State v. Dominick

129 So. 3d 782, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0121, 2013 WL 6115141, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2403
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 20, 2013
DocketNo. 2013-KA-0121
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 129 So. 3d 782 (State v. Dominick) 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. Dominick, 129 So. 3d 782, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0121, 2013 WL 6115141, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2403 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROSEMARY LEDET, Judge.

_jjln this criminal appeal, the appellant, Steven J. Dominick, seeks review of the district court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to multiple offenses— forcible rape, second degree kidnapping, stalking, and extortion. Finding no error on the part of the district court, we affirm his convictions and his sentences for stalking and extortion, but remand to the district court for clarification of his sentences for forcible rape and second degree kidnapping. We also grant Mr. Dominick’s motions to seal.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On June 10, 2010, the State indicted Mr. Dominick on the following offenses:

1. four counts of forcible rape of C.P.1 (counts 1-4) (La. R.S. 14:42.1);
2. two counts of stalking and one count of extortion of J.R. (counts 5-7) (La. R.S. 14:40.2; La. R.S. 14:66);
3. two counts of stalking and one count of extortion, forcible rape, and second degree kidnapping of O.C. (counts 8-12) (La. R.S. 14:40.2; La. R.S. 14:66; La. R.S. 14:42.1; La. R.S. 14:44.1);
4. one count of stalking of M.H. (count 13) (La. R.S. 14:40.2); and
|25. one count of stalking and extortion of D.C. (counts 14-15) (La. R.S. 14:40.2; La. R.S. 14:66).

The indictment indicates that the offenses occurred between May 1, 2006 and May 31, 2010. The indictment was filed in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court under case number 497-512.2 At his June 17, 2010 arraignment, Mr. Dominick pled not guilty.

[785]*785On November 19, 2010, the State noticed its intent to use evidence that Mr. Dominick committed eighteen similar offenses against women in Orleans Parish and other jurisdictions — the Prieur evidence.3 On March 25, 2011, the district court denied Mr. Dominick’s motion to suppress and found the Prieur evidence admissible. Both this court and the Louisiana Supreme Court denied Mr. Dominick’s writ seeking review of the district court’s ruling on the admission of the Prieur evidence. State v. Dominick, 11-0620 (La.App. 4 Cir. 6/20/11) (unpub.); and State v. Dominick, 11-1627 (La.10/7/11), 71 So.3d 324. On March 13, 2012, Mr. Dominick pled guilty to all charges.4 On June 12, 2012, Mr. Dominick’s trial counsel withdrew; and appellate counsel enrolled as counsel of record.

On July 9, 2012, Mr. Dominick filed, and the district court granted, a “Motion for Defense Expert to Download Text Messages from Defendant’s Cell Phone and That Was Entered into Evidence Pursuant to Arrest” and a “Motion to | .-¡Inspect and Photocopy Legal Documents belonging to Defendant and his Previous Attorney Seized Pursuant to a Search Warrant of Defendant’s Home and Subsequently Entered] into Evidence.” On July 30, 2012, Mr. Dominick filed, and the district court granted, a “Motion to Order Cell Phone Currently Located in the District Attorney’s Evidence Locker Be Mailed to Defense Expert, Wes Attaway.”

On August 8, 2012, Mr. Dominick filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea. He also requested a hearing on the motion to withdraw the guilty plea. Although the district court denied the motion to withdraw the guilty plea and the request for a hearing, it allowed Mr. Dominick to proffer exhibits in support of the motion. On that same date, the district court sentenced Mr. Dominick to twenty years on each of the five counts of forcible rape; fifteen years on each of the three counts of extortion; twenty years on the one count of second degree kidnapping; and five years on each of the six counts of stalking. The district court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. This appeal followed.5

MOTIONS TO SEAL

In connection with his appeal, Mr. Dominick filed a “Motion to Seal Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea” and a “Motion to Seal Proffered Evidence.” In support of his motions to seal, he cites La. R.S. 46:1844(W)(l)(b), which provides for the confidentiality of the identity of all victims of sex offenses.6 In his motions, he [786]*786| ¿states that “[t]he Motion to Withdraw provides the victims[’] names in full,” and that “[t]he evidence proffered provides the victims!’] names in full.” Mr. Dominick’s motions to seal are granted.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Because Mr. Dominick pled guilty and no preliminary hearing was held, the only facts concerning the offenses to which he pled guilty were elicited at the March 25, 2011 hearing on Mr. Dominick’s motion to suppress. At the hearing, Detective James O’Hern of the New Orleans Police Department (“NOPD”) testified that he commenced an investigation of Mr. Dominick in response to a complaint by Paul Bello. According to Detective O’Hern, Mr. Bello’s complaint was that a rapist was extorting a victim’s silence by threatening to expose compromising pictures of her. Detective O’Hern testified that he spoke with the victim, O.C., who confirmed that Mr. Dominick had raped her and was extorting her. She told him that Mr. Dominick was threatening that if she reported the crime to the police, he would expose compromising photographs of her.

Detective O’Hern testified that his investigation also revealed that Mr. Dominick had been arrested thirty-eight times, dating back to 1992, for domestic violence or sexual offenses. After speaking to some of Mr. Dominick’s other Lvictims, Detective O’Hern determined that charges could be brought against Mr. Dominick.

On June 11, 2011, Detective O’Hern obtained and executed a search warrant for Mr. Dominick’s residence — 1937-39 Duels Street — and his vehicle — a 2008 Ford Explorer. The search warrant was for pictures and other information Mr. Dominick possessed that would compromise the victims. The search yielded cameras, photographs, video equipment, computers, video and audio tapes, and surveillance equipment. The seized items were catalogued in NOPD’s Central Evidence and Property Room and forwarded for analysis to the high-tech forensic unit at the Attorney General’s Office. On the same day, the NOPD’s Violent Offender Unit and the United States’ Marshal’s Service arrested Mr. Dominick at his residence.

ERRORS PATENT

A review for errors patent reveals the following four sentencing errors:

1. As to the sentences for forcible rape (La. R.S. 14:42.1), the district court failed to articulate that the sentences were to be served at hard labor with at least two years of the sentences to be served without parole.
2. Although the sentences for stalking convictions (La. R.S. 14:40.2) were required to be served without benefits of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, the district court failed to deny those benefits.
3. Although the sentences for extortion (La. R.S. 14:66) were required to be served at hard labor, the district court failed to so stipulate.
4. Although the sentence for second degree kidnapping (La. R.S. 14:44.1(0) was required to be served at hard labor with at least two years served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, the district court failed to impose hard labor and failed to deny parole for at least two years of the sentence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
129 So. 3d 782, 2013 La.App. 4 Cir. 0121, 2013 WL 6115141, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dominick-lactapp-2013.