State ex rel. B.J.

617 So. 2d 238, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 1533
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 14, 1993
DocketNo. 92-KA-672
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 617 So. 2d 238 (State ex rel. B.J.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. B.J., 617 So. 2d 238, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 1533 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

CANNELLA, Judge.

This is an appeal by a juvenile defendant from an adjudication of delinquency, based on his conviction of illegal possession of a stolen vehicle. Defendant was sentenced to eighteen months at the Louisiana Training Institute. We set aside the conviction and sentence, render judgment of guilty of illegal possession of stolen things valued at more than $100 and less than $500 and remand for sentencing.

Defendant assigns as error, the following:

1) The evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain the adjudication of delinquency for having illegally possessed stolen property; and

2) All errors patent.

Defendant was charged by the District Attorney in a petition as having violated La.R.S. 14:69, illegal possession of a stolen thing, a vehicle valued at $10,000. Trial was held on May 20, 1992 and defendant was convicted of the offense and adjudicated a delinquent. The trial court conducted a Review of Placement and Disposition on July 18, 1992 and defendant was sentenced to eighteen months at the Louisiana Training Institute.

In trial, Patrolman Kerry Raines, a Ken-ner Police Department road officer, testified that, on the evening of February 16, 1992, he was parked on a Kenner street, completing a report, when a young black male approached him, saying that several juveniles were “riding around in a stolen car ... a blue Cutlass.” Patrolman Raines began driving in the area, saw the suspect car and followed it. He saw the individuals in the Cutlass look back at him through the rearview mirror. The car drove through a stop sign and the officer activated his light and siren in response. A chase ensued, during which the individuals in the car attempted to escape and committed several other traffic offenses. The car finally stopped and its occupants jumped out and fled from the scene. Defendant, the only person who exited from the driver’s side of the vehicle, was caught and arrested on traffic charges. The vehicle had a center console in the middle of the front seat. After Patrolman Raines secured defendant in his police vehicle, he received information that the car was stolen from New Orleans. The patrolman testified that the keys were in the ignition, the steering column was intact and there was no other damage to the vehicle to indicate that it had been stolen.

The state rested after the testimony of the officer. Defendant moved for a directed verdict, arguing that the state failed to prove two elements of the offense: the car was stolen and defendant knew or had good reason to know that it was stolen. The motion was denied and defendant presented his case.

The juvenile’s mother testified that the car was not stolen, but was “rented” by her husband’s brother in exchange for two grams of cocaine.

Defendant testified that he and a friend, Jonathan Buckley, were being given a ride home when the events occurred. He stated that Haason Johnson told him that he borrowed the car from a friend. Defendant asserted that he ran from the officer because two occupants, Johnson and Shannon Lewis, told him to flee. He contended that he did not know the car was stolen. Defendant admitted that he had a previous conviction for possession of stolen property and knew Johnson did not have a driver’s license or own a car.

La.Ch.C. art. 883 provides that the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the child committed a delinquent act alleged in the petition, in order for the court to adjudicate a child delinquent. The standard for the state’s burden of proof is no less strenuous than the proof standard required in a criminal proceeding against an adult. State in the Interest of Tatom, 463 So.2d 35 (La.App. 5th Cir.1985); State in the Interest of D.R., 560 So.2d 57 (La.App. 5th Cir.1990).

In evaluating the sufficiency of evidence to support an adjudication of delinquency in a juvenile matter, the due pro[241]*241cess standards announced in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed2d 560 (1979), apply. Under Jackson, the reviewing court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State in the Interest of D.R., supra; State in the Interest of Tatom, supra.

When circumstantial evidence is used to prove the commission of the offense, LSA-R.S. 15:438 mandates that, “assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.” This does not establish a separate standard from the Jackson standard, but rather provides a helpful methodology for determining the existence of reasonable doubt. State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676 (La.1984); State v. Burrow, 565 So.2d 972 (La.App. 5th Cir.1990), writ denied, 572 So.2d 60 (La.1991). Ultimately, all evidence, both direct and circumstantial, must be sufficient to support the conclusion that defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Burrow, supra.

Illegal possession of stolen things is defined in R.S. 14:69A as follows:

A. Illegal possession of stolen things is the intentional possessing, procuring, receiving, or concealing of anything of value which has been the subject of any robbery or theft, under circumstances which indicate that the offender knew or had good reason to believe that the thing was the subject of one of these offenses.

In order to convict a defendant of this offense, the state must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that 1) the property was stolen, and 2) the property was of value, and 3) defendant knew or should have known that the property was stolen, and 4) defendant intentionally possessed, procured, received or concealed the property. State v. Walker, 350 So.2d 176 (La.1977), writ granted, 369 So.2d 139 (La.1979); State v. Mercadel, 503 So.2d 608 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987); State v. Wilson, 544 So.2d 1300 (La.App. 4th Cir.1989).

In his brief defendant contends that the proof, as to the element that the car was stolen, was based on a hearsay report after a license plate check and the hearsay of the informant. The introduction of this evidence, however, was not objected to. It is well settled that failure to object to hearsay or secondary evidence, when admitted at trial, constitutes a waiver of the right to object to its admissibility. Hearsay evidence not objected to constitutes substantive evidence which may be used by the trier of fact to the extent of any probative or persuasive powers that it might have. State v. Boutte, 384 So.2d 773 (La.1980); State v. Franklin, 520 So.2d 1047 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1987). Thus, even if the evidence is hearsay, it was properly considered as proof of the fact the car was stolen. Furthermore, defendant fled from the officer and flight may be considered as evidence of a guilty mind. State v. Petit, 463 So.2d 749 (La.App. 4th Cir.1985), and State v. White, 472 So.2d 130 (La.App. 5th Cir.1985). Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we conclude that the state proved that the car was stolen.

The value of the vehicle is an element of the offense and must be proven because it determines the punishment. State v. Bell, 544 So.2d 32 (La.App. 4th Cir.1989); State v. Peoples, 383 So.2d 1006 (La.1980). See: La.R.S. 14:69(B) and La.

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Bluebook (online)
617 So. 2d 238, 1993 La. App. LEXIS 1533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-bj-lactapp-1993.