State Of Louisiana VS Ricky Johnson
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL FIRST CIRCUIT 2010 KA 0518 U STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS RICKY JOHNSON Judgment Rendered October 29 2010 Appealed from the TwentyFirst Judicial District Court in and for the Parish of Tangipahoa State of Louisiana Trial Court Number 803632 Honorable Ernest G Drake Jr Judge Presiding Scott M Perrilloux Counsel for Appellee Angel Monistere State of Louisiana Patricia Parker Amite LA Jane L Beebe New Orleans LA Counsel for Defendant Appellant Ricky Johnson BEFORE WHIPPLE McDONALD AND McCLENDON JJ WHIPPLE J The defendant Ricky Johnson was charged by grand jury indictment with second degree murder a violation of LSAR S 14 He pled not guilty and 1 30 following a jury trial was found guilty as charged The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole probation or suspension of sentence The defendant now appeals designating two assignments of error We affirm the conviction and sentence FACTS Around 3 a on September 7 2008 the defendant and his cousin 00 m Nathaniel Brown were walking in Lincoln Park in Hammond The defendant who was armed with a 9mm semi automatic weapon intended to rob someone The victim Stephen Reid drove into Lincoln Park in a white SUV and stopped on Hardin Street The defendant approached the SUV on the driver side and Brown s approached on the passenger side After some discussion the defendant sold s Reid some crack cocaine Brown noticed that Reid had a 100 bill in his center 00 console and signaled to the defendant The defendant drew his gun placed the gun under Reid chin and told Reid to give him everything he had Brown leaned in s and grabbed the money from inside the SUV Reid grabbed the defendant arm s and began to drive away The defendant shot Reid once in his upper left side killing him Dr Fraser Mackenzie a forensic pathologist performed the autopsy on Reid He testified at trial that Reid sustained a gunshot wound to the chest on the left side The bullet traveled through the lungs and the heart and exited the right side of Reid chest s Dr Mackenzie stated Reid would have lived two to three minutes from this type of injury The manner of death was indicated as homicide Detective Thomas Mushinsky with the Hammond Police Department testified at trial that he interviewed the defendant following his arrest 2 In the recorded interview the defendant admitted that he shot Reid The defendant also disclosed where he had hidden the gun used to kill Reid in Lincoln Park Officers found the gun hidden as described by the defendant Also a 9mm bullet casing was found near the crime scene A spent 9mm bullet was found in a laptop case on the front seat of Reid SUV Both the casing and the bullet matched the gun the s defendant used to shoot and kill Reid The defendant did not testify at trial ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO 1 In his first assignment of error the defendant contends the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce at trial evidence of other crimes by the defendant Specifically the defendant contends that evidence at trial showing that he committed uncharged crimes of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery was unduly prejudicial and lacked sufficient probative value Prior to trial the State filed a notice of intent to use evidence of other crimes wrongs or acts In the State notice the other crimes wrongs or acts were s described as follows Other crimes include the defendant committing two armed s robberies or attempts thereof on the same night as the murder The purpose of using said crimes is to show the defendants sic motive intent and plan to commit the offense in question Furthermore in the alternative the State of Louisiana submits that these said crime are res gestae and thereby form one s continuous transaction At the pretrial Prieur hearing according to the testimony of Detective Mushinsky and Officer Jason O also an officer with the Hammond Police Quinn Department the defendant and his accomplice robbed a crackhead at gunpoint of two pieces of crack cocaine in Lincoln Park The crack head did not have any money Shortly thereafter the defendant and his accomplice chased another man with the intent to rob him However the man in running away avoided being The interview is an audio recording only 3 robbed According to Detective Mushinsky who interviewed the defendant following his arrest the defendant told him that the weapon he used to shoot Reid was the same weapon he used in the previous armed robbery and attempted armed robbery in Lincoln Park that same night Also according to Detective Mushinsky the defendant intention regarding all three victims was to rob them at gunpoint to s get money In ruling this evidence admissible