State v. Desselle

614 So. 2d 276, 1993 WL 25706
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 3, 1993
DocketCR92-647
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 614 So. 2d 276 (State v. Desselle) 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. Desselle, 614 So. 2d 276, 1993 WL 25706 (La. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

614 So.2d 276 (1993)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Rogers Lee DESSELLE.

No. CR92-647.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 3, 1993.

*277 Katharine Geary, Alexandria, for defendant.

Katherine Williamson, Asst. Dist. Atty., Alexandria, for plaintiff.

Before GUIDRY, STOKER and COOKS, JJ.

GUIDRY, Judge.

On October 21, 1986, defendant, Rogers Lee Desselle, was tried by jury and convicted of aggravated escape, a violation of La.R.S. 14:110. The trial judge sentenced Desselle to eight years at hard labor to be served consecutively with any other sentence. Without objection from the State, the trial court granted Desselle an out of time appeal on April 7, 1992. On appeal, he asserts that the evidence was not sufficient to convict him of aggravated escape *278 and that the sentence imposed was excessive under the circumstances. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

On October 4, 1985, Rapides Parish Sheriff's Deputy Bobby Tucker transported Desselle from the Rapides Parish Detention Center to Huey P. Long Hospital for treatment of alleged bleeding and vomiting. At the time, Desselle was incarcerated for an armed robbery conviction. While he was in a small room adjacent to the emergency room waiting area, Desselle overheard Mary Johnson tell her friend that she would retrieve her car from the parking lot. At the time, his legs were restrained by ankle shackles attached by a chain. His left wrist was handcuffed to a waist chain, but his right arm was not restrained. When Johnson drove her car to the emergency room entrance, Desselle walked out of the entrance and around the front of the car. He stuck his right arm through a crack in the driver's side window and somehow opened the previously locked door. Johnson struggled with Desselle to keep him out of her car. Desselle attempted to pull Johnson from the car. When Johnson resisted, he pushed her toward the passenger seat and hopped into the driver's seat. The struggle continued, and Johnson was pummelled in the face by Desselle. As a result, she was bruised and cut. Johnson was later treated for her injuries at the hospital and released.

While this scenario was unfolding, Deputy Tucker was at the nurses' station checking on Desselle's blood test results. He had left Desselle unattended in the small room. When he noticed Desselle had departed, Tucker ran outside and, upon arriving at the vehicle, commanded Desselle to exit. After three warnings, Tucker drew his revolver and shot Desselle in the abdomen. Testimony at trial conflicted regarding the circumstances of the shooting. Tucker testified that he did not pull the trigger and did not intend to shoot Desselle. He surmised that the gun discharged when Desselle hit his hand with the car door. Desselle testified that Tucker intentionally shot him after he exited the vehicle in accordance with Tucker's instructions. After Desselle was shot, Johnson fled through the passenger side door.

Desselle continued to resist while a second deputy, Ricky Doyle, arrived and, from the passenger side, attempted to remove him from the car. Doyle also tried to remove the keys from the ignition. In the struggle, Desselle elbowed Doyle in the face, causing him to fall backwards out of the car. Desselle then started the car and drove off with Doyle clinging to the door and being dragged approximately 10 feet along the pavement. After Doyle let go of the door, Desselle drove away from the hospital. A short time later, he was apprehended by a state policeman and returned to Huey P. Long Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Desselle contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the aggravated escape conviction. Specifically, he claims that, because he was not given his mental health center prescribed medication while in jail, he was incapable of forming the requisite intent to commit aggravated escape. He also contends that the State failed to sufficiently prove that human life was endangered under the circumstances. Additionally, Desselle urges that the physical facts show that he was shot in the right side of his body, indicating that he could not have been shot while still in the car, as claimed by Deputy Tucker.

When the issue of sufficiency of the 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, at 563 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the *279 witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determination of the trier of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, supra, citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983).

La.R.S. 14:110(C) and (E), which defines aggravated escape and those institutions to which it applies, provides:

C. (1) Aggravated escape is the intentional departure of a person from the legal custody of any officer of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or any law enforcement officer or from any place where such person is legally confined when his departure is under circumstances wherein human life is endangered.
(2) Whoever commits an aggravated escape as herein defined shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five years nor more than ten years and any such sentence shall not run concurrently with any other sentence.
* * * * * *
E. The provisions of this Section shall be applicable to all penal, correctional, rehabilitational, and work release centers and any and all prison facilities under the control of the sheriffs of the respective parishes of the state of Louisiana. The prison facilities shall include but are not limited to parish jails, correctional centers, work release centers, and rehabilitation centers, hospitals, clinics, and any and all facilities where inmates are confined under the jurisdiction and control of the sheriffs of the respective parishes.

In order to obtain a conviction for aggravated escape, the State is required to prove all elements thereof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Intent

It is well established that a mental defect or disorder short of insanity will not serve to negate specific intent or reduce the degree of a crime. State v. Leatherwood, 411 So.2d 29 (La.1982). According to La.C.Cr.P. art. 651, evidence of a mental condition or defect is inadmissible when the defendant fails to plead not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. State v. Lecompte, 371 So.2d 239 (La.1978). Despite this procedural omission, we will address the issue.

Defense counsel failed to sufficiently develop the issue so as to offer it as proof of Desselle's state of mind under the Jackson standard. Desselle testified that he was prescribed Sinequan and Mellaril by "mental health" but, at the time of the instant crime, this medication was at home. He further stated that he had not been given any of the medication since his incarceration.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
614 So. 2d 276, 1993 WL 25706, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-desselle-lactapp-1993.