State in the Interest of K. Z.

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 2, 2016
DocketJAK-0015-1029
StatusUnknown

This text of State in the Interest of K. Z. (State in the Interest of K. Z.) 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 in the Interest of K. Z., (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

15-1029

STATE IN THE INTEREST OF

K. Z.

**********

APPEAL FROM THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, NO. JC-2015-384 J2 HONORABLE MICHELLE M. BREAUX, DISTRICT JUDGE

SHANNON J. GREMILLION JUDGE

Court composed of Elizabeth A. Pickett, James T. Genovese, and Shannon J. Gremillion, Judges.

AFFIRMED AS AMENDED; REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.

Keith A. Stutes District Attorney, Fifteenth Judicial District Christine B. Roberts Assistant District Attorney P. O. Box 3306 Lafayette, LA 70502-3306 (337) 232-5170 COUNSEL FOR: State of Louisiana Jane Hogan Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial District P.O. Box 3622 Lafayette, LA 70502 (337) 232-9345 COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT: K. Z. GREMILLION, Judge.

On January 31, 2015, the Juvenile, K.Z., 1 used a Ford truck owned by Minor

Domingue without his consent and with the intention of permanently depriving

Domingue of the vehicle.

On April 15, 2015, the State filed a petition seeking to have the Juvenile

adjudicated delinquent on the grounds that he allegedly committed the offenses of

unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a violation of La.R.S. 14:68.4, and resisting

an officer, a violation of La.R.S. 14:108. 2 The Juvenile initially denied the

allegations on April 29, 2015. Then, on May 21, 2015, the Juvenile appeared in

court to enter an admission. However, the matter was set for an adjudication

hearing when the Juvenile‟s mother expressed disagreement with the State‟s

recitation of the facts. On July 16, 2015, the Juvenile entered an admission to the

charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. The companion charge of resisting

arrest was dismissed. The court ordered the Juvenile to serve eighteen months

with the Department of Youth Services, which it suspended. The Juvenile was

ordered to serve eighteen months of active supervised probation subject to

conditions. The juvenile court scheduled a restitution hearing for August 26, 2015.

At that hearing, the Juvenile was ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the

amount of $3,200.21 at a rate of $200.00 per month for sixteen months

commencing on September 1, 2015. The Juvenile objected and is before this court

challenging the restitution order.

1 Initials of the Juvenile are used to protect his identity as required by Uniform Rules— Courts of Appeal, Rule 5-2. 2 Although not raised on appeal, we note an error patent in the record. The Juvenile was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, however, several times in the record that charge is incorrectly referred to as unauthorized use of a movable. We find this error harmless. The record before this court does not indicate that the juvenile court gave the

Juvenile credit for time spent in secure detention, if any, prior to the imposition of

disposition, as required by La.Ch.Code art. 900. See State in the Interest of J.F.,

03-321 (La.App. 3 Cir. 8/6/03), 851 So.2d 1282. Accordingly, we will amend the

Juvenile‟s disposition to give him credit for time served in a secure detention

facility before the imposition of disposition, if any, and instruct the juvenile court

to note the amendment in the written disposition and in the minute entry. See State

ex rel. M.M., 06-607 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/2/06), 941 So.2d 716.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The Juvenile argues that the juvenile court erred in ordering him to pay

restitution for items allegedly stolen from Domingue‟s truck, despite a lack of

documentation as to their existence and cost. Further, the Juvenile notes that the

police reports did not allege that he committed a theft of the items from the truck,

nor was he charged with theft.

Louisiana Children‟s Code Article 897(B)(2)(c) allows the court to impose

as a condition of probation “[a] requirement that the child make reasonable

restitution to any victim for any personal or property damage caused by the child in

the commission of the delinquent act.” The “Plea Agreement” section of the

admission form reflects that a “restitution hearing [is] to be set on August 26,

2014.” 3 At the July 16, 2015 admission proceeding, the court indicated that

restitution would be imposed and that a hearing was set for August 26, 2015.

Domingue testified at the August 26, 2015 restitution hearing. Domingue‟s

truck, which was being driven by his son to and from college, was “stolen from a

3 The erroneous year is clearly a typographical error because the admission was entered in 2015.

2 friend‟s house.” When the truck was recovered, the tires were blown out, and the

body of the truck was damaged. Based on the insurance adjustment, the damage

and towing totaled $3,474.92. The insurance company paid Domingue $1,392.86.

In addition to the damage to the truck, Domingue testified that there were

various items taken from the truck. Domingue obtained replacement values online

for the missing items including: a Garmin GPS ($199.00), a Drake waterfowl

jacket ($260.00), jumper cables ($25.00), a Bluetooth adapter for the stereo

($29.15), a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses ($129.00), a garage door opener ($30.00),

truck registration ($14.00), blue jeans, sweatpants, work-out shorts, shirts, socks,

underwear, and bath towels ($500.00). These items totaled $1,181.15. On cross-

examination, Domingue testified that receipts had not been retained for these

items, but that if he replaced the items, he could provide receipts. According to the

court‟s calculations, verified by Domingue, the out-of-pocket expenses for the

truck and the missing items was $3,263.21.

Domingue testified that the GPS, jumper cables, and garage door opener

were used, but in good working order. The hunting jacket and the Bluetooth

adapter were approximately one year old. The sunglasses were fairly new, and the

clothes and towels were approximately six months old. Domingue testified that he

arrived at the towing garage before the tow truck. Upon noticing that items were

missing from the truck, he asked the man towing the truck about the items. 4 He

was told no items had been removed. The following week, Domingue checked

with a deputy about the missing items. The deputy checked the evidence room and

confirmed the items were not there.

4 Domingue testified that he also asked the “deputy at the towing department” about these missing items.

3 At the restitution hearing, the Juvenile denied damaging the truck or taking

the missing items. At the time of the hearing, the Juvenile was fifteen years old

and had no job except for an occasional lawn-mowing job for which he was paid

about $20.00. From the testimony, it was unclear how often the Juvenile mowed

lawns. When asked if he had any potential lawn-mowing jobs for the summer, the

Juvenile responded that he had two or three people, but he was vague as to the

number of times he could mow their lawns. He also testified that he lives in a

neighborhood and his next door neighbor agreed to pay him $10.00 a month to

mow their grass year-round. The Juvenile testified that he has his own mower and

affirmed that he was guaranteed $120.00 a year from the neighbor “if [he] could

get some gas to cut their grass.” According to the Juvenile, he gets no allowance

and has no inheritance or any other source of income. When questioned if he had

asked around the neighborhood for more yards to mow, the Juvenile replied, “No.

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