the trial court stated in pertinent part But the next statement of LSAC art 404 says It may E B however be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive opportunity intent preparation plan knowledge or identity And then it got one of all sic of those of which appear to the court to be s appropriate and applicable to this situation Only one that does not appear to be perhaps it goes on to read absence of mistake or accident provided that upon request by the accused that prosecution in the criminal case provide reasonable notice etc etc It appears that all perfunctory procedural matters have been complied with The court hereby orders that said testimony concerning the prior armed robbery and the prior attempted armed robbery are admissible for those other purposes as stated in the statute Generally evidence of criminal offenses other than the offense being tried is inadmissible as substantive evidence because of the substantial risk of grave prejudice to the defendant In order to avoid the unfair inference that a defendant committed a particular crime simply because he is a person of criminal character other crimes evidence is inadmissible unless it has an independent relevancy besides simply showing a criminal disposition State v Lockett 990917 p 3 La App Ist Cir 2 754 So 2d 1128 1130 writ denied 20001261 La 3 00 18 01 9 786 So 2d 115 Louisiana Code of Evidence article 404 provides 1 B Except as provided in Article 412 evidence of other crimes wrongs or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith It may however be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive opportunity intent preparation plan knowledge identity absence of mistake or accident provided that upon request by the accused the prosecution in a criminal case shall provide reasonable notice in advance of trial of the nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce at trial for in such purposes or when it relates to conduct that constitutes an integral part of the act or transaction that is the subject of the present proceeding Regarding the defendant confession to Detective Mushinsky the detective s testified at trial as follows The defendant started off explaining w they were at ere h which was inside Lincoln Park He stated that they were doing a lick A lick referred to a armed robbery He said it was early in the n morning He said they had walked around and robbed a crackhead that evening The crackhead didn have any money but they were t able to rob two pieces of crack cocaine from him which was in a plastic bag They stated on sic another male came up to them that they tried to rob The male fled on foot and apparently tripped and broke his leg They said shortly after that a white SUV pulled into Lincoln Park They made contact with a white male driver which sic was later identified as Steven sic Reid Mr Johnson was on the driver side of the vehicle A brief conversation took place Mr s Johnson was going to sell him the crack cocaine that they had robbed from the crackhead During the transaction he sold it to him Mr Johnson he sic told me that he upset sic because he only got 6 for the crack cocaine At that time the other subject who was on the other side of the vehicle saw more money inside of the vehicle inside the glove compartment motioned to Mr Johnson who then drew his 9 millimeter pistol from his waist band He graphically explained to me that he put the 9 millimeter to the subject chinneck area right in s here indicating told him give me everything At that time the other person on the other side jumped inside the vehicle forcibly removed a hundred dollars out of the glove compartment Johnson told him give me everything Give me everything you got The subject inside the vehicle Mr Steven sic Reid said no Apparently reached up put his hand Mr Johnson said he reached up and grabbed his hand And he said he shouldn of sic touched him and started to accelerate down t the street Said he sat back and fires one round inside the vehicle which fatally wounded Mr Steven sic Reid Regarding the gun the defendant used Detective Mushinsky further testified at trial the defendant told him that was the weapon that was used on Steven sic Reid and also the one that he pointed at the other male that he robbed Greg Parker and also the one that he had robbed the crackhead with The defendant contends that this other crimes evidence admitted at trial served no purpose other than to depict him as a bad person and that such evidence was exceptionally prejudicial and not probative of any of the exceptions listed in E LSAC art 404 We do not agree All three crimes two armed robberies E 1 B and one attempted armed robbery occurred in a short time frame and in close proximity to each other The defendant used the same gun on the same day to rob two