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Thread: Lee Turner, Jr. - Louisiana

  1. #11
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    I wonder why it takes so long from being found guilty, to being sentenced. Three months seems like an awful long time.
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  2. #12
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    STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS LEE TURNER, JR

    Man's death sentence in 2011 CarQuest double murder thrown out; convictions affirmed

    A Baton Rouge man's death sentence in the 2011 slaying of two CarQuest Auto Parts employees at the company's Airline Highway store near Siegen Lane was thrown out Wednesday by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

    The high court, however, affirmed Lee Turner Jr.'s 2015 first-degree murder convictions in the fatal shooting of Edward "Eddie" Gurtner III, 43, of Denham Springs, and Randy Chaney, 55, of Greenwell Springs.

    The Supreme Court said it tossed Turner's death sentence because state District Judge Richard Anderson issued a ruling in the middle of jury selection that prevented the defense from inquiring into prospective jurors' ability to fairly consider voting for a life sentence in a case involving a double murder committed during an armed robbery.

    The high court sent the case back to Anderson for a new penalty phase hearing.

    Turner, 28 and formerly of New Orleans, confessed the day after the March 27, 2011, killings that he shot Chaney first, then Gurtner after forcing him to open the store safe. Gurtner died with the store's keys, including a key to the safe, in his hand.

    Turner began working for CarQuest in Baton Rouge just 11 days before he fatally shot the men during a Sunday afternoon robbery. A search warrant led to the discovery of bank bags and CarQuest deposit slips in a garbage can outside the Ritterman Avenue home where he was staying with an uncle.

    Gurtner managed the store where the shooting occurred. He wasn't scheduled to work that day but went in to catch up on restocking and to hang a mirror in the store's bathroom. He was shot a dozen times, including several times in the back, as he tried to run from Turner.

    Chaney was the assistant manager of the company's Staring Lane location but was helping out at the Airline Highway store that ill-fated day. He was shot once in the back of the head.

    https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_ro...bce7b02ba.html
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  3. #13
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Convicted killer in CarQuest double-murder wants new trial, claims confession coerced by threats

    BY JOE GYAN, JR.
    The Advocate

    A man convicted in 2015 in the killing of two CarQuest Auto Parts workers eight years ago in Baton Rouge is arguing he's entitled to a new trial because, he claims, a detective used improper interrogation tactics to coerce him into confessing.

    The Louisiana Supreme Court last month affirmed Lee Turner Jr.'s first-degree murder convictions in the deaths of Edward "Eddie" Gurtner III and Randy Chaney but threw out his death sentence, saying the trial judge made an error during jury selection that mandated a new sentencing hearing.

    Now, Turner's appellate attorneys are asking the high court to reconsider its decision upholding his convictions.

    The Supreme Court concluded in its Dec. 5 ruling that Turner's confession was the product of his voluntary waiver of his constitutional rights and that statements made by East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Leo Moore during the hours-long questioning of Turner were a permissible interrogation ploy.

    Turner's attorneys disagree and argue in a rehearing application filed at the high court that Turner's confession the day after the killings was the result of "coercion, duress and threats."

    Turner, formerly of New Orleans, was 21 at the time of the March 27, 2011, armed robbery and shooting at CarQuest's Airline Highway store near Siegen Lane. He began working for CarQuest in Baton Rouge at a different store just 11 days before the slayings.

    His attorneys complain that the detective threatened Turner with the death penalty — saying "they gonna stick a needle in your arm" — and promised to be his "lifeline" if Turner cooperated.

    "This statement is a direct threat, and far more likely to incite fear and compliance in result of that fear," Capital Appeals Project lawyers Caroline Tillman and Shanita Farris, and New Orleans lawyer Timothy Yazbeck, argue in the rehearing petition.

    "The (Supreme) Court ... disregarded the psychological effects of sitting through an 11-hour interrogation while being threatened with the death penalty by trained, seasoned detectives on a man in his early twenties who had never experienced a police interrogation," they add.

    East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III on Thursday said the seasoned detectives who interviewed Turner acted professionally.

    "They, and all of the officers involved here, stayed within the confines of the law and their steadfast efforts ultimately led to Mr. Turner's confession to killing these two completely innocent victims," he said.

