State v. Andrews

655 So. 2d 448, 1995 WL 271839
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 5, 1995
Docket94 KA 0842
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 655 So. 2d 448 (State v. Andrews) 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. Andrews, 655 So. 2d 448, 1995 WL 271839 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

655 So.2d 448 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Craig Stanley ANDREWS.

No. 94 KA 0842.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 5, 1995.

*450 Donald D. Candell, Asst. Dist. Atty., Gonzales, for plaintiff-appellee.

Thomas D. Daigle, Paincourtville, for defendant-appellant.

Before WATKINS and FOGG, JJ., and TANNER[1], J. Pro Tem.

FOGG, Judge.

The defendant, Craig Stanley Andrews, was charged by bill of information[2] with *451 purse snatching, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:65.1. He pled not guilty and, after trial by jury, was found guilty as charged. The defendant subsequently was sentenced to eighty-four months at hard labor with credit for time served. He has appealed, urging the following assignments of error:

1. There was insufficient evidence presented to convict the defendant.
2. The sentence was excessive.
3. The photographic lineup presented at trial was unduly suggestive.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The defendant contends in his first assignment of error that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to convict him of this crime. In particular, the defendant argues that the state failed to prove that the defendant was the person who took the victim's purse. He claims that the victim's opportunity to view the assailant was limited and she was the only eyewitness to the crime whom the state presented to identify the defendant.

The standard of review for the sufficiency of evidence to uphold a conviction is whether or not, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could conclude that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See La. C.Cr.P. art. 821; State v. King, 563 So.2d 449 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 567 So.2d 610 (La.1990). This court will not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh the evidence to overturn a factfinder's determination of guilt. State v. Polkey, 529 So.2d 474 (La.App. 1st Cir.1988), writ denied, 536 So.2d 1233 (La.1989).

The testimony of the victim is sufficient to establish the elements of the offense. State v. Creel, 540 So.2d 511 (La.App. 1st Cir.), writ denied, 546 So.2d 169 (La.1989). The trier of fact may accept or reject, in whole or in part, the testimony of any witness. Moreover, when there is conflicting testimony about factual matters, the resolution of which depends upon a determination of the credibility of the witnesses, the matter is one of the weight of the evidence, not its sufficiency. State v. Johnson, 529 So.2d 466 (La.App. 1st Cir.1988), writ denied, 536 So.2d 1233 (La.1989).

LSA-R.S. 14:65.1(A) defines purse snatching as:

the theft of anything of value contained within a purse or wallet at the time of the theft, from the person of another or which is in the immediate control of another, by use of force, intimidation, or by snatching, but not armed with a dangerous weapon.

The victim, Beverly Lessard, testified that on June 7, 1992, at approximately 10:00 a.m., she stopped by Frank Jones' house to invite him to a card game for her husband. Lessard pulled into the driveway of Jones' house and saw a man and two women standing on his porch. After she rolled down her car window to ask if Jones was home, the individuals on the porch told her that he was not at home. Lessard began to back out of the driveway when a man, later identified as the defendant, opened her car door and got into the passenger seat of her car. Lessard asked the defendant to get out of her car. She kept the car's engine running and continued to gradually back out of the driveway. The defendant asked Lessard what she wanted with Jones. Lessard told him that it was none of his business and again asked him to get out the car. The defendant then tried to "sell [her] something." She again asked the defendant to get out of the car, but the defendant did not leave.

Lessard stopped the car because she did not want to leave the view of the people on Jones' front porch and she did not want to leave Jones' residence with the defendant in her car. The defendant again asked her what she wanted with Jones, and Lessard responded that it was not any of his business. He tried to "sell [her] something again." Lessard stated that she was "very, very scared." The defendant then opened the car door, yelled something to the people on the porch, told her he would "tell Frankie that [she] came by," grabbed her purse, and ran behind the house. Lessard yelled at the *452 people on the porch to help her, but they told her that they did not see anything. Lessard stated that she could not chase the defendant because she was handicapped and could not run. Lessard drove to the police station, where she was directed to the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office. She gave a statement to the sheriff's officers regarding the incident.

Later that same evening, Lessard and her husband went to Jones' house. She stated that Jones was upset about what had happened to Lessard. Lessard gave Jones a description of the assailant which included the fact that he was skinny and about 5'7". She stated that the defendant was dressed "as if he had been at work." Jones then gave her a name of the person who he thought committed the instant crime. Lessard subsequently gave the name given to her by Jones to Officer Mike Toney. Lessard later was asked to look at a photographic lineup that consisted of six photographs. She immediately picked the defendant out of the lineup as the man who took her purse. Lessard stated that she did not give the defendant permission to take her purse or lead him to believe that he had the authority to take her purse. Lessard further testified that there was $100.00 in the purse that the defendant took from her. Lessard stated that she had not seen the man prior to the instant incident. She then identified the defendant in court as being the man who jumped into her car. Lessard stated that there was no doubt in her mind that the defendant was the person who entered her car and took her purse.

On cross-examination, Lessard stated that she was backing her car out of the driveway very slowly and the defendant jumped into her vehicle. She estimated that the defendant was in her vehicle three to four minutes and stated that she got a good look at the defendant because he was "in [her] face the whole time." She testified that in the statement she gave to the police she described the assailant as a skinny black male and gave an estimate of the assailant's height. She did not think that she told the officers how the assailant was dressed. Lessard was home alone when Toney showed her the photographic lineup at her house. She again stated that she was able immediately to identify the assailant from the photographic lineup. She further stated that Toney did not make any suggestions to her about the photographs.

On redirect examination, Lessard stated that she did not feel any pressure by Toney to identify someone from the photographic lineup. She was positive that the defendant was the person who snatched her purse.

Officer Mike Toney of the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office testified that he investigated the offense. Lessard told him that she had gone to Jones' house and had spoken with someone on the front porch as she did not get out of the car.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
655 So. 2d 448, 1995 WL 271839, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-andrews-lactapp-1995.