State v. Coleman

857 So. 2d 1085, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1138, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2603, 2003 WL 22245032
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 17, 2003
DocketNo. 2003-KA-1138
StatusPublished

This text of 857 So. 2d 1085 (State v. Coleman) 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. Coleman, 857 So. 2d 1085, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1138, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2603, 2003 WL 22245032 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

2TERRI F. LOVE, Judge.

This appeal concerns resentencing only. Finding no error in the sentences, we affirm.

Henry Coleman was charged with six felony offenses: one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, and two counts of false imprisonment while armed with a dangerous weapon. The armed robbery charge was dismissed prior to trial. The appellant was found guilty on October 5, 2000, of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and two counts of false imprisonment while armed with a dangerous weapon. The State filed a multiple bill charging the defendant as a second offender, and on February 15, 2001, the trial court sentenced the defendant under La. R.S. 15:529.1 on all five counts. He appealed and, in an unpublished opinion, this court held that the trial court erred in sentencing Coleman as a multiple offender on all five of his offenses and vacated the sentences and remanded the case for resentencing. State v. Coleman, 2001-1463 consolidated with 2001-1151 (La.App. '4 Cir. 9/18/02), 827 So.2d 671.

Mr. Coleman was resentenced on October 13, 2002, to serve ten years on the aggravated battery conviction; twenty years as a second offender under La. R.S. 15:529.1 on the aggravated burglary conviction to run consecutively to the | ¡¡aggravated battery conviction; six years on the unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling conviction to run concurrently to the aggravated burglary conviction; and ten years on each of the two false imprisonment convictions to run concurrently with the aggravated burglary conviction. The appellant’s motion for reconsideration was denied and his motion for an appeal was granted.

The facts of the case, as summarized in State v. Kenyon Williams, 2001-1464 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/1/02), 818 So.2d 274, in which we affirmed a co-defendant’s conviction and sentences, are as follows:

On the evening of November 4, 1999, Derwin Anear, his girlfriend, Yvonne Barthelemy and Latisha Anear, his niece, were asleep in his trailer. Anear awoke when he heard someone knocking at the door. When he opened the door, three men attacked him. Anear told the men that his girlfriend and niece were in the trailer and to leave them alone. At that point, Latisha woke up and heard Anear arguing with someone outside. Latisha ran into the bedroom and woke up Yvonne. One of the men, later identified as Henry Coleman, entered the trailer armed with a gun and told the women to come out into the living area. Latisha told Coleman that Yvonne was pregnant, and he allowed them to sit on the sofa. Coleman asked Yvonne “where were the drugs and money?” She stated that she did not know anything about drugs but that they did have some money that was in the bedroom. She showed Coleman where the money had been hidden. Coleman took the money, approximately six thousand dollars, and walked outside. He returned inside the trailer; then he heard someone say that the police were coming, and all of the men left. Shortly thereafter, she heard a gunshot towards the highway.
At approximately the same time, Rolen-da Merrick, Anear’s sister who lived next door, heard Anear talking to someone. She heard someone say, “Where it’s at?” She went outside and asked the man, later identified as Ortiz Jackson, what he wanted with her brother. Jackson told her to shut up and stay there. Jackson had a knife at Ancar’s [1087]*1087throat. A few minutes later, another man, later identified as Coleman, asked her if anyone was in the trailer and if she had a telephone. She stated that she did Rnot have a phone and that her children and grandchild were in the trailer. Anear and Jackson began fighting outside when Coleman went inside Anear’s- trailer. He was able to break away from Jackson and ran towards the highway. He turned and saw the three men running from the trailer and entering a blue Cadillac. At that point, he observed Kenyon Williams take off the mask he had been wearing. The defendants saw Anear near the highway and fired at him. Anear ran back towards the trailers. He did not realize he had been shot until he got back to his trailer. Rolenda took Anear to the hospital.
When the police arrived on the scene, Yvonne gave the officers a statement and then proceeded to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, she was stopped and asked if she could identify the perpetrators in a one on one identification. She identified Coleman at the scene. Letisha identified Coleman in a photographic lineup, and Anear identified Williams, Coleman and Jackson in photographic lineups. Anear stated that he had seventy-five hundred dollars in his trailer that was to be used to pay off his vehicle. He testified that his mother loaned some of the money to him and the rest was received as a partial settlement of a lawsuit. He admitted to several misdemeanor and traffic convictions as well as two convictions for possession of cocaine.
Detective Jessie Ledet, the officer in charge of the investigation, arrived on the scene at approximately 11:30 p.m. When he arrived on the scene, he learned that the victim’s sister had taken the victim to the hospital. He took photographs of the scene and obtained statements from several witnesses. He conducted photographic lineups with the witnesses who identified Coleman, Jackson and Williams.
Officer William Black, Jr. was on patrol when he heard the description of the vehicle used during the incident. He observed a vehicle fitting the description in Ironton. He stopped the vehicle one mile north of Ironton, near the BP plant. Other officers assisted in stopping the vehicle. The three subjects in the vehicle were ordered out of the vehicle and patted down. Williams was driving the vehicle, Coleman was the passenger in the front seat, and Jackson was the passenger in the rear seat. No weapons were found in the vehicle. Each subject was placed in a separate police vehicle and advised of his rights. While they were on the scene, Lt. Bowers arrived |Rwith Yvonne Barthelemy. After she identified the subjects, they were transported to jail.

State v. Williams, 2001-1464 at pp. 2-4, 818 So.2d at 275-276.

The facts concerning Mr. Coleman’s conviction for false imprisonment are taken from his earlier appeal; they are as follows:

In State v. Williams the facts did not include any testimony as to false imprisonment by someone armed with a dangerous weapon because Williams was found to be not guilty on those charges. However, Coleman was found to be guilty on two charges of false imprisonment on the testimony of Kendall Merrick, who told the court that Coleman entered his home with a knife, cut the telephone line, and tied him up, and that of Rolenda Merrick, who testified that Coleman — armed with a knife — forced her into her home and then tied up her son; he was in the process of tying her [1088]*1088hands when his accomplices called to him and he left.

State v. Coleman, 2001-1463, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/18/02), 827 So.2d 671.

The appellant through counsel now makes two assignments of error: (1) that his sentences are excessive and (2) that he is entitled to a new multiple bill hearing because part of the transcript of the multiple bill hearing is missing. He has also submitted a pro se brief in which he makes several assignments of error concerning his convictions. This appeal, however, is limited to issues concerning his sentences.

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Bluebook (online)
857 So. 2d 1085, 2003 La.App. 4 Cir. 1138, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 2603, 2003 WL 22245032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coleman-lactapp-2003.