different victims and to attempt to rob a third victim Further the defendant used the drugs that he robbed from his first victim to sell to Reid before the defendant robbed and killed Reid Evidence of the two prior crimes was relevant to show the defendant motive opportunity intent and plan s The trial court ruling on the admissibility of other crimes evidence will not s be overturned absent an abuse of discretion See State v Galliano 2002 2849 pp 3 4 La 1 839 So 2d 932 934 per curiam 03 10 discretion in the trial court ruling s We find no abuse of The evidence of the prior incidents had independent relevance to the issues of motive opportunity intent and plan and any prejudicial effect was outweighed by the probative value of such evidence See State v Scales 93 2003 pp 4 5 La 5 655 So 2d 1326 133031 cert 95 22 denied 516 U 1050 116 S Ct 716 133 L Ed 2d 670 1996 S Moreover we find that the defendant armed robbery and attempted armed s robbery of other victims were integral parts of the events immediately preceding the killing of Reid The doctrine of res gestae is designed to complete the story of the crime on trial by proving its immediate context of happenings near in time and place Integral act res gestae evidence in Louisiana incorporates a rule of narrative completeness without which the State case would lose its narrative s momentum and cohesiveness See State v Taylor 2001 1638 pp 1011 La 03 14 1 838 So 2d 729 741 42 cert denied 540 U 1103 124 S Ct 1036 S 157 L Ed 2d 886 2004 LSAC art 404 See also State v Brewington E 1 B 601 So 2d 656 La 1992 per curiam To constitute res gestae the Although 2 relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice confusion of the issues or misleading the jury or by considerations of undue delay or waste of time LSA C art 403 E 11 circumstances must be necessary incidents of the criminal act or immediate concomitants of it or form in conjunction with it one continuous transaction See State v Addison 551 So 2d 687 690 91 La App 1 st Cir 1989 writ denied 573 So 2d 1116 La 1991 As discussed above all three crimes occurred within close proximity of each other within a short period of time The defendant used the same gun in all three crimes The defendant also retained and used the cocaine he stole from one victim to offer to Reid before shooting him Accordingly we find that the defendant s armed robbery and attempted armed robbery of different victims shortly before he robbed Reid were integral parts of the criminal act of the second degree murder of Reid See Taylor 2001 1638 at pp 11 14 838 So 2d at 74243 where the Supreme Court found that evidence of crimes involving different victims in different states over a seven day span was admissible under the res gestae doctrine See also Brewington 601 So 2d at 657 We find further that even had the other crimes evidence been inadmissible the admission of such evidence would have been harmless error See LSA C P Cr art 921 The erroneous admission of other crimes evidence is a trial error subject to harmlesserror analysis on appeal 95 27 11 664 So 2d 94 102 State v Johnson 941379 p 17 La The test for determining whether an error is harmless is whether the verdict actually rendered in this case was surely unattributable to the error Sullivan v Louisiana 508 U 275 279 113 S Ct S 2078 2081 124 L Ed 2d 182 1993 Johnson 941379 at p 14 664 So 2d at 100 In the instant matter we find the defendant could not have been prejudiced by evidence of the armed robbery and attempted armed robbery perpetrated by the defendant prior to Reid killing Detective Mushinsky testified at trial that the s defendant told the detective that he shot Reid while robbing him The defendant s taped confession was played for the jury Also the 9mm casing found at the crime scene and the spent bullet found in Reid truck both came from the defendant s s gun which he had used on all three victims including Reid Accordingly the s State evidence clearly established the defendant guilt s As such the guilty verdict rendered would surely have been unattributable to any evidence of an armed robbery and attempted armed robbery prior to the armed robbery and killing of Reid and any error in allowing such other crimes evidence to be presented to the jury would have been harmless See Sullivan 508 U at 279 113 S Ct at S 2081 This assignment of error is without merit ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO 2 In his second assignment of error the defendant argues the trial court erred in allowing into evidence multiple photographs of the victim defendant contends the photographs were gruesome Specifically the cumulative highly prejudicial and had no probative value The various photographs introduced into evidence showed the victim dead s body at the scene after being removed from the