State of Louisiana v. Jeffrey Bradford

Judgment rendered August 14, 2019.
Application for rehearing may be filed
within the delay allowed by Art. 992,
La. C. Cr. P.

No. 52,763-KA

COURT OF APPEAL
SECOND CIRCUIT
STATE OF LOUISIANA

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STATE OF LOUISIANA Appellee

versus

JEFFREY BRADFORD Appellant

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Appealed from the
Second Judicial District Court for the
Parish of Jackson, Louisiana
Trial Court No. 47,841

Honorable Don C. Burns, Judge Ad Hoc

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LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT Counsel for Appellant
By: Carey J. Ellis, III

DANIEL W. NEWELL Counsel for Appellee
District Attorney

DARRELL ROBERT AVERY
TERESA CULPEPPER CARROLL
Assistant District Attorneys

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Before GARRETT, COX, and STEPHENS, JJ.

STEPHENS, J.

This criminal appeal arises from the Second Judicial District Court,

Parish of Jackson, State of Louisiana. The defendant, Jeffrey Bradford, pled

guilty to two counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of

attempt to disarm a peace officer. He was sentenced to 24 years’

imprisonment at hard labor on each of the two convictions for attempted

second degree murder, and 2½ years’ imprisonment on the conviction for

attempt to disarm a peace officer, to be served concurrently. Bradford now

appeals. His appellate counsel has filed a motion to withdraw, together with

a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L.

Ed. 2d 493 (1967), alleging that there are no nonfrivolous issues upon which

to base the appeal. For the following reasons, appellate counsel’s motion to

withdraw is granted and Bradford’s conviction and sentence, as amended,

are affirmed.

FACTS

Bradford was charged by bill of information with three counts of

attempted second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 and 14:27,

and one count of attempt to disarm a peace officer, in violation of La. R.S.

34.6 and 14:27. On August 20, 2018, Bradford entered a guilty plea, under

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S. Ct. 160, 27 L. Ed. 2d 162

(1970), to two counts of attempted second degree murder and one count of

attempt to disarm a peace officer.1 As a factual basis for the plea, the state

noted that on May 3, 2016, Quintin Bradford and Willie Banks arrived in a

vehicle at Bradford’s home, at which time Bradford pulled a pistol and fired

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Count Two, the attempted second degree murder of Constance Bradford, was
nolle prossed.

into the passenger side window and front windshield of the vehicle. Willie

was able to escape uninjured, but Quintin was shot in the leg, nearly bled to

death at the scene, and eventually had to have the injured leg amputated.

Two police officers saw the shooting and attempted to apprehend Bradford.

The Chief of Police arrived within minutes and was attacked by Bradford.

Bradford attempted to take the Chief’s drawn weapon but was ultimately

subdued and arrested.

On August 23, 2018, prior to sentencing, Bradford filed a motion to

withdraw his plea, arguing that while the state’s evidence could not be

rebutted at the time of his guilty plea, he had recently discovered

exculpatory evidence and wished to withdraw his guilty plea. Bradford

argued he was unaware of two new witnesses prior to entering his guilty plea

and he would not have entered a guilty plea had he known of their existence.

A hearing on the motion was held on October 10, 2018, wherein the

trial court heard the testimony of those two witnesses, Takela Bradford and

James Culpepper. Takela, Bradford’s sister-in-law, testified that she was not

present at the time of the shooting and could not offer any testimony

regarding the shooting, only the events from the days following the shooting.

James, who has known Bradford since childhood, testified that he was

working on a vehicle across the street from Bradford’s house at the time of

the shooting. James stated he observed Bradford and a woman, whom he

believed to be Bradford’s sister, arguing in the yard. The woman pushed

Bradford and Bradford fired a gun into the ground twice. James testified

that the woman refused to leave, even after the gunshots and being

repeatedly told to leave. He stated two men arrived in a vehicle and that one

of the men appeared to have a weapon, but he could not say for certain as he
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could only see the men through the back windshield. James believed

Bradford shot into the vehicle to defend himself, although he admitted that

no shots were fired by the men in the vehicle. James acknowledged seeing

police at the scene but testified that he did not make a statement at that time.

The trial court denied Bradford’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea,

finding he had a clear understanding of the charges against him and of his

rights at the time of his guilty plea and he knowingly and willingly waived

his rights with no misunderstanding. The trial court noted the testimony of

the two new witnesses had been carefully considered but neither witness

testified to anything that would have significantly altered the outcome of the

case had there been a trial.

