State v. Coutee

970 So. 2d 72, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 568, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1985, 2007 WL 3173564
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 31, 2007
DocketNo. KA 2007-568
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 970 So. 2d 72 (State v. Coutee) 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. Coutee, 970 So. 2d 72, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 568, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1985, 2007 WL 3173564 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

EZELL, Judge.

hOn March 22, 2006, the Defendant, Gregory Anderson Coutee, was originally charged with armed robbery. The bill of information was amended on June 21, [74]*742006, charging the Defendant with first degree robbery, a violation of La.R.S. 14:64.1. A jury trial began on October 17, 2006, and the jury returned a guilty verdict on October 18, 2006. The Defendant was sentenced on October 27, 2006, to serve forty years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The Defendant is now before this court on appeal, asserting that the evidence is insufficient to convict him of first degree robbery, and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress.

FACTS

On January 23, 2006, the Defendant entered the Lexington Self Storage and robbed the owner, David Paulk, who was working that day. The Defendant was found that same day at the residence of Nicole Howard and was subsequently arrested on outstanding warrants. After the Defendant was read his Miranda rights, he confessed to the robbery and informed officers where the stolen items, a wallet and checkbook, could be found in the residence. Ms. Howard gave her consent to search the residence, and the stolen items were retrieved.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

By this assignment of error, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of first degree robbery. 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 (1979), 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 Cciting 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.

First degree robbery is defined in La. R.S. 14:64.1, which states, in pertinent part:

A. First degree robbery is the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another, or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, when the offender leads the victim to reasonably believe he is armed with a dangerous weapon.

Thus, the State had the burden of showing that: 1. an object was taken; 2. the object had value; 3. the object belonged to another or was in the immediate control of another; 4. force or intimidation was used to take the object; and, 5. the victim believed the offender was armed with a dangerous weapon. In the instant case, the Defendant questions whether the State proved the element of force or intimidation to commit the taking while leading Mr. Paulk to believe he was armed with a dangerous weapon.

[75]*75The victim, David Paulk, testified that he was working at his business, Lexington Self Storage, on the morning of January 23, 2006. He explained that around 10:00 a.m., the Defendant entered the business and inquired about renting a storage space. Mr. Paulk informed the Defendant that he did not have any of the size requested available. The Defendant left the building, and Mr. Paulk assumed that the Defendant had driven out the parking lot. Instead, the Defendant drove back behind |sthe storage buildings and parked his vehicle between the buildings, out of Mr. Paulk’s sight.

Next, the Defendant entered the business again and asked Mr. Paulk to loan him twenty dollars. Mr. Paulk refused, and the Defendant asked him again. When Mr. Paulk refused the second time, Mr. Paulk testified that the Defendant jumped at him, grabbed him, pulled him up out of his chair and threw him in a storage closet. Mr. Paulk was fearful from the moment' the Defendant first grabbed him because the Defendant was a much larger man and was a stranger to him. Mr. Paulk testified that he was 5'6" tall and weighed 170 pounds, whereas he believed the Defendant to be about 6'2" tall and weighing 240 pounds. At the time the Defendant was booked, he measured 6'0" tall and 245 pounds.

According to Mr. Paulk, the storage room was very well lit. Mr. Paulk hit the wall in the storage room with enough force to bust a hole in the sheetrock. Photographs of the storage closet and damage to the sheetrock were submitted into evidence as exhibits 6, 7, 11, 28, and 29. The Defendant subsequently got Mr. Paulk down on the floor and tied Mr. Paulk’s hands behind his back with speaker wire he pulled off an old computer in the storage room. Mr. Paulk was able to break loose and the Defendant pulled the speaker wire off another computer and tied Mr. Paulk up again. As the men continued to fight in the closet, the Defendant got Mr. Paulk down on the floor and tied him up again with a piece of electrical wiring. The Defendant was on Mr. Paulk’s back with Mr. Paulk’s face down and his head against the floor. At that time, Mr. Paulk saw the Defendant reach behind himself and pull something from his waistband or a pocket. At that time, Mr. Paulk believed, without a doubt, that the Defendant was armed with a weapon. Mr. Paulk could not identify the object, only that it was brown colored. He thought the object was either the butt |4of a gun or a knife. Mr. Paulk was unable to look up and exactly identify the object. Mr. Paulk stated that the Defendant did not touch him with the object, such as touching him with the tip of a gun or holding a knife against his neck. Additionally, nothing was demanded of Mr. Paulk during the time the Defendant was holding the object and the Defendant never said that he had a weapon while they were in the storage room.

Mr. Paulk stated that he believed that the Defendant was going to kill him, so he decided to stop fighting in hopes that the Defendant would take what he wanted and leave the building. He was not sure what the Defendant did with the object, but speculated that the Defendant put it back in his pocket or waistband.

Mr. Paulk testified that, at that time, the Defendant took his wallet and checkbook from his pocket and some cash that was on his desk. Next, the Defendant told Mr. Paulk that he was getting his gun and was going to kill him, then ran out of the door. Mr. Paulk believed at that time that the Defendant had the power to execute the threat. Mr. Paulk explained that the Defendant went back behind the building, got in his truck, and drove away. After freeing himself, Mr. Paulk observed the di[76]*76rection in which the Defendant was driving and called 911 and reported the crime.

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Bluebook (online)
970 So. 2d 72, 7 La.App. 3 Cir. 568, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1985, 2007 WL 3173564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coutee-lactapp-2007.