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State v. Guillory3/11/1998
of Robert Dougay had been sexually assaulted; however, no rape kit was performed on the body or if one was performed, no results were obtained. The Defendant wanted to present testimony about Tezeno's homosexuality and bisexuality, and his preference for anal sexual intercourse. The State argued that this information was irrelevant. The Defendant did not choose to call Johnathan Thierry to testify after the court ruled that any testimony about Tezeno's sexual practices while in jail would be irrelevant. Thus, any Discussion in brief about the proposed testimony of Mr. Thierry is improper because the Defendant did not present this testimony, not even by proffer, and he did not object when the trial Judge ruled that it would be irrelevant. Thus, this argument is without merit.
Furthermore, during the testimony of Detective Denise Hughes, she acknowledged that Tezeno gave a videotaped statement March 23, 1993, and he made no mention of the Defendant committing any sexual assault upon any of the victims, but later, in April of 1993, Tezeno gave another statement about the sexual assault. According to Tezeno, the Defendant told him that after shooting all of the victims, the Defendant anally raped Robert Dougay and that afterwards, the Defendant saw blood on his penis and lower abdomen. However, the photographs of the victims show that there was no blood on Robert Dougay except on his head where he was shot. Counsel for the Defendant questioned how Detective Hughes could believe Tezeno when he obviously gave a statement that was false. Again, this was an issue that the jury could weigh in determining the believability of the State's witnesses.
The Defendant's next argument concerns the testimony of Evelyn Oubre, counsel for Jeffery Tezeno. The Defendant complains that the State used Ms. Oubre's testimony to introduce hearsay and prevent the Defendant from cross-examining Tezeno. Ms. Oubre was called as a witness by the State to reveal that she had approached the State to enter into a plea bargain agreement on behalf of her client. At the beginning of her testimony, Ms. Oubre was excused from the courtroom to confer with her client and essentially get his waiver of the attorney client privilege. However, while Ms. Oubre was under direct examination by the State, she was never asked the precise terms of the plea bargain agreement. She was asked why she sought a deal for her client, and she said it was after she had gone over the facts of Tezeno's involvement in the crime. The Defendant immediately objected that the State was trying to introduce hearsay rather than calling Jeffery Tezeno to the stand. The objection was overruled and the State then asked Ms. Oubre to describe Tezeno's demeanor when he would talk to her about the crime and "what he saw that night." The Defendant again objected, and the objection was overruled.
During cross-examination of Ms. Oubre, it was revealed that Jeffery Tezeno would be charged with one count of accessory after the fact of the murders and the State would recommend two years in prison. Since Tezeno had been in jail from March of 1993 until December of 1995, two and one-half years, he would not have to serve any more time in jail. Also, the defense brought out the fact that in December of 1995, the State had agreed to a reduction of Tezeno's bond from the original $200,000.00 amount to $3,000.00.
It is not clear why the State called Ms. Oubre to the stand; the State never called Tezeno to testify. Therefore, there was no need to reveal the plea bargain agreement reached between the State and Tezeno. La. Code Evid. art. 607 provides, in paragraph B. Time for attacking and supporting credibility. The credibility of a witness may not be attacked
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Louisiana DUI Attorneys
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