State v. Chenevert

49 So. 3d 1059, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 396, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1459, 2010 WL 4320397
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 3, 2010
DocketNo. 10-396
StatusPublished

This text of 49 So. 3d 1059 (State v. Chenevert) 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. Chenevert, 49 So. 3d 1059, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 396, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1459, 2010 WL 4320397 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

GENOVESE, Judge.

| ,In this criminal case, Defendant, Christopher Bryan Chenevert, appeals his conviction of illegal use of a weapon, alleging insufficiency of the evidence. For the following reasons, we reverse his conviction, vacate and set aside his sentence, and enter an order of acquittal.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On January 10, 2009, at about 3:00 a.m., Defendant fired his pistol several times while standing outside on his porch. Defendant’s elderly neighbor became frightened and reported the gunshots; Defendant was arrested soon thereafter. Defendant was charged by bill of information with illegal use of a weapon, a violation of La.R.S. 14:94. Following a trial by jury, Defendant was found guilty as charged. He subsequently filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, which was denied. Defendant was sentenced to serve two years at hard labor, suspended, and placed on supervised probation for three years with general and special conditions of probation. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $500.00, plus court costs.

Defendant has appealed his conviction. He is now before this court on appeal, asserting that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of illegal use of a weapon.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In his sole assignment of error, Defendant argues that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the ver-[1061]*1061diet of illegal use of a weapon. The analysis for a claim of insufficient evidence is well settled:

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determinations of the triers of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, 436 So.2d 559 (citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983)). In order for this Court to affirm a conviction, however, the record must reflect that the state has satisfied its burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

Illegal use of a weapon is defined in La.R.S. 14:94(A) as “the intentional or criminally negligent discharging of any firearm ... where it is foreseeable that it may result in death or great bodily harm to a human being.” In the instant case, Defendant contends that it was not foreseeable that the shots fired by him would cause or result in death or great bodily harm to another.

At trial, Sergeant Brian Phillips of the Rapides Parish Sheriffs Office testified that on January 10, 2009, he was dispatched to 1524 Hickory Hill Road, Pine-ville, Louisiana, between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m., to investigate reports of shots being fired. When he started checking the area, he noticed only one house with lights on. Sergeant Phillips pulled into the driveway and approached the residence. As he started up the steps, he saw empty shell casings scattered about the porch. Sergeant Phillips then returned to his truck to take cover while waiting for backup. When Deputy Eddie Andrus arrived, they approached the house and knocked several times until Defendant eventually opened the door. Defendant was asked to step outside; he was then handcuffed and given his Miranda warning.

Sergeant Phillips told Defendant about the reported gunfire, and Defendant admitted that he had fired his gun. When asked why he had fired his weapon, Defendant reported that he was depressed and wanted to shoot his newly acquired gun. Defendant indicated that he had been shooting at a tree between his home and lathe woods, but officers were unable to find any marks on the tree. When Defendant was told there were no marks on the tree, he then stated he “just shot around,” without specifically identifying the area at which he aimed his gun.

According to Sergeant Phillips, the shell casings that were recovered were found scattered in different places on the front porch and on the ground. Based on his eight years of experience as a firearms instructor, Sergeant Phillips opined that the locations of the shell casings were not consistent with shooting in one position. He explained that if the weapon was fired from a single location, the shell casings would have been ejected in a general area, [1062]*1062not scattered around the area. Seven empty -shell casings were collected.

Sergeant Phillips did not check beyond the tree for evidence of shots fired because it was dark and the woods were thirty to forty yards behind Defendant’s home. A residence was located on one side of Defendant’s house, about one hundred feet away, and was occupied by an elderly woman, seventy-five to eighty years of age. Sergeant Phillips spoke to Defendant’s neighbor, who was scared as a result of shots being fired. Additionally, Sergeant Phillips noted a residence located directly across the street from Defendant’s house and two to three more residences going up the street. Lastly, Sergeant Phillips testified that Defendant appeared to have been drinking and admitted to same.

A video created by Defendant depicting the area around his house where he discharged his weapon was jointly submitted into evidence and played for the jury during the testimony of Sergeant Phillips. Defendant’s home, as portrayed in the video, appeared to be in a rural area, with the home positioned perpendicular to the road. One end of the home faces the woods, and the other end faces the road. Two residences can be seen from Defendant’s porch, one on the property adjacent to his Lporch and one directly across the street. Neither residence, however, is located between Defendant’s home and the tree and woods where he claims to have been aiming.

The majority of the video depicts a wooded area off the right end of the porch, the area where Defendant maintains he discharged his weapon. At least two large trees can be seen in the area before reaching the woods. On the video, Defendant measured the distance between the home and where the woods began. He concluded that the house was sixty-two yards from the woods. In the video, the woods appear thick, with no signs of residences or businesses in the wooded area.

While the video was playing for the jury, Sergeant Phillips directed the jury’s attention to the tree which Defendant initially stated was the target of his gunfire. Sergeant Phillips testified that he did not tour the wooded area where Defendant stated he had fired his weapon.

On cross examination, Sergeant Phillips testified that he did not have any physical evidence to indicate that Defendant shot in any direction other than the woods. He did not find nor was he shown any bullet holes in the neighbor’s house or the house across the street.

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Kennerson
695 So. 2d 1367 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Richardson
425 So. 2d 1228 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1983)
State v. Ordner
951 So. 2d 508 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State Ex Rel. Graffagnino v. King
436 So. 2d 559 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1983)
State v. Duncan
420 So. 2d 1105 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1982)
State v. Moody
393 So. 2d 1212 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1981)
State v. Cain
21 So. 3d 1104 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
Grasser Contracting Co. v. City of New Orleans
118 So. 841 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1927)
State v. Powell
664 So. 2d 608 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 So. 3d 1059, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 396, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1459, 2010 WL 4320397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chenevert-lactapp-2010.