State v. Robinson4/14/2004
Defendant was convicted in the 9th Judicial District Court, Parish of Rapides, George Metoyer, J., of four counts of first degree murder in violation of La. R. S. 14: 30. This is a direct appeal from the aforementioned convictions and sentence of death, pursuant to La. Const. Art. V § 5(D). The principal issues of this appeal involve: (1) whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support defendant's conviction/evidence was sufficient to establish defendant's identity as the perpetrator, (2) whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress the testimony of a jailhouse informant, (3) whether the trial court was warranted in denying defendant's challenges for cause of prospective jurors, and further, erred in excusing jurors for cause whose views did not impair their ability to impose the death penalty, (4) whether African-American jurors were discriminatorily purged from the panel, (5) whether the admission of photographs from the crime scene violated defendant's right to a fair trial, and (6) whether the imposition of a death sentence was disproportionate.
We affirm defendant's conviction.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On May 28, 1996, at approximately 12:10 p.m., Doris Foster arrived at the home of her cousin, Billy Lambert, on Guy Peart Road, in Poland, Louisiana, having made plans to have lunch with him, his sister Carol Hooper, Carol's daughter Maureen Kelly, and Maureen's infant son, Nicholas Kelly. Ms. Foster found the front door locked, which was unusual as it was daytime and because Billy was expecting several members of his family to join him. After retrieving her key and unlocking the front door, Ms. Foster entered the living room and discovered the bodies of her four relatives, all shot in the head and lying in pools of their own blood. Billy had been shot twice, and the other victims had all been shot once.
At trial, Ms. Foster testified that she heard a noise coming from the rear of the house; she therefore left immediately and drove to the nearby Town & Country store to call for help. After the clerk called 911, Ms. Foster returned to the house with the police. Ms. Foster stated at trial that although she had only been gone from the scene a matter of minutes, she noticed that Billy's brown Ford truck, which had been parked adjacent to Maureen's car when she arrived, was now gone.
Defendant, Darrell J. Robinson, had come to live with Billy approximately eight days before the murders, after the two met at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center ("V.A.") where they were both being treated for alcoholism. While the two were still in treatment, Billy invited defendant to live with him in exchange for performing chores on his farm. Several witnesses, including Andrew Dunn, testified at trial that within days of his release, defendant began drinking again. The clerk at the local Town & Country store testified that the defendant purchased a bottle of vodka at approximately 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the murders.
At trial, Gary Normand, who was trimming trees for CLECO on Highway 1, testified that he saw a light brown Ford truck spinning its wheels as it turned off Guy Peart Road at approximately 12:15 p.m. Similarly, Farrell Scallan, who was eating his lunch at the Mini Barn on Guy Peart Road, testified that he saw a light brown Ford truck being driven erratically by a young man with dark hair on Guy Peart Road at approximately 12:15 p.m. Shortly thereafter, and about 11 miles away, Michael Poole encountered the truck on Bayou Bouef Road. Poole testified that the man, whom he later identified as the defendant, was traveling at high speed when he swerved into his lane and side-swiped his own truck, knoc
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