State of Louisiana v. Damien Dashaun Bernard A/K/A Damien Bernard

── State of Louisiana v. Damien Dashaun Bernard A/K/A Damien Bernard ── Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal Date: May 20, 2026 Category: General STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT 25-731 STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS DAMIEN DASHAUN BERNARD AKA DAMIEN BERNARD ********** APPEAL FROM THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NUMBER CR 184545 HONORABLE ROYALE L. COLBERT, DISTRICT JUDGE ********** CLAYTON DAVIS JUDGE ********** Court composed of Sharon Darville Wilson, Gary J. Ortego, and Clayton Davis, Judges. AFFIRMED WITH INSTRUCTIONS. Donald Dale Landry, District Attorney Lance C. Beal, Assistant District Attorney 15th Judicial District, Lafayette Parish P. O. Box 3306 Lafayette, LA 70502 COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: State of Louisiana Rémy Voisin Starns The Office of the State Public Defender 301 Main Street, Ste. 700 Baton Rouge, LA 70825 (225) 219-9305 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: Damien Dashaun Bernard Justin C. Harrell Louisiana Appeals & Writ Services 1100 Poydras Street, Ste. 2900 New Orleans, LA 70163 (504) 585-7329 COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT: Damien Dashaun Bernard DAVIS, Judge. Damien Dashaun Bernard was found guilty of second degree murder by a unanimous jury verdict. He was sentenced to life, without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He now appeals. FACTS JonTerez Broussard, a twenty-year-old woman, joined her friends, Sophie Flores, Nina Castille, and Jacob Harper, for a night out in downtown Lafayette. JonTerez texted Defendant, Damien Dashaun Bernard, to arrange a purchase of cocaine. She walked ahead of her friends and met Defendant in an alcove, paid ninety dollars for what she believed was a gram of the drug, then rejoined her friends. They then went to a bar. JonTerez invited Sophie and Nina into the bathroom where they each snorted the substance. JonTerez ingested the most. They all began experiencing adverse reactions within minutes. JonTerez appeared to know something was terribly wrong, as she called Defendant and asked: “What did you give me?” Nina testified that JonTerez was screaming at Defendant over the phone. Sophie was the first to lose consciousness. Jacob carried her outside to a police barricade. Officers administered naloxone, an opioid reversal medication, which slowly revived her. Outside of the bar, officers located an unconscious JonTerez and a semi- conscious Nina. EMTs arrived, performed CPR on JonTerez, attempted to stabilize her, and transported her to Oschner Lafayette General Hospital. Despite their efforts, JonTerez’s heart had stopped for an extended time, and her brain had been deprived of oxygen. JonTerez ultimately was declared brain dead and removed from life support several days later. The Acadian Crime Laboratory analyzed the drug they took and determined it was a combination of fentanyl and heroin. Expert forensic toxicologist, Stephanie Marco, Ph.D., explained to the jury that the level of fentanyl in JonTerez’s blood was almost double the minimum fatal concentration known in the scientific literature. The Lafayette police later arrested Defendant. He provided a voluntary statement in which he admitted selling JonTerez drugs that night but claimed it was only marijuana. ERRORS PATENT Reviewing the record for errors patent pursuant to La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, we find no errors patent. However, the minutes of sentencing require correction. The sentencing transcript shows that the trial court ordered Defendant’s life sentence to be served at hard labor, but the minutes do not indicate this. Under the jurisprudence, “when the minutes and the transcript conflict, the trans