State v. Blackwell

263 So. 3d 483
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 27, 2018·No. NO. 18-KA-116·Published

Opinion

WINDHORST, J.

Defendant, Ernest R. Blackwell, seeks review of his convictions and sentences for misapplication of payment by a contractor and engaging in business without a contractor's license. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's convictions and sentences and remand with instructions.

Statement of the Case

On November 4, 2013, the District Attorney for St. John the Baptist Parish filed a bill of information charging defendant, Ernest R. Blackwell, with misapplication of payment by a contractor in an amount greater than one thousand dollars, in violation of La. R.S. 14:202 (count one), and engaging in business without a contractor's license, in violation of La. R.S. 37:2160 (count two).1 Defendant was arraigned on November 20, 2013, and pled not guilty to the charged offenses. On September 15, 2015, trial commenced before a six-person jury and concluded on September 17, 2015, with a unanimous verdict of guilty on both counts.

On September 30, 2015, the State filed a multiple offender bill of information pursuant to La. R.S. 15:529.1, alleging defendant to be a second-felony offender.

On January 25, 2016, the trial court sentenced defendant on count one, misapplication of payment by a contractor, to fourteen months "incarcerated," with seven of the fourteen months suspended, and on count two, engaging in business without a contractor's license, to fifty-six months in the Department of Corrections, with thirty months suspended during which time defendant is to be placed on active probation. The trial court ordered that these sentences were to be served concurrently. Immediately *486after sentencing, defense counsel moved for the granting of his written motion for appeal filed on October 20, 2015, which the trial court orally granted.

On February 16, 2016, after a hearing on the multiple offender bill, the trial court found the State had met their burden of proof as to the predicate convictions alleged in the multiple bill. On May 4, 2016, a restitution hearing was conducted. On September 9, 2016, the trial court ordered defendant to pay restitution on count one in the amount of $5,510.11 to the victims in this case. The court then resentenced defendant as a second-felony offender, to five years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections on count one and six years imprisonment with the Department of Corrections on count two. The trial court further ordered defendant's enhanced sentences to run concurrently with each other and imposed a two thousand dollar ($2,000) fine on each count.

On June 19, 2017, defendant filed an application for post-conviction relief (APCR) seeking an out-of-time appeal. On August 14, 2017, finding an appeal had previously been filed on defendant's behalf, the trial court signed defendant's written motion for appeal, which was filed on October 20, 2015, and orally granted after sentencing in January of 2016.

Facts

Defendant's convictions stem from repair work done for Thomas and Michelle Calmes. Mr. and Mrs. Calmes' home in LaPlace, Louisiana, was badly damaged in 2012 by Hurricane Isaac. In mid-September of 2012, Mr. and Mrs. Calmes hired defendant to perform repair work on their home because of his competitive quote, projected timeline, and "because he portrayed himself as a contractor who would do all the subcontracting" and supervise the work. According to Mrs. Calmes, defendant indicated that he was a licensed contractor able to perform all of her home repairs and that anything he was unable to do he would hire subcontractors to do. At trial, Mrs. Calmes testified that when meeting defendant, he provided her with a flyer indicating that he was with Professional Remodeling Specialists, aka "PRS, LLC" (PRS), which contained a license number (40025) indicating an association with "Dean Walters, Residential/Commercial State Licensed Contractor," as well as two email addresses, namely "eblackwell777@yahoo.com" and "professionalrspecialists@gmail.com." Mrs. Calmes explained that she would have never hired someone who was not a licensed contractor.

Defendant personally presented Mr. and Mrs. Calmes with two contracts for repair work, which they both signed on October 11 and 13, 2012. The first contract pertained to all labor and materials for repairs to their home with a contract price of $82,500.00, and the second was for roof repairs with a contract price of $12,000.00. Mrs. Calmes testified that the company listed on the contract was "Dean Walters, d/b/a Professional Remodeling Specialists, LLC," license number 40025, and was signed on behalf of PRS by Keely Authement.2 Defendant told the Calmeses that Ms. Authement was a company officer, that she signed all contracts, and that he and Dean Walters were co-owners of PRS. Mr. and Mrs. Calmes never met either Ms. Authement or Mr. Walters.

Work began on the Calmeses' home on October 15, 2012. At trial, Mrs. Calmes explained that the repairs to her home would be financed by insurance money *487paid directly to her mortgage company, Wells Fargo, who would then release payment to her and her husband. Defendant, as the contractor/owner of PRS, signed a waiver of lien, required by Wells Fargo, related to his work on the project.

Mrs. Calmes testified that she and her husband paid defendant approximately $55,000.00. The first check, dated October 18, 2012, was from Mrs. Calmes' personal bank account for $8,000.00, written out to PRS, and was endorsed for deposit by Ms. Authement. The second check, dated October 25, 2012, was issued by Wells Fargo, made out to PRS and the Calmeses, and was for $6,032.78. Mrs. Calmes testified that she and her husband, along with defendant and Ms. Authement, endorsed the check. A third check, dated November 8, 2012, was issued by Wells Fargo and was made out to PRS and the Calmeses, for $16,661.19. The Calmeses and only defendant endorsed this check. The last check dated December 7, 2012, was from Wells Fargo, for $24,964.47, and was made out to PRS and the Calmeses. The Calmeses endorsed this check and gave it to defendant.

Mrs. Calmes recalled that once work commenced, there were problems with the sheetrock, paint, the wood flooring, and the kitchen and bathroom tile. She explained that defendant was difficult to contact and that defendant's subcontractors complained that defendant was not paying them for their work. Mrs. Calmes testified that while the contract stated that the price included labor and materials, the Calmeses spent approximately $8,000.00 of their own money purchasing materials at defendant's request. Defendant told the Calmeses that he would reimburse them for their purchases but never did.

Mrs. Calmes further testified that she and her husband selected cabinets and countertops from John Sun Kitchen and Bath (John Sun) as part of the repairs to be made to their home and that defendant only paid a portion of the money owed to John Sun, claiming that the cabinets had not been installed correctly. According to Mrs. Calmes, defendant was aware that money was owed for the cabinets and informed the Calmeses that it would be paid off. However, because the bill was not paid, a lien was placed on the Calmeses' home for the outstanding amount.

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State v. Blackwell, 263 So. 3d 483 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

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