State v. Davies

813 So. 2d 1262, 2002 WL 507119
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 5, 2002
Docket35,783-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 813 So. 2d 1262 (State v. Davies) 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. Davies, 813 So. 2d 1262, 2002 WL 507119 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

813 So.2d 1262 (2002)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
A.J. DAVIES, Appellant.

No. 35,783-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

April 5, 2002.

*1263 Carey J. Ellis, III, Louisiana Appellate Project, for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Don Burkett, District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, STEWART and KOSTELKA, JJ.

BROWN, J.

Defendant, A.J. Davies, was tried and convicted of second degree murder, two counts of attempted aggravated rape and two counts of second degree kidnapping. Defendant filed a Motion for Post Verdict Judgment of Acquittal which was denied. On August 15, 2001, the trial court sentenced defendant to life at hard labor without benefit on the second degree murder conviction. Defendant was further sentenced to 30 years at hard labor without benefit on each attempted aggravated rape conviction and 30 years at hard labor without benefit on each second degree kidnapping *1264 conviction.[1] Defense counsel objected to the severity of the sentences and on August 24, 2001, he filed a Motion to Reconsider the Sentence, which was ultimately denied. Defendant now appeals, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdicts and that defendant was subject to double jeopardy. For the reasons set forth below, defendant's convictions and sentences are affirmed.

Facts

On the evening of July 8, 2000, two juvenile girls, T.M. and S.J., asked defendant to give them a ride home. Defendant lived in the Allendale community in Shreveport, Louisiana, as did the girls, and was known to them as the man who sold candy and dolls throughout the neighborhood. To T.M. and S.J., defendant could be trusted and did not represent danger. After the girls got into defendant's automobile, he asked them whether they wanted a drink. Both girls refused the offer and requested that he take them home.

Defendant passed the exit to the girls' neighborhood. T.M. testified that she told defendant to turn off onto Pete Harris Drive and take them home. However, defendant continued to drive south on I 49, passing the exits which would lead to the girls' home. Defendant stated that he had plenty of gas money and that he was just riding.

Defendant drove out of Shreveport and into DeSoto Parish. While driving, defendant asked S.J., who was seated in the back seat of the automobile, to pass him a bat from the rear of the car. S.J. complied and handed the bat to him. Defendant then asked both girls to have sex with him. When they refused, he began to threaten them.

Specifically, defendant told them that they were going to have sex with him or die. T.M. testified that at one point, defendant put a knife to S.J.'s throat and ordered her to move to the front seat of the automobile. Once she was in the front seat, defendant began to fondle S.J. and touch her breast. Defendant continued to threaten the girls while holding the bat. The teenagers reiterated their desire to go home, but defendant ignored them.

The girls, whispering among each other, made the decision to jump from the vehicle. The oldest girl, T.M., testified that she clutched S.J.'s hand and jumped from the automobile, which was moving at approximately 20 m.p.h. When defendant realized that the girls were trying to escape, he sped up to approximately 50 m.p.h. T.M. received injuries which required hospitalization. S.J. was not so fortunate.

Donald Young, an eyewitness, testified that he saw T.M. jump from the vehicle. He also stated that T.M. was holding on to a second person (S.J.), but that she did not jump out at that time. Young also testified that as T.M. jumped, the vehicle she jumped out of began to accelerate. He stated T.M. was hysterical and repeatedly told him that defendant tried to rape her and her friend. T.M. also reported to Young that defendant was using a bat and a knife as weapons. Young called 911 for emergency assistance.

Chief Petty Officer Michael Lynch, a fireman with DeSoto Fire District No. 9, testified that when he arrived at the location, *1265 T.M. was hysterical. He took her report and began searching for the car and S.J. Approximately 200 yards from where T.M. had jumped from the moving vehicle, S.J.'s body was discovered, covered with fire ants as she was lying face down in an ant bed. An autopsy concluded that 14-year-old S.J. died from a lacerated spinal cord and multiple skull fractures.

While en route to the scene, officers stopped a vehicle fitting the description given by T.M. and Donald Young. Defendant, who was driving the vehicle, was alone. Upon further investigation, a bat and knife were found in the vehicle. Defendant was arrested and taken into custody.

Discussion

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. According to defendant, the state failed to prove the necessary elements of either second degree kidnapping or attempted aggravated rape. He also asserts that there existed reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Defendant further contends that the state did not prove that he had a specific intent to kill.

The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim 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); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App.2d Cir.04/02/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.3d 1333.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983); State v. Owens, 30,903 (La.App.2d Cir.09/25/98), 719 So.2d 610, writ denied, 98-2723 (La.02/05/99), 737 So.2d 747.

Specific intent is a state of mind and need not be proved as a fact; it may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction and the actions of the defendant. State v. Graham, 420 So.2d 1126 (La.1982); State v. Fuller, 414 So.2d 306 (La.1982); State v. Doby, 540 So.2d 1008 (La.App. 2d Cir.1989), writ denied, 544 So.2d 398 (La.1989). Specific intent is that state of mind that exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act. La. R.S. 14:10(1); State v. Lindsey, 543 So.2d 886 (La.1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1074, 110 S.Ct. 1796, 108 L.Ed.2d 798 (1990); State v. McCray, 621 So.2d 94 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1993). The determination of whether the requisite intent is present in a criminal case is for the trier of fact. State v. Huizar, 414 So.2d 741 (La.1982); State v. Butler, 322 So.2d 189 (La.1975); State v. Dean, 528 So.2d 679 (La.App. 2d Cir.1988). In reviewing the correctness of such a determination, this court considers the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution to see if the evidence is sufficient to convince a reasonable trier of fact of the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt as to every element of the offense. Jackson v. Virginia, supra; State v. Huizar, supra.

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Bluebook (online)
813 So. 2d 1262, 2002 WL 507119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-davies-lactapp-2002.