State v. Celestine

735 So. 2d 109, 98 La.App. 5 Cir. 1166
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 30, 1999
Docket98-KA-1166
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 735 So. 2d 109 (State v. Celestine) 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. Celestine, 735 So. 2d 109, 98 La.App. 5 Cir. 1166 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

735 So.2d 109 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Andrew J. CELESTINE.

No. 98-KA-1166.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 30, 1999.

*111 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Ellen S. Fantaci, George C. Wallace, Jr., Richard Bates, Assistant Dist. Attys., for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Laurie A. White, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans. for Defendant-Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, Jr., THOMAS F. DALEY and SUSAN A. CHEHARDY.

DUFRESNE, J.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging the defendant, Andrew J. Celestine, with one count of aggravated burglary, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:60, and one count of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.2. The two counts were severed, and the defendant thereafter proceeded to trial on the aggravated burglary charge. After considering the evidence presented, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged. As a result of this conviction, the trial judge sentenced the defendant to twenty-five years imprisonment at hard labor.

The state subsequently filed a bill of information seeking to have the defendant adjudicated a second felony offender pursuant to the provisions of LSA-R.S. 15:529.1. Following his admission to the allegations contained in the bill, the trial court adjudicated the defendant a multiple offender, vacated the original sentence and imposed an enhanced sentence of twenty-five years imprisonment at hard labor. It is from this conviction and sentence that the defendant now appeals.

FACTS

On August 31, 1996, Ms. Ann Culotta, while living in a Metairie apartment complex, was awakened at approximately 7:00 a.m. by some noise. Thinking that it was a maintenance person, she stayed in bed. However, when the noise continued, Ms. Culotta got out of bed, walked into her den and saw a man, subsequently identified as the defendant, standing in the middle of her apartment. According to Ms. Culotta, she asked the defendant what he was doing in her apartment, to which he replied, *112 "I don't know." At that point, Ms. Culotta began screaming. The defendant then attacked her, grabbed her by the hair and pushed her into her bedroom and against the furniture. The defendant kept telling her to shut up. When she quit screaming, the defendant released her, and after a few minutes, left through the front door. As the defendant left, Ms. Culotta noticed that the sliding glass door in the den was half open, and that the bar used to keep the sliding glass door from moving was on the carpet next to the door.

Ms. Culotta thereafter reported the incident to the police. When they arrived at her apartment, Ms. Culotta gave a statement, including a description of the perpetrator. Based on her description and as a result of further investigation, the police compiled a photographic lineup. A few days after the incident, Ms. Culotta viewed this lineup and positively identified the defendant as the perpetrator. In addition, she positively identified the defendant in court as the individual in her apartment on August 31, 1996.

At trial, Ms. Culotta testified that as a result of this attack, she sustained cuts and bruises and also lost some hair. She additionally testified that she did not give the defendant permission to be in her apartment.

Following the presentation of the state's case, defense counsel called Ms. Myra Huy, the defendant's live-in girlfriend, to testify on his behalf. According to Ms. Huy, on August 31, 1996, the defendant returned to their apartment at approximately 4:00 a.m. after a night out drinking with his friends. When Ms. Huy woke up at 6:30 a.m., the defendant was asleep and remained asleep until she woke him up a little past 7:00 a.m.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

In his first assignment of error, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him. Specifically, the defendant claims that the state failed to prove that he entered the victim's apartment with the intent to commit a felony or a theft therein. He also claims that the state failed to sufficiently prove the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator.

The constitutional standard for testing the sufficiency of the evidence, as enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), requires that a conviction be based on proof sufficient for any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Rosiere, 488 So.2d 965 (La.1986). When circumstantial evidence is used to prove the commission of the offense, LSA-R.S. 15:438 mandates that, "assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence." The requirement of LSA-R.S. 15:438 does not establish a standard separate from the Jackson standard, but rather provides a helpful methodology for determining the existence of reasonable doubt. State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676 (La.1984); State v. Ruffin, 96-226 (La.App. 5 Cir. 8/28/96), 680 So.2d 85. Ultimately, all evidence, both direct and circumstantial, must be sufficient to support the conclusion that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Burrow, 565 So.2d 972 (La.App. 5 Cir.1990), writ denied, 572 So.2d 60 (La.1991). Additionally, the state is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Battle, 93-900 (La.App. 5 Cir. 3/29/94), 635 So.2d 337, writ denied, 94-1592 (La.10/28/94), 644 So.2d 649.

The defendant herein was convicted of aggravated burglary. LSA-R.S. 14:60 defines an aggravated burglary as the unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, if the offender is armed with a dangerous weapon upon entry, arms himself with a dangerous weapon after *113 entering, or commits a battery[1] upon any person while inside or upon entering or leaving. State v. Ortiz, 96-1609 (La.10/21/97), 701 So.2d 922, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 2352, 141 L.Ed.2d 722 (1998).

In the present case, the testimony at trial established that while Ms. Culotta was asleep, the defendant entered her apartment without her permission. When Ms. Culotta awoke and discovered the defendant standing in her den, she began screaming. The defendant then attacked her, grabbed her by the hair, and pushed her into the bedroom and up against the furniture. As a result of the attack, Ms. Culotta sustained cuts and bruises which required medical treatment, and she also lost a lot of her hair. At trial, Ms. Culotta testified that when the defendant eventually left her apartment, she noticed that the sliding glass door was half open and that the bar used to keep the door from moving was on the carpet next to the door. There was also testimony by one of the police officers that a few of the boards in the fence adjacent to the sliding glass door were "freshly pulled loose." In addition, when the defendant was discovered by Ms. Culotta, he offered no excuse for his presence, thereafter attacked the victim, and remained in her apartment for several minutes after the struggle.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
735 So. 2d 109, 98 La.App. 5 Cir. 1166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-celestine-lactapp-1999.