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State v. Desilva12/9/1998
STATE v. DeSILVA, 97-0462 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/9/98)
The defendant, Chanda DeSilva, was charged with the first degree murder of Martin Hecker , a violation of La. R.S. 14:30. The State later amended the bill to charge the defendant with second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. Her first trial ended in a mistrial but in her second trial a jury found her guilty of manslaughter, a violation of La. R.S. 14:31. The defendant was sentenced to serve twenty years at hard labor. She now appeals.
The facts of this case are as follows: Sometime after 4:00 a.m. on May 1, 1994, Off. Dwight Powell, a grounds patrol officer in Armstrong Park, discovered Martin Hecker lying injured in the middle of the street at the intersection of St. Philip and Marais Streets. Hecker was lying facedown in the street, with his head pointing toward N. Rampart Street, and a gun was lying under his leg, near his left hand. Standing near Hecker's head was the defendant, Chanda DeSilva. When questioned, Ms. DeSilva stated that someone had shot Hecker. Off. Powell called for assistance.
Although Hecker was alive when Off. Powell discovered him, he died soon thereafter. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as a single gunshot wound to his left side, which injured his left lung, spleen, and aorta. The path of the bullet was downward and toward the back. The coroner testified that due to the lack of stippling, the weapon must have been at least twelve to eighteen inches from Hecker when he was shot. Although the coroner admitted thick clothing could impede the buildup of stippling on the skin if a weapon were fired at a closer range, when she viewed the victim's shirt she indicated its thinness would not have impeded the deposit.
The defendant remained on the scene during the police investigation of the shooting. She told the officers initially responding to the incident that she had seen Hecker walking in the area of St. Philip and N. Villere Streets. She indicated she approached Hecker, told him he was in a dangerous area, and offered to lead him back to a safer area. She stated she was walking with him back down St. Philip, going toward the French Quarter, when they were approached by an unknown young black female, who pulled a gun. She stated Hecker and the woman struggled, and the gun fired twice. She stated Hecker gained control of the gun, and the female fled the scene, going toward N. Rampart Street. Hecker began following her and then collapsed in the street.
After the defendant concluded her statement, the officers placed her in their car in order to keep her isolated from other potential witnesses. After she had been inside the car for a short time, she motioned to one of the officers and gave him a wallet that she indicated belonged to the victim. She told the officer that she had taken the wallet after Hecker was shot because she feared someone else would steal it. Neither officer, however, remembered seeing the wallet in the defendant's hand prior to that moment.
The defendant also spoke with two detectives from the homicide division who arrived some time after the victim was removed from the scene. She told the first officer substantially the same story, adding that the unknown female tried to rob Hecker prior to shooting him. She stated that the female fired a shot, demanded money, and then fired again, hitting Hecker. She then told the second homicide detective a similar story, but he became suspicious when she told him that the unknown female fled toward N. Claiborne Avenue, in the opposite direction from N. Rampart and from the direction that the victim's body was positioned. The second detective also became suspicious because the defendant admit
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