State v. Alexander

720 So. 2d 82, 1998 WL 673217
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 29, 1998
Docket97-KA-1199
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 720 So. 2d 82 (State v. Alexander) 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. Alexander, 720 So. 2d 82, 1998 WL 673217 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

720 So.2d 82 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Samuel ALEXANDER sentenced as "Samuel Alexander".

No. 97-KA-1199.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

September 29, 1998.
Rehearing Denied November 17, 1998.

*84 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Alison Wallis, Appellate Counsel, Terry M. Boudreaux, Research & Appeals, Caren Morgan, Trial Counsel, Gretna, for plaintiff-appellee.

Katherine M. Franks, Staff Appellate Counsel, Louisiana Appellate Project, Baton Rouge.

Before GRISBAUM and DALEY, JJ., and NESTOR L. CURRAULT, Jr., J. Pro Tem.

NESTOR L. CURRALT, Jr., Judge Pro Tem.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging the defendant with illegal possession of stolen things valued at over $500.00. At the arraignment, defendant pled not guilty. Following trial on October 20, 1997 and October 21, 1997, a unanimous jury found the defendant guilty as charged. The defendant filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, which the trial court denied.

On October 29, 1997, the defendant was sentenced to serve three years imprisonment at hard labor, which was suspended. The trial judge placed defendant on active probation for three years with special conditions, and also ordered the defendant to serve one year of home incarceration. Subsequently, the trial court ordered the defendant to pay $1,290.00 in restitution to the victims. The defendant filed a timely motion for appeal, which the trial judge granted.

FACTS AND TESTIMONY

At trial, Joseph and Paula Kelly testified that their 1994 Dodge truck was stolen on April 5,1997 when they went to an 8:20 p.m. movie at the Belle Promenade Mall. Mr. Kelly testified that his wife's purse was under the seat and that his tools were behind *85 the seat. Mrs. Kelly testified that she informed the mall's security office about the incident, and the police were called. The Kellys reported the theft to the police officer who responded to the call.

Mrs. Kelly testified that the officer suggested that they look for the truck at various locations on the West Bank where stolen vehicles were frequently abandoned. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly, along with Mr. Kelly's brother-in-law, left the mall and searched for the stolen truck. While they were driving around, the Kellys spotted their truck near the Fischer Housing Project. They followed the truck for some time, and eventually pulled alongside of it at a red light on the corner of Berman Highway and Carol Sue. Mr. Kelly testified that the driver was "crunched down" in the truck, as if to hide. The driver of the truck then looked over at Mr. Kelly, and Mr. Kelly stared at him. Mr. Kelly testified that as soon as the driver of the truck saw Mr. Kelly looking at him, the driver sped away. They pursued the truck, but the driver eluded them. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kelly testified that the driver of the truck had a "bush" or "Afro" type hairstyle. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly each identified the defendant in court as the person they had seen driving their truck.

The morning after the theft, Mr. Kelly's brother-in-law telephoned the Kellys and said someone had brought the truck to his home in Harvey. According to Mr. Kelly, the truck's ignition switch was broken, the steering column was damaged, and the truck's passenger window was smashed. Mr. Kelly further testified that all belongings had been removed from the truck. Mr. Kelly went to the apartment complex in Harvey where the truck had been recovered, and started looking around. He located some of his tools, a tinted window shield that came from the truck, and some of his wife's belongings from her purse, including her driver's license. As Mr. Kelly was retrieving his tools, he saw the defendant walk out of one of the adjacent apartments. Mr. Kelly recognized the defendant as the driver of the truck, and notified a police officer on patrol in the neighborhood that the defendant had stolen his truck. The police apprehended the defendant, and Mr. Kelly again identified him as the driver of the truck.

At trial, the defendant presented an alibi defense through his own testimony and that of other witnesses. Iesha Washington testified that the defendant was at her home from 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, 1997, until the morning of Sunday, April 6, 1997. Ms. Washington testified that the defendant did not leave the apartment at any time on April 5, 1997. However, Ms. Washington admitted that the truck was parked in a driveway across from her apartment on Sunday morning. Another defense witness, James Nicks, testified that he was at Ms. Washington's apartment all day on Saturday, April 5, 1997 with the defendant.

Samuel Alexander denied stealing the Kellys' truck. The defendant testified that he was at Iesha Washington's apartment from Friday, April 4, 1997 until Sunday, April 6, 1997. He stated that he left the apartment on Sunday, April 6, 1997 and was arrested later that day.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR ONE AND TWO

By these assignments, the defendant contends that the state's evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of illegal possession of stolen things because the evidence did not prove that the vehicle was an object of theft and that the evidence did not negate the probability of the defendant's misidentification as the perpetrator of this offense.

The often cited standard for testing the sufficiency of evidence requires that a conviction be based on proof sufficient for any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence, direct and circumstantial, in the light most favorable to the prosecution, to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Hawkins, 96-0766, p. 7 (La.1/14/97), 688 So.2d 473, 479; State v. Snyder, 97-226, p. 12 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/30/97), 700 So.2d 1082, 1088. When a case involves circumstantial evidence, and the jury reasonably rejects the hypothesis of innocence presented by the defendant, that hypothesis *86 falls and the defendant is guilty unless there is another hypothesis that raises a reasonable doubt. State v. Chester, 97-1001, p. 1 (La.12/19/97), 707 So.2d 973; State v. Hopson, 97-509, p. 3 (La.App. 5 Cir. 11/25/97), 703 So.2d 767, 769.

Samuel Alexander was charged with illegal possession of stolen things valued at over five hundred dollars, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:69. In order to convict a defendant of this offense, the state must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant (1) intentionally possessed, procured, received or concealed, (2) anything of value, (3) which has been the subject of any robbery or theft, (4) where circumstances indicate that the offender knew or had good reason to believe that the thing was the subject of one of these offenses and that (5) the value of the items stolen exceeds five hundred dollars. State v. Corkern, 593 So.2d 1259, 1260 (La.1992); State v. Cole, 94-1070, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/1/95), 649 So.2d 1214, 1217; State v. Daniel, 536 So.2d 796, 797 (La.App. 5 Cir.1988).

The defendant first contends that the state's evidence was insufficient to prove that the vehicle was the subject of a theft. The defendant cites State v. Bruce, 472 So.2d 79 (La.App. 5 Cir.1985), in which this Court held that the evidence was insufficient to show that the vehicle in question was the subject of a robbery or theft or to show that defendant knew or should have known that the vehicle had been stolen. While the car in Bruce

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
720 So. 2d 82, 1998 WL 673217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-alexander-lactapp-1998.