State v. Cuza

260 So. 3d 754
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 28, 2018
DocketNO. 18-KA-187
StatusPublished

This text of 260 So. 3d 754 (State v. Cuza) 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. Cuza, 260 So. 3d 754 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

CHAISSON, J.

*756Defendant, Antonio Cuza, appeals his conviction and sentence for aggravated battery. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant's conviction and sentence.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 8, 2015, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant with aggravated battery, in violation of La. R.S. 14:34. At his arraignment, defendant pled not guilty. The matter proceeded to trial before a six-person jury on October 17, 2017.1 After considering the evidence presented, the jury, on October 18, 2017, found defendant guilty as charged.

On November 8, 2017, defendant filed a motion for new trial, arguing that the verdict was contrary to the law and evidence presented at his trial, and a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal, requesting the court to set aside the verdict or enter a verdict of a lesser included offense. On November 9, 2017, the trial judge heard and denied these two motions and thereafter sentenced defendant to ten years imprisonment at hard labor with credit for time served.2

Defendant now appeals. His appointed appellate counsel has filed a brief challenging the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict defendant of aggravated battery. In addition, defendant has filed a pro se brief, in which he alleges that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in denying the defense request to conduct recross examination of one of the State's witnesses. For the reasons that follow, we find no merit to these arguments.

FACTS

On March 15, 2015, Abraham Ezekiel Montenegro-Sanchez allowed an upstairs neighbor access to his apartment and yard for a child's birthday party. When Mr. Montenegro arrived home from work that day at about 5:00 p.m., he joined in the party and began to drink with the other guests. It is undisputed that during the party, an altercation occurred between Mr. Montenegro and defendant, which resulted in the stabbing of Mr. Montenegro. However, Mr. Montenegro and defendant presented different versions of events as to the circumstances leading up to the stabbing.

According to Mr. Montenegro, at one point during the party, he observed defendant pulling Elba Monroy Mojica's hair and hitting her body with his fist.3 Upon seeing this, Mr. Montenegro and his roommate, *757Joseluis Castellon, went over and grabbed defendant so he would let her go. Defendant told them to let him go and cursed at them. They released him, and defendant said that he would see them soon. Mr. Montenegro went inside his apartment with some friends and continued drinking, and approximately ten minutes later, defendant returned and was holding two knives. Mr. Montenegro grabbed a plastic bar stool to try to defend himself, but defendant was able to stab Mr. Montenegro on the left side of his back. This version of events was corroborated at trial by Mr. Montenegro's roommate, Mr. Castellon.

The defense, however, presented a different scenario through the testimony of Ms. Mojica, defendant's wife, and Osmel Arencibia-Hernandez, a guest at the party. According to these witnesses, Ms. Mojica and defendant left the party and went to their upstairs apartment for a little while. When she came back down alone, Mr. Montenegro tried to kiss her. Ms. Mojica told Mr. Montenegro "no" and pushed him away; however, he persisted in his attempt. Defendant then proceeded down the stairs, saw what was happening, and told Mr. Montenegro to stop bothering her. During this exchange, Mr. Montenegro hit defendant, and a struggle ensued. Two of Mr. Montenegro's friends joined in the fight, threw defendant on the ground, and kicked him. As this was going on, Mr. Montenegro momentarily left, then returned with a knife, and swung it at defendant, resulting in a cut to defendant's hand. According to Mr. Hernandez, the two men continued to struggle over the knife, falling to the ground at the base of the stairs, and both were covered in blood.

Hugo Galvez, an occupant of the apartment complex who was present at the time of the stabbing, called 9-1-1 and then waited in the parking lot for the police to arrive. When Deputy Richard Wilson of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrived, Mr. Galvez relayed that his friend had been stabbed and identified defendant as the perpetrator. Deputy Wilson thereafter detained defendant, who had an open and bleeding cut on his hand. Both defendant and Mr. Montenegro were transported to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

On appeal, defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him of aggravated battery. Defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial established that he acted in self-defense, and he further questions the credibility determinations made by the jury.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court must determine that the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, or a mixture of both, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) ; State v. Neal , 00-674 (La. 6/29/01), 796 So.2d 649, 657, cert. denied , 535 U.S. 940, 122 S.Ct. 1323, 152 L.Ed.2d 231 (2002) ; State v. Havies , 16-635 (La. App. 5 Cir. 3/15/17), 215 So.3d 457, 462.

The directive that the evidence be viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution requires the reviewing court to defer to the actual trier of fact's rational credibility calls, evidence weighing, and inference drawing. This deference to the fact-finder does not permit a reviewing court to decide whether it believes a witness or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence.

*758State v. Caffrey , 08-717 (La. App. 5 Cir. 5/12/09), 15 So.3d 198

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Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
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State v. Dixon
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State v. Seals
83 So. 3d 285 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2011)
State v. Baham
169 So. 3d 558 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Howard
182 So. 3d 360 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Havies
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State v. Bannister
88 So. 3d 628 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012)
State v. Seals
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Bluebook (online)
260 So. 3d 754, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cuza-lactapp-2018.