State ex rel. T.W.

175 So. 3d 504, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 262, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1822, 2015 WL 5657148
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 23, 2015
DocketNo. 15-KA-262
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 175 So. 3d 504 (State ex rel. T.W.) 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. T.W., 175 So. 3d 504, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 262, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1822, 2015 WL 5657148 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

HANS J. LILJEBERG, Judge.

| PThe juvenile court adjudicated juvenile, T.W.,1 delinquent for a violation of La. R.S. 14:69, illegal possession of stolen property valued at over $500, and committed T.W. to the Office of Juvenile Justice for two years. T.W. now appeals this adjudication and sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm the adjudication and sentence imposed by the juvenile court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On December 5, 2014, the State filed a petition alleging T.W. violated La. R.S. 14:69 by receiving and/or possessing a stolen vehicle valued at over $500. T.W. entered a denial and filed a motion in limine to exclude guns found in the vehicle from evidence. T.W. also filed a motion to suppress statements he made laprior to and after he was advised of his Miranda2 rights. On February 3, 2015, the juvenile court granted T.W.’s motion in limine and held the hearing on the motion to suppress statements in conjunction with the adjudication hearing.

Deputy Jeffrey Easterby of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office testified that on November 14, 2014, he was dispatched after receiving a report of a stolen vehicle. He located a 1999 white Dodge truck and, after verifying its license plate, Deputy Easterby and other responding officers activated the overhead lights and sirens on their marked police vehicles. The driver of the stolen vehicle refused to stop and sped off at a high rate of speed.

Deputy Easterby testified the stolen vehicle was occupied by the driver, a front seat passenger and a rear seat passenger sitting in the middle of the back seat. The driver of the vehicle disregarded traffic signs, continued onto the Westbank Expressway and crossed the Crescent City Connection Bridge into New Orleans. Deputy Easterby observed the passengers in the front and rear seat turning their heads and looking back at him.

Deputy Easterby chased the vehicle into the parking lot of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) traffic division headquarters. The vehicle came to an [508]*508abrupt stop and the passenger door opened. Two black males wearing dark clothing exited the vehicle and began running. The vehicle began moving again and eventually crashed into parking barriers in front of the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street. When Deputy Easterby reached the. vehicle, the door on the driver’s side was open and the engine was running. The deputy was unable to turn off the engine because there was no key in the ignition and the ignition lock had been removed from -the steering column. The battery had to be disconnected in 14order to turn off the engine. Deputy Easterby als'o observed a screwdriver on the floorboard of the vehicle.

Deputy Chris Buffa of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office was also involved in the chase of the stolen vehicle. He arrived at the NOPD traffic division headquarters and saw officers had detained one suspect. Deputy Buffa then observed a black male, who he identified as T.W. during the adjudication hearing, walking down the street towards him. T.W. was wearing a dark-colored, shortsleeved shirt, without a jacket. Deputy Buffa found this unusual because the temperature was around thirty degrees that night.

Deputy Buffa observed two NOPD officers approach T.W. The officers asked T.W. where he was going and where he had been. T.W. stated he was coming from a Mend’s house, but he could not remember where the friend lived. The officers also asked T.W. why he did not have a jacket and he claimed he left without it. The, officers then asked T.W. if he knew what was “going on” and T.W. responded he was in the vehicle, but he was not the driver. Deputy Buffa testified that after T.W. made this statement, he was advised of his Miranda rights and placed under arrest.

After being advised .of his rights, T.W. continued to attempt to talk to officers without being questioned. ■ Both NOPD Officer Norbert Henry and Officer Buffa testified that T.W. continued to plead his case with'' officers that' though he was in the car, he was not the driver. Deputy Buffa also heard T.W. state that he threw his jacket behind the Wal-Mart sign after he fled from the vehicle. Deputy Buffa later recovered a “dark black hoodie sweatshirt” from behind the sign.

Jeremy Pugh, the owner of the stolen vehicle, testified that at the time the vehicle was stolen it was valued at between $4,000 and $5,000 because it was in [ ¡¡“perfect condition.” He further testified that prior to the theft of his vehicle, the ignition lock was not missing and the rear passenger window was not broken.

After hearing testimony and arguments, the juvenile court judge denied T.W.’s motion to suppress statements and adjudicated T.W. delinquent. The judge requested a predisposition investigation from the Office of Juvenile Justice (“OJJ”) and set the matter for a disposition hearing on March 4, 2015. Officer Stan Scofield, an OJJ probation officer, prepared the predisposition investigation report. In the report and at the disposition hearing, he recommended that the court commit T.W. to OJJ for secure placement.’ Officer Scofield based his recommendation oii the seriousness of the present charge and T.W.’s pri- or offenses. According to the report, T.W. was previously adjudicated delinquent in Orleans Parish for violations of La. R.S. 14:64.2, carjacking, La. R.S. 14:69(B), illegal possession of stolen things between $500 and $1500, and La. R.S. 14:65, simple robbery. On or about March 27, 2014, the Orleans Parish juvenile court sentenced T.W. to a total of two years suspended and two years of probation for these violations.

[509]*509Officer Scofield also testified that he supervised T.W. while he was on probation in Orleans Parish. He referred T.W. to the American Tracking Program, which monitored T.W.’s school attendance and curfew. He also referred T.W. to the Youth Empowerment mentoring program. He testified that T.W. participated in the programs until he ran away from home. The predisposition investigation report also indicated that T.W. violated his probation by displaying disruptive behaviors in school and committing the new charge at issue in the present matter.

After hearing testimony and arguments, the juvenile court judge committed T.W. to the custody of OJJ for two years. The judge recommended secure placement because T.W. had the opportunity for probation in Orleans Parish, but continued to place himself and others at risk due to his delinquent behavior. T.W. | (filed a motion for appeal on March 18, 2015, which was granted on March 19, 2015.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

In his first assignment of error, T.W. argues the evidence was insufficient to establish the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. T.W. argues he was only a passenger in the vehicle and his mere presence was insufficient to establish he possessed the vehicle or knew it was stolen.

In order for the juvenile court to adjudicate a child delinquent, the State must prove the child committed the delinquent act alleged in the petition beyond a reasonable doubt. La. Ch.C. art. 883. In reviewing the sufficiency of evidence, appellate courts must determine whether the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt as required by Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
175 So. 3d 504, 15 La.App. 5 Cir. 262, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1822, 2015 WL 5657148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-tw-lactapp-2015.