Background
A grand jury charged LaKendall T. Brown with second-degree murder, obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence, and carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property after a shooting in an alley near a Bogalusa High School homecoming football game. Jerry Smith, a 16-year-old, was killed. A jury convicted Brown of the responsive offense of manslaughter and found him guilty as charged on the other two counts.
The State’s evidence included testimony that Brown was the only person in a group wearing light-colored jeans and white sneakers, an officer’s observation of a person matching that description near shell casings during the gunfire, video showing Brown running from the alley and ducking between vehicles afterward, and eyewitness testimony that Brown had a gun. Ballistics established that three guns were involved, but no gun was recovered that was linked to Brown.
The Court’s Holding
The First Circuit held that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find Brown guilty of felony manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and carrying a firearm on school property. The jury could credit the eyewitness testimony and video evidence showing Brown possessed and discharged a gun during the shooting, despite competing evidence and credibility challenges. The court declined to reweigh those determinations.
The court also rejected Brown’s excessive-sentence challenge. It amended his 30-year manslaughter sentence to remove an unauthorized restriction on parole. It otherwise affirmed the prison sentences, including the consecutive five-year sentence for the school-property firearm offense.
But the court vacated the $50,000 fine imposed for obstruction of justice because the trial court had not held, or waived with reasons, the financial-hardship hearing required by Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 875.1. It remanded for that hearing and resentencing limited to the fine.
Key Takeaways
- Circumstantial evidence, eyewitness testimony, and surveillance video supported the felony-manslaughter verdict.
- An appellate court will not reassess witness credibility or act as a “thirteenth juror” on sufficiency review.
- A sentencing court must comply with article 875.1 before imposing felony financial obligations.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates how evidence of a defendant’s participation in a shooting can support felony manslaughter even without recovery of the defendant’s firearm or proof that he fired the fatal shot. It also reinforces that Louisiana courts must address a defendant’s ability to pay before imposing substantial criminal fines.