms. Clements' actions were reprehensible in that they likely robbed Mr. Bradley of his shoes, money, and drugs after his death, the evidence presented did not inculpate them in Mr. Bradley's murder. At most, the defense merely established that Mr. Washington and Ms. Clements robbed Mr. Bradley after the defendant murdered him. [55]