State v. Gilliam

149 So. 3d 354, 2014 La.App. 3 Cir. 228, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2344, 2014 WL 4851763
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 1, 2014
DocketNo. 14-228
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 149 So. 3d 354 (State v. Gilliam) 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. Gilliam, 149 So. 3d 354, 2014 La.App. 3 Cir. 228, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2344, 2014 WL 4851763 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

GENOVESE, Judge.

| fin this criminal case, Defendant, Stetson Gilliam, was convicted by a jury of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a lesser included offense of simple battery. Defendant only appeals his possession of a firearm by a convicted felon conviction, alleging insufficiency of the evidence and an error patent relative to post-conviction relief. For the following reasons, we affirm Defendant’s conviction.

FACTS

As set forth in the testimony at trial, the victim, Timothy Decuir, was visiting a friend, Christine Williams, at her home in Abbeville, Louisiana, in the late hours of September 23, 2012, and early morning hours of September 24, 2012. During that span of time, while exiting the Williams’ home to move his truck, the victim was approached by three men, one of whom was Defendant. One of the men hit the victim. The victim stated that he noticed that Defendant had a gun, and, when he tried to run to escape the fray, Defendant hit him with the gun, causing him to bleed. The victim also stated that after being struck with the gun, he heard gunshots; however, Defendant and his two companions had left the immediate area.

The gun was not recovered. The victim’s testimony was corroborated by Ms. Williams. Defendant’s mother, Juanita Leblanc, who lived nearby, testified that she saw her son and others in a fight and that “no one had a gun.”