SUV as well as how the body was found in the SUV before being moved Several photographs showed the bullet holes in the victim Many of the photographs were of various angles and distances of the victim The defendant objected on two occasions to the photographs being introduced because they were gruesome and they had no probative value The trial court overruled the objections The admission of gruesome photographs and videotapes will not be overturned unless it is clear the prejudicial effect of the evidence outweighs its probative value See LSA C art 403 Admission of such evidence will not be E The 3 State also introduced into evidence autopsy photographs which showed graphic closeup shots of Reid exit and entrance wounds The defendant however did not object to s these photographs being introduced into evidence 8 found to constitute error unless the photographs and videotapes are so gruesome as to overwhelm the jurors reason and lead them to convict the defendant without sufficient other evidence Gruesomeness of photographs and videotapes does not in and of itself prevent admissibility State v Huls 95 0541 pp 23 24 La App 1st Cir 5 676 So 2d 160 176 writ denied 961734 La 1 685 So 96 29 97 6 2d 126 Generally photographs of a victim body which depict the fatal wounds s are relevant to prove the corpus delicti to establish the identity of the victim to show the location severity and number of wounds and to corroborate other evidence of the manner in which the death occurred State v Eaton 524 So 2d 1194 1201 La 1988 cert denied 488 U 1019 109 S Ct 818 102 L Ed 2d S 807 1989 Moreover the defendant cannot force the State to use drawings or other evidence instead of photographs The defendant cannot deprive the State of the moral force of its case by offering to stipulate to what is shown in photographs See State v Perry 502 So 2d 543 559 La 1986 cert denied 484 U 872 108 S S Ct 205 98 L Ed 2d 156 1987 We find the crime scene photographs were relevant and probative in establishing Reid identity and that he had been shot and killed They proved s corpus delicti and corroborated the cause of death the place of death the type of weapon used and the location and severity of the wounds See Per 502 So 2d ry at 559 When the autopsy photographs were introduced into evidence at trial the trial court asked if there was any objection objection Your Honor Defense counsel replied n o Our law requires that a defendant make a contemporaneous objection and state the reason therefor to allow the trial judge the opportunity to rule on it and prevent or cure error LSA C art 841 P Cr See LSAC art 103 A new basis for an objection cannot be raised for the E 1 A first time on appeal State v Herrod 412 So 2d 564 566 La 1982 W Notwithstanding the failure to lodge an objection we find the autopsy photographs were highly relevant to establish the nature and extent of the wounds and to corroborate the testimony of Dr Mackenzie as to the manner and cause of death as well as the severity of the wounds caused by a single gunshot See State v Vernon 385 So 2d 200 204 La 1980 State v Craddock 435 So 2d 1110 111617 La App 1st Cir 1983 While the defendant also argues in this appeal the photographs were cumulative he made no such objection at trial when the photographs were introduced into evidence See LSAC art 103 LSAC art 841 In E 1 A P Cr any event although some photographs may have been cumulative to a degree they did show various angles of the victim and the wounds Moreover even if admission of some of the photographs was cumulative there was no prejudice to the defendant See State v Howard 98 0064 p 16 La 4 751 So 2d 783 99 23 802 cert denied 528 U 974 120 S Ct 420 145 L Ed 2d 328 1999 State v S Pooler 961794 p 43 La App 1st Cir 5 696 So 2d 22 51 writ denied 97 9 971470 La 11 703 So 2d 1288 97 14 The probative value of the evidence outweighed the possible prejudicial effect See State v Hebert 96 1884 p 17 La App 1st Cir 6 697 So 2d 97 20 1040 1050 writ denied 97 1892 La 12 706 So 2d 450 Accordingly the 97 19 trial court did not err in allowing the photographs into evidence This assignment of error is without merit REVIEW FOR ERROR The defendant asks this court to examine the record for error under LSA P Cr C art 920 This court routinely reviews the record for such errors whether 2 or not such a request is made by a defendant Under LSAC art 920 we P Cr 2 are limited in our review to errors discoverable by a mere inspection of the pleadings and proceedings without inspection of the evidence 10 After a careful review of the record in these proceedings we have found no reversible errors See State v Price 2005 2514 p 18 La App 1st Cir 12 952 So 2d 112 123 06 28 en banc writ denied 20070130 La 2 976 So 2d 1277 08 22 CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