    The district attorney added, as the Supreme Court noted, that Turner didn't fully confess until after being confronted with evidence found at his home and the gun he disposed of in the canal behind the CarQuest store.

    A search warrant resulted in the discovery of bank bags and CarQuest deposit slips in a garbage can outside the Ritterman Avenue home where Turner was staying with an uncle.

    Turner's attorneys contend he didn't confess immediately after being presented with evidence from his home.

    "After realizing that the evidence was not enough to get Mr. Turner to confess, Detective Moore again turned back to the death penalty, promising to save Mr. Turner's life so his child could see him alive and be spared the pain of his father's execution," the attorneys argue.

    It was only after the detective's additional references to the death penalty that Turner's will "was finally overborne," and he cried and admitted to the crime, they say.

    "In actuality, the evidence presented to Mr. Turner was a straw on the heap — but the re-invoked threat of the death penalty, combined with the specter of his unborn child witnessing his execution was the straw that broke the camel's back," his attorneys maintain.

    After initially denying any involvement, Turner admitted shooting Chaney, 55, of Greenwell Springs, first, then Gurtner, 43, of Denham Springs, after forcing him to open the store safe.

    Gurtner, who managed the store, died with the store's keys, including one to the safe, in his hand. He was shot 12 times, including several times in the back as he tried to flee from Turner.

    Chaney, who was the assistant manager of another CarQuest location but was helping out at the Airline Highway store that Sunday, was shot once in the back of the head.

    Turner also told detectives he drove past the store with his pregnant girlfriend as investigators pored over the crime scene the evening of the killings.

    https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_ro...727203004.html
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  4. #14
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    February 4, 2019

    In 2011 CarQuest double murder, state high court says convictions stand

    By Joe Gyan Jr.
    The Advocate

    Lee Turner Jr.'s first-degree murder convictions in the 2011 slaying of two CarQuest Auto Parts employees in Baton Rouge will stand, Louisiana's top court has decided.

    Turner's convictions were affirmed in December, but the state Supreme Court in that ruling threw out his death sentence and ordered a new sentencing hearing.

    His appellate attorneys re-urged the high court to toss the 2015 convictions and order a new trial, but the justices rejected that request last week without issuing written reasons.

    Those attorneys could not be reached for comment. Turner’s trial attorneys were assistant public defenders Margaret Lagattuta and Scott Collier.

    “Now that the Supreme Court has denied defendant’s request for rehearing, we anticipate the matter will be set for status conference to determine who will be representing Lee Turner in all future proceedings,” prosecutor Tracey Barbera said Monday.

    Turner, formerly of New Orleans, was 21 when he fatally shot Edward "Eddie" Gurtner III, 43, of Denham Springs, and Randy Chaney, 55, of Greenwell Springs, at the CarQuest store on Airline Highway near Siegen Lane on the afternoon of March 27, 2011.

    Turner began working for CarQuest at a different store in Baton Rouge just 11 days before the killings. He confessed the day after the slayings to shooting Chaney first, then Gurtner after forcing him to open the store safe. Gurtner managed the store.

    Turner’s attorneys alleged a sheriff’s detective used improper interrogation tactics to coerce the confession. They argued Turner deserved a new trial for that reason.

    The state Supreme Court said in its Dec. 5 ruling that the interrogation was permissible, and that Turner voluntarily waived his constitutional rights before confessing.

    In that ruling, the high court threw out Turner’s death penalty because the trial judge — state District Judge Richard Anderson — issued a ruling in the middle of jury selection that prevented the defense from inquiring into potential jurors' ability to fairly consider voting for a life sentence in a case involving a double murder committed during an armed robbery.

    Gurtner was shot 12 times, including several times in the back as he attempted to run from Turner. Chaney was shot once in the back of the head.

    Gurtner’s wife and one of their sons discovered Eddie Gurtner’s body in the store warehouse after he failed to answer his cellphone or the store’s phone that Sunday afternoon.

    Turner admitted to detectives that he and his pregnant girlfriend drove by the store the evening of the slayings and saw investigators working the crime scene.

    A search warrant resulted in the discovery of bank bags and CarQuest deposit slips in a garbage can outside the Baton Rouge home where Turner was staying with an uncle.

    https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_ro...0731cd481.html

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