State v. Aguillard

158 So. 3d 976, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0316, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 433, 2015 WL 926930
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 4, 2015
DocketNo. 2014-KA-0316
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 158 So. 3d 976 (State v. Aguillard) 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 v. Aguillard, 158 So. 3d 976, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0316, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 433, 2015 WL 926930 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Roland L. Belsome, Judge.

|,In this criminal appeal, the defendant, Brian A. Aguillard, Sr., challenges his conviction. Finding that the defendant was erroneously deprived of a peremptory challenge, we vacate the defendant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The defendant was charged by bill of information with illegal use of a weapon. He pled not guilty at arraignment. After a hearing, the trial court denied his motions to suppress the evidence and identification and found probable cause. Following a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty as charged. He was later sentenced [979]*979to eighteen months at hard labor. This appeal followed.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On December 18, 2011, the defendant was arrested for discharging his firearm four times outside of his residence located at 8529 Hamburg Street, in New Orleans. Earlier, the' defendant’s fraternal twin, Brett Aguillard, was engaged in a drug related argument with another male at “PJ’s Bar and Grill,” which was located a few houses down from their Hamburg Street residence, which they ^shared with their mother, Deatrice Aguillard.1 During the argument, another male drove up, exited his vehicle, and struck Brett Aguillard in the face with a gun. Brett Aguillard ran home and the other two males left the scene in their vehicles.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, the defendant arrived home from a Christmas party and entered his residence. Shortly thereafter, the defendant emerged and fired his gun. The defendant was then observed walking toward the bar. At the same time, a bar patron walked down the street to meet the defendant and another argument ensued. Following that encounter, the defendant walked back to his residence and fired three more shots.

Police officers responding to the scene knocked on the door to the defendant’s residence to ask if they had heard gunshots in the area. The defendant and his mother answered the door and stated that they did not hear anything; however, one of the officers noticed that he fit the description given by Jason Ray, a private security guard at the bar. The officers left the residence in order to clarify the description of the suspect with Mr. Ray. After confirming that the suspect, who was wearing all black, fled into the residence located at 3529 Hamburg Street, the officers returned to the home to detain the defendant, who was the only occupant wearing all black. While approaching the residence for the second time, the occupants were overheard yelling: “[Y]ou could have been shot. You’re stupid.”

Officers knocked at the door of the residence again, and searched the home. As a result of the search, a semi-automatic pistol, later found to be registered to the defendant, was recovered from under his mattress, and the defendant was placed under arrest. Mr. Ray also identified the defendant on the scene after he was [¡¡arrested. Four fired cartridge casings were recovered from the street directly in front of the residence. Further testing revealed that the casings were fired from the defendant’s weapon.

DISCUSSION

The defendant raises two assignments of error related to sufficiency of the evidence and the deprivation of a peremptory exception. In his sufficiency assignment of error, the defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction because the State failed to prove his identity as the shooter. He argues that the State did not negate the reasonable probability of misidentification, and suggests that the jury could not reasonably exclude Brett Aguillard as the shooter.

When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, this Court is controlled by the standard set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), which dictates that to affirm a conviction “the appellate court must determine that 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 had been proved [980]*980beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984).

In addition, when circumstantial evidence forms the basis of the conviction, such evidence must consist of “proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience.” State v. Shapiro, 431 So.2d 372, 378 (La.1982) (citation omitted). The elements must be proven such that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence is excluded. La. R.S. 15:438. This is not a separate test from Jackson v. \¿Virginia, supra, but rather an evidentiary guideline to facilitate appellate review of whether a rational juror could have found a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198, 1201 (La.1984). All evidence, direct and circumstantial, must meet the Jackson reasonable doubt standard. State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817, 821 (La.1987).

In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with the physical evidence, one witness’s testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient to support a factual conclusion. State v. Robinson, 02-1869, p. 16 (La.4/14/04), 874 So.2d 66, 79 (citation omitted). Under the Jackson standard, the rational credibility determinations of the trier of fact are not to be second guessed by a reviewing court. State v. Juluke, 98-341 (La.1/8/99), 725 So.2d 1291, 1293 (citation omitted). “[A] reviewing court is not called upon to decide whether it believes the witnesses or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence.” State v. Smith, 600 So.2d 1319, 1324 (La.1992) (citation omitted).

“A fact finder’s discretion will be impinged upon only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental protection of due process of law. Where rational triers of fact could disagree as to the interpretation of the evidence, the rational trier’s view of all evidence most favorable to the prosecution must be adopted on review. Only irrational decisions to convict by the trier of fact will be overturned.” State v. Winston, 11-1342, p. 8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/12/12), 100 So.3d 332, 337 (citations omitted).

When the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator is disputed, the State must negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to satisfy its burden under Jackson v. Virginia, supra. State v. Galle, 11-930, p. 31 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2/13/13), 107 So.3d 916, 935 (citation omitted). The appellate court also | .^reviews the reliability of an identification in accordance with the factors set out in Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98, 97 S.Ct. 2243, 53 L.Ed.2d 140 (1977), which are: 1) the opportunity of the witness to view the assailant at the time of the crime; 2) the witness’s degree of attention; 3) the accuracy of the witness’s prior description of the assailant; 4) the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness; and 5) the length of time between the crime and the confrontation. State v. Stewart, 04-2219, p. 6 (La.App. 4 Cir. 6/29/05), 909 So.2d 636, 639. Further, a positive identification by only one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. State v. Leger, 05-11, p.

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Related

State v. Harris
274 So. 3d 178 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State of Louisiana v. Antonio Merquis Harris
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
State v. Aguillard
254 So. 3d 685 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2018)

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158 So. 3d 976, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0316, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 433, 2015 WL 926930, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-aguillard-lactapp-2015.