State v. Doyle

525 So. 2d 1090, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 469, 1988 WL 30937
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 1988
DocketNo. K87-841
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 525 So. 2d 1090 (State v. Doyle) 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. Doyle, 525 So. 2d 1090, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 469, 1988 WL 30937 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

KNOLL, Judge.

Defendant, Danny Ray Doyle, was indicted for second-degree murder, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1, and aggravated burglary, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:60. By a ten to two vote the jury convicted defendant of both charges on January 20, 1987, and defendant was remanded to the custody of the sheriff to await sentencing. Before sentencing he filed a motion for a new trial and a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal. Finding that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was a principal in the commission of the crimes for which he was indicted, the trial court granted the motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, and discharged defendant.

We granted the State’s writ application and set the matter for oral argument. The State’s sole assignment of error is that the trial court erred in granting defendant’s motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand defendant to the trial court for sentencing.

[1091]*1091FACTS

At approximately 9 o’clock p.m. on July 10, 1986, Mack Walker, 74 years of age, was robbed and killed at his home on 108 Eighth Street in DeRidder. In the late afternoon of the following day, Mr. Walker’s daughter-in-law, Kathy Walker, and several neighbors found him locked in his home, beaten, lying face down on the sofa with his hands tied behind his back and his face pushed between two cushions. Dr. George M. McCormick II, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, concluded that Mr. Walker died of acute congestive heart failure due to multiple traumatic injuries of the head.

On July 11, 1986, at 11 o’clock p.m. Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s deputies, based on information provided them by defendant’s brother, Ronnie Doyle, picked up defendant for questioning about Mr. Walker’s murder. After being advised of his Miranda rights defendant gave a recorded statement in which he admitted: that he knew, in advance, that his cousin, Timothy Ashworth, was going to rob Mr. Walker; that shortly before 9 p.m. he dropped Ash-worth off several blocks from Mr. Walker’s because Ashworth said he was going to rob Mr. Walker; that approximately 30 minutes later Ashworth flagged him down on the street near Mr. Walker’s; that when Ashworth got into the truck Ashworth told him he tied up Mr. Walker, hit him, got his money, and left through a window not knowing if Mr. Walker was dead; and that at a rural location Ashworth had defendant stop his truck on a small bridge so that he (Ashworth) could throw the victim’s wallet away.

Subsequently, defendant and Ashworth were arrested and indicted for the second-degree murder of Mack Walker and the aggravated burglary of his residence.

ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

The following issues are presented for our review: (1) Was there sufficient evidence presented to convict defendant of aggravated burglary? (2) Was there sufficient evidence to establish that defendant, beyond a reasonable doubt, was a principal to the crime of second-degree murder? and, if so, (3) Was there sufficient evidence presented to convict defendant of second-degree murder?

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY:

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

In his motions for new trial and for post verdict judgment of acquittal, defendant contended that the State failed to prove the essential elements of the crime of aggravated burglary. We agree.

A plea of not guilty places upon the State the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crime with which the defendant is charged. State v. Humphrey, 412 So.2d 507 (La.1981). Aggravated burglary is defined in R.S. 14:60 as:

“... the unauthorized entering of any inhabited dwelling, or of any structure, water craft, or movable where a person is present, with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, if the offender,
(1) Is armed with a dangerous weapon; or
(2) After entering arms himself with a dangerous weapon; or
(3) Commits a battery upon any person while in such place, or in entering or leaving such place.”

An essential element of the crime of aggravated burglary is that the State prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was an unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. State v. Spikes, 428 So.2d 1217 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1983); State v. Dunn, 263 La. 58, 267 So.2d 193 (1972).

We have carefully scrutinized the record and fail to find any proof of an unauthorized entry into Mr. Walker’s home. The only evidence shows that the investigating officers found that a forced exit was made from the rear of the premises through a screen which had been pushed out from the inside of the house. There is no testimony of what sort of entry was made into Mr. Walker’s residence. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecu[1092]*1092tion, we find no rational trier of fact could have found that the requisite elements of the crime of aggravated burglary had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, we find that the trial court was correct in granting defendant’s motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal from the jury verdict which found defendant guilty of aggravated burglary.

SECOND-DEGREE MURDER: SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

The State contends that the trial court erred in granting defendant’s motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal from the charge of second-degree murder. It argues that, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, it shows beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was a principal in the commision of the crime charged. We agree.

Our disposition of defendant’s conviction for aggravated burglary adverse to the State is not dispositive of the question now presented. On authority of LSA-C. Cr.P. Art. 465 the State used a short form indictment to charge defendant with the second-degree murder of Mack Walker. Although this form of indictment often lacks sufficient information to supply a defendant with information he believes necessary to apprise him of the nature of the charge being levied, it is incumbent upon the defendant to file a motion for a bill of particulars to procure details as to the statutory method by which he committed the offense that he is charged with. See State v. Peterson, 290 So.2d 307 (La.1974). In the case sub judice since defendant did not request a bill of particulars asking the State to designate the underlying felony it intended to prove in developing its prosecution for second-degree murder, the State was not limited in establishing any of the felonies enumerated in R.S. 14:30.1(B). See State v. Baylis, 388 So.2d 713 (La.1980). Indeed, in its instructions to the jury the trial court defined all of the underlying felonies enumerated in R.S. 14:30.1. Although we have determined that the State failed to prove an aggravated burglary, we have carefully reviewed the record to see if the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was a principal to any of the other enumerated felonies which would support his conviction of second-degree murder.

In State v. Porretto, 468 So.2d 1142, 1146 (La.1985), the Louisiana Supreme Court considered the constitutional standards to judge the sufficiency of the evidence and stated:

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Related

State v. McCartney
684 So. 2d 416 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
State v. Banford
653 So. 2d 671 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. English
582 So. 2d 1358 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
State v. Doyle
540 So. 2d 326 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
525 So. 2d 1090, 1988 La. App. LEXIS 469, 1988 WL 30937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-doyle-lactapp-1988.