On October 10, 2018, in accordance with his plea agreement,

Bradford was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment at hard labor on each of

the two convictions for attempted second degree murder and 2½ years’

imprisonment on the conviction for attempt to disarm a peace officer, to be

served concurrently. This appeal by Bradford ensued.

Bradford’s appellate counsel has filed with this court a motion to

withdraw and an Anders brief asserting that after a thorough review of the

entire record, no nonfrivolous issues remained for appeal. See Anders,

supra; State v. Jyles, 1996-2669 (La. 12/12/97), 704 So. 2d 241; State v.

Mouton, 1995-0981 (La. 4/28/95), 653 So. 2d 1176. The brief outlines the

procedural history of the case and a statement of the facts of the case, and

contains a detailed and reviewable assessment for both the defendant and

this court regarding whether the appeal is worth pursuing. Appellate counsel

verified he mailed copies of the motion to withdraw and his brief to

Bradford. This court held the motion to withdraw in abeyance and allowed
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Bradford 30 days within which to file a pro se brief, which he has not done,

and any forthcoming brief would be untimely and, therefore, would not be

considered by this court. The state filed a response requesting Bradford’s

convictions and sentences be affirmed.

DISCUSSION

A review of the record discloses no nonfrivolous issues and no

arguments or rulings which arguably support an appeal. The record shows

that Bradford’s plea of guilty waived all nonjurisdictional defects in the

proceedings prior to the plea. State v. McGarr, 52,641, 52,642 (La. App. 2

Cir. 4/10/19), 268 So. 3d 1189; State v. Stephan, 38,612 (La. App. 2 Cir.

8/18/04), 880 So. 2d 201. Furthermore, under La. C. Cr. P. art. 881.2,

Bradford is barred from seeking appellate review of his sentence as it was

imposed in conformity with a plea agreement which was set forth in the

record at the time of his plea. A review of Bradford’s motion to withdraw

his guilty plea as well as the hearing and evidence adduced therein discloses

no error in the trial court’s denial of that motion.

Error Patent Review

Our review reveals that the trial court failed to impose: (1) the

sentence on the conviction for attempted second degree murder to be served

without benefits; and, (2) the conviction for attempt to disarm a peace officer

to be served at hard labor. Bradford pled guilty to two counts of attempted

second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 and 14:27, for which

he was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment at hard labor on each

conviction, and one count of attempt to disarm a peace officer, in violation

of La. R.S. 34.6 and 14:27, for which he was sentenced to 2½ years’

imprisonment.
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Louisiana R.S. 14:30.1 provides that whoever commits the crime of

second degree murder shall be punished by life imprisonment at hard labor

without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. La. R.S.

14:34.6 provides that whoever commits the crime of disarming of a peace

officer shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not more than five years.

Louisiana R.S. 14:27 provides, in pertinent part:

D. Whoever attempts to commit any crime shall be punished as
follows:

(1)(a) If the offense so attempted is punishable by death or life
imprisonment, he shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less
than ten nor more than fifty years without benefit of parole,
probation, or suspension of sentence.
....

(3) In all other cases he shall be fined or imprisoned or both, in
the same manner as for the offense attempted; such fine or
imprisonment shall not exceed one-half of the largest fine, or
one-half of the longest term of imprisonment prescribed for the
offense so attempted, or both.

On his convictions for attempted second degree murder, the trial court

failed to impose Bradford’s sentences without the benefit of parole,

probation, or suspension of sentence. On his conviction for attempt to

disarm a peace officer, the trial court failed to impose Bradford’s sentence at

hard labor. Because correcting Bradford’s sentences will not require

sentencing discretion, they may be corrected by this court on appeal. State

v. Williams, 2000-1725 (La. 11/28/01), 800 So. 2d 790. Accordingly, we

amend Bradford’s sentences on the two convictions for attempted second

degree murder to be served without the benefit of parole, probation, or

suspension of sentence and amend Bradford’s sentence on the conviction for

attempt to disarm a peace officer to be served at hard labor.

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CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we grant appellate counsel’s motion to

withdraw and affirm Bradford’s conviction and sentence as amended.

MOTION TO WITHDRAW GRANTED; CONVICTION AND
SENTENCE AFFIRMED AS AMENDED.

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