State v. Arceneaux

111 So. 3d 1177, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 1047, 2013 WL 1319469, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 625
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 3, 2013
DocketNo. 12-1047
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 111 So. 3d 1177 (State v. Arceneaux) 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. Arceneaux, 111 So. 3d 1177, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 1047, 2013 WL 1319469, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 625 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

GREMILLION, Judge.

| defendant, Ernest Joseph Arceneaux, was convicted of the aggravated burglary of Rachel Nederveld’s apartment and the simple burglary of a car she was using. Defendant was charged with simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, a violation of La.R.S. 14:62.2; aggravated burglary, a violation of La.R.S. 14:60; and simple burglary of an automobile, a violation of La. R.S. 14:62.

The State moved to sever the charge of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and proceeded to trial on the remaining charges of aggravated burglary and simple burglary of an automobile. Defendant was subsequently found guilty on both counts. He was sentenced to thirty years at hard labor for aggravated burglary and to five years at hard labor for simple burglary of an automobile. The trial court ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.

Defendant is before this court asserting two assignments of error. He contends that the trial court erred in finding him guilty of simple burglary of an automobile, and that the trial court erred in imposing excessive and consecutive sentences.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In his first assignment of error, Defendant contends that the trial court erred in finding him guilty of simple burglary of an automobile.1

The standard of review in a sufficiency of the evidence claim is “whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found proof beyond a reasonable doubt of each of the essential elements of the crime charged.” State v. Leger, 05-11, p. 91 (La.7/10/06), 936 So.2d 108, 170, cert. denied, 549 U.S. 1221, 127 S.Ct. 1279, 167 L.Ed.2d 100 (2007) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 12(La.1984)). The Jackson standard of review is now legislatively embodied in La.Code Crim.P. art. 821. It does not allow the appellate court “to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact-finder.” State v. Pigford, 05-477, p. 6 (La.2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517, 521 (citing State v. Robertson, 96-1048 (La.10/4/96), 680 So.2d 1165). The appellate court’s function is not to assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh the evidence. State v. Smith, 94-3116 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442.
The factfinder’s role is to weigh the credibility of witnesses. State v. Ryan, 07-504 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/7/07), 969 So.2d 1268. Thus, other than insuring the sufficiency evaluation standard of Jackson, “the appellate court should not second-guess the credibility determination of the trier of fact,” but rather, it should defer to the rational credibility and evidentiary determinations of the jury. Id. at 1270 (quoting State v. Lambert, 97-64, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 9/30/98), 720 So.2d 724, 726-27).

State v. McKithem, 11-1402, pp. 6-7 (La. App. 3 Cir. 5/2/12), 93 So.3d 684, 691.

The Defendant was convicted of simple burglary of an automobile.

In order to obtain a conviction for simple burglary, the elements of the crime must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The elements of the crime at issue, simple burglary, are contained in La.R.S. 14:62:
[1180]*1180Simple burglary is the unauthorized entering of any dwelling, vehicle, watercraft, or other structure, movable or immovable, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein....
Like most felonies, burglary consists of an act element and an intent element. La.R.S. 14:7, 14:8. The act element, or actus reus, is the unauthorized entry of a dwelling or vehicle. The intent element, or mens rea, is the specific intent to commit a theft (or other felony) in the dwelling or vehicle. State v. Maxie, 614 So.2d 1318 (La.App. 3 Cir.1993). Theft is defined by La.R.S. 14:67(A) as follows:
Theft is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which belongs to another, either without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. An intent to deprive the other permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential.

State v. Kennerson, 96-1518, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367, 1371-72.

1 sNederveld testified that on December 3, 2010, she returned to her apartment around midnight and saw a man standing in her bedroom. The man grabbed Neder-veld and started hitting her in the head and the back. Nederveld screamed and kicked, and the man ran away. Nederveld testified that the man she saw was Defendant.

The same night, Nederveld saw that the window of her mother’s car, which she had been using, was broken. Nederveld indicated that the window had duct tape on it, and she did not know how the tape got there. Nederveld testified that nothing was missing from the ear. However, she did not inspect the inside of the ear to determine if anything had been tampered with. Nederveld also testified that she did not give Defendant permission to enter the car.

Detective Larry Theriot determined that Defendant worked at the apartment complex where Nederveld lived. A few days after the incidents, Detective Theriot spoke with Defendant. During the interview, Defendant admitted that he entered Nederveld’s apartment and was looking for cash, jewelry, and other items. Defendant was then questioned about Nederveld’s car as follows:

Q Um, and then also that night, the young girl’s car was broken into. Did you do that? Did you break into her car that night?
A Yes, yes.
Q That was parked in the front.
A I’m the one that bust [sic] the window. Yes.
Q Okay. Which window did you bust?
A The back and the right.
Q Okay. The back passenger side?
14A Yeah.
Q All the way in the back. Did you get anything out of the car?
A No, sir.
Q Okay. Why didn’t you get anything out the car?
A It was nothing in it.
Q Nothing in it?
A No.

Defendant was subsequently asked why he chose Nederveld’s apartment, and he responded:

I don’t know, man. Uh, I don’t know. I just — I just happened to see her, you know what I’m saying? Uh, you know, going by her car and gotten [sic] cash, you know what I’m saying? So I figure, you know what I’m saying? So I figure, you know what I’m saying?
[1181]*1181Easy score. Uh, uh, uh, money, you know what I’m saying?

Defendant further stated: “Yeah, you know what I’m saying. I say, well, I — I say, well, that [sic] all intention on my mind right now. I say [sic], this is where I might have to fed cash that is here.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
111 So. 3d 1177, 12 La.App. 3 Cir. 1047, 2013 WL 1319469, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 625, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-arceneaux-lactapp-2013.