State v. Anderson

116 So. 3d 1045, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 42, 2013 WL 3330115, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1382
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided July 3, 2013·No. No. 13-42·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

GREMILLION, Judge.

1 )On May 3, 2010, Defendant, Eric John Anderson, Devonta Mitchell, and a person referred to only as “Fleet” entered the home of Sammie Williams uninvited, armed with guns, and looking for money alleged to be in the house. Upon leaving the house, Defendant approached Mabel Fisher, who was sitting outside in her vehicle, and attempted to take her purse. The men then fled in a stolen SUV. One of the men fired at Fisher as he ran to the SUV and again as she followed them in her car. Defendant and Mitchell were apprehended the next day heading towards Baton Rouge in a different stolen vehicle.

Defendant was charged by a bill of information with one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a violation of La. R.S. 14:68.4, one count of attempted second degree murder, violations of La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1, one count of aggravated burglary, a violation of La.R.S. 14:60, and one count of attempted armed robbery with the use of a firearm, violations of La.R.S. 14:27, 14:64, and 14:64.3. A jury [1048]*1048found Defendant guilty as charged on all counts.

Defendant was sentenced to five years at hard labor for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; twenty-five years at hard labor for attempted second degree murder, with the first ten years to be served without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence; ten years at hard labor for aggravated burglary; and twenty years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, for attempted armed robbery, plus five years for the use of a firearm, for a total of twenty-five years at hard labor. All the sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. While Defendant objected to the excessiveness of the sentences at the sentencing hearing, no written motion to reconsider the sentence was filed.

l2Pefendant argues three assignments of error: 1) the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support Defendant’s convictions beyond a reasonable doubt; 2) Defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel; and 3) the sentences were constitutionally excessive under the circumstances of the case.

We affirm Defendant’s convictions and sentences.

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

Defendant argues that the evidence submitted at trial was insufficient to sustain the convictions. He bases this primarily on Mitchell’s assertion at trial that his confession concerning Defendant’s participation in the offenses was a complete fabrication. Defendant argues that nothing other than Mitchell’s false confession connects him to the crimes alleged. The law here is black letter:

“In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, an appellate court in Louisiana is controlled by the standard enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).... [T]he 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 beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984). Furthermore, when the key issue is the defendant’s identity as the perpetrator, rather than whether the crime was committed, the State is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidenti-fication. State v. Weary, 03-3067 (La.4/24/06), 931 So.2d 297; State v. Neal, 00-0674 (La.6/29/01), 796 So.2d 649. Positive identification by only one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. Weary, 03-3067 at p. 18, 931 So.2d at 311; Neal, 00-0674 at p. 11, 796 So.2d at 658; State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305, 1311 (La.1988). It is the factfinder who weighs the respective credibilities of the witnesses, and this court will generally not second-guess those determinations. State v. Bright, 98-0398, p. 22 (La.4/11/00), 776 So.2d 1134, 1147.

State v. Hughes, 05-992, pp. 5-6 (La.11/29/06), 943 So.2d 1047, 1051.

Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle is defined as “the intentional taking or use of a motor vehicle which belongs to another, either without the other’s consent, |sor by means of fraudulent conduct, practice, or representations, but without any intention to deprive the other of the motor vehicle permanently.” La.R.S. 14:68.4. Second degree murder is defined as the killing of a human being “[w]hen the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm[.]” La.R.S. 14:30.1. Armed robbery is defined as “the taking of anything of value belonging to another from [1049]*1049the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while armed with a dangerous weapon.” La.R.S. 14:64(A). Furthermore, La.R.S. 14:64.8 provides for additional punishment if the dangerous weapon is a firearm. Attempt is defined in pertinent part, as:

A. Any person who, having a specific intent to commit a crime, does or omits an act for the purpose of and tending directly toward the accomplishing of his object is guilty of an attempt to commit the offense intended; and it shall be immaterial whether, under the circumstances, he would have actually accomplished his purpose.

La.R.S. 14:27. Finally, aggravated burglary is the unauthorized entering of an inhabited dwelling where a person is present, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft, when armed with a dangerous weapon. La.R.S. 14:60(1).

Williams testified that she was at her home on Clinton Street in Alexandria, around 1:00 p.m., with two infants she was babysitting. She said that she was in the living room watching TV and talking on the phone when she heard someone in the house. When she went to investigate, she encountered two men in the hallway. She did not know who they were. Both men wore black hoodies with the hoods pulled up over their faces. She said that both men were armed, one with a pistol and one with a “funny looking gun about that long.... Like a sawed off shotgun or something.” One of the men told her not to look at them or she would be shot.

They began searching the house, repeatedly asking her “where’s the room.” She stated that she had a nephew, Eric, who had been living with her, but she had 14recently evicted him for selling marijuana. She asked if they were looking for him. Suddenly, she heard a car horn honk from outside. One of the men went to look out, and when he described the car to her, she knew it was her long-time friend, Fisher. They told her to tell the person in the car to come into the house, but she denied knowing who the person was and would not call out to her. The men took the battery out of her phone and left the house. Williams said she got the other house phone from the bedroom and called the police. She heard two gunshots at that time. She thought they had shot Fisher.

Fisher testified that she saw a man standing by the door of Williams’ house as she approached in her vehicle. When she honked her horn, two other men exited the house. She could not describe the men who came out of the house because they were wearing hoodies but could see they were black men. Two of the men walked up to her car; both men had guns. One stood by her window and the other one got into the passenger-side seat and tried to grab her purse. She fought back, and eventually he left the car without the purse and ran towards a white SUV.

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State v. Anderson, 116 So. 3d 1045, 13 La.App. 3 Cir. 42, 2013 WL 3330115, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 1382 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

116 So. 3d 1045 (State v. Anderson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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