State v. Ancalade

158 So. 3d 891, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0739, 2015 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 24, 2015 WL 178253
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 14, 2015
DocketNo. 2014-KA-0739
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 158 So. 3d 891 (State v. Ancalade) 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. Ancalade, 158 So. 3d 891, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0739, 2015 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 24, 2015 WL 178253 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

MADELEINE M. LANDRIEU, Judge.

hThe defendant, Roger Ancalade, was convicted of one count of discharging a firearm during a violent crime, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:94. Mr. Ancalade was sentenced to fifteen years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Mr. Anca-lade’s conviction and sentence.

FACTS

On May 4, 2013, the Schmiderder family held a party to celebrate the Kentucky Derby. Mr. Ancalade attended the party with his girlfriend, Crystal Schmiderder. Around 8:00 p.m., Mr. Ancalade and Crystal left the party. As they drove past the partygoers in the street, an altercation occurred between Mr. Ancalade and Mr. Alvin Schmiderder, Crystal’s father and the party’s host. Mr. Ancalade then drove away. Minutes later, partygoers heard gunshots. Eyewitnesses testified at trial that they saw Mr. Ancalade standing in the middle of the street, firing a gun in their direction. Multiple eyewitnesses called 911; however, New Orleans Police Department officers did not arrive at the scene that |2night. Two days later, witnesses went to the police station and gave statements about the incident to police officers.

ERRORS PATENT

A review of the record for errors patent reveals none.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Mr. Ancalade asserts the following assignments of error: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; (2) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to quash the bill of information; (3) the jury’s verdict was nonrespon-sive to the bill of information; and (4) the sentence imposed by the trial court was constitutionally excessive.

DISCUSSION

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

In this assignment of error, Mr. Anca-lade contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to support his convic[894]*894tion of discharging a firearm during a violent crime. We disagree.

When reviewing for the sufficiency of the evidence, this court is controlled by the standard enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) and clarified by the Louisiana Supreme Court in State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305, 1311 (La.1988). The standard enunciated in these two cases requires us to determine whether, “viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the ^essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d at 573.

We are not to substitute our judgment for that of the jury as all rational credibility calls are solely within its province. However, we are called upon to ensure that the jury did not merely speculate as the defendant’s guilt if the evidence is such that reasonable jurors must have reasonable doubt.

In this case, Mr. Ancalade was convicted of one count of discharging a firearm during a violent crime pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 14:94(A). This statute provides that the “[ijllegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities is the intentional or criminally negligent discharging of any firearm ... where it is foreseeable that it may result in death or great bodily harm to a human being.” Subsection F adds enhanced penalties when the person committing the crime of illegal use of weapons does so “while committing, attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or soliciting, coercing, or intimidating another person to commit a crime of violence.”

In his first assignment of error, Mr. Ancalade argues that the evidence is insufficient to convict him- of this crime as the State failed to present any physical evidence that he fired a weapon. This argument is misplaced as the law does not require the existence of physical evidence in order to convict. At trial, every eyewitness testified that on the evening of May 4, 2013, they observed Mr. Ancalade fire gunshots in their direction. The testimony of a witness, if reasonably |4credible and believed by the jury, is sufficient to sustain a conviction. A victim’s or witness’s testimony alone is usually sufficient to support the verdict, as appellate courts will not second-guess the credibility determinations of the fact finder beyond the constitutional standard of sufficiency. State v. Davis, 2002-1043, p. 3 (La.6/27/03), 848 So.2d 557, 558.

Mr. Schmiderder, the party host, testified at trial that as Crystal and Mr. Anca-lade were leaving the party in a car which Mr. Ancalade was driving. Mr. Schmi-derder waved to Mr. Ancalade, which prompted Mr. Ancalade to back up and ask Mr. Schmiderder what he had said. Mr. Schmiderder testified that as he approached the driver’s window, Mr. Anca-lade grabbed him by the tie, pulled him against the car, and began choking him. Mr. Schmiderder stated that during this altercation, he witnessed Mr. Ancalade hit Crystal. Mr. Ancalade then drove off and made a right turn onto a side street. Mr. Schmiderder stated that seconds after they drove off, he heard three or four gunshots. He saw Mr. Ancalade, on foot, at the corner, firing several shots at the Schmiderder family members and guests who were gathered outside of his residence.

Mr. John Behre, who lived in the same neighborhood as Mr. Schmiderder, testified that he had returned home after attending the Schmiderders’ party. He was sitting on his back steps listening to music when he saw Mr. Ancalade get out of his car and begin hitting Crystal. Mr. Behre testified that he told Mr. Ancalade to stop [895]*895hitting her. The two men exchanged words. Mr. Behre testified that Mr. Anca-lade grabbed a revolver-style gun from under the driver’s seat of the car and Isfired a shot at him. Mr. Behre began running away from Mr. Ancalade, who fired four or five more rounds. Mr. Behre stated that he called 911, but no police officers came to the scene. He went to the police station two days later to give his statement.

Ms. Jaclin Behre, Mr. Behre’s sister, corroborated her brother’s testimony concerning the incident. Ms. Behre testified that around 8:00 p.m., she was at the corner near her house when she saw Mr. Ancalade point a gun at her brother. Mr. Ancalade initially fired two shots at her brother and then fired three more shots as her brother ran away from the scene. Ms. Behre stated that she hid under her house because she was in fear for her life.

Ms. Lorelei Schmiderder Augustine, Crystal’s sister, testified that after she left the party, she received a phone call from her sister, Ms. Teresa Schmiderder, who was still at the party. Ms. Augustine testified that she did not have a conversation with Teresa at that time, but heard screaming and four gunshots before the line went dead. Ms. Augustine called 911 and returned to her father’s house. She stated that the police did not arrive that evening. Two days later, she went to the police station to report the incident.

Ms. Teresa Schmiderder, Crystal’s sister, testified that she was at the party when Crystal and Mr. Ancalade left. As they drove away, Mr. Ancalade got into an altercation with Mr. Schmiderder, in which Mr. Ancalade grabbed Mr. Schmiderder and began choking him. Teresa testified that as Crystal tried to restrain Mr. Anca-lade, he hit her. Mr. Ancalade and Mr. Schmiderder were | (¡eventually separated and Mr. Ancalade drove away from the house. A few minutes later, Teresa stated that she heard gunshots. She then saw Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
158 So. 3d 891, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0739, 2015 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 24, 2015 WL 178253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ancalade-lactapp-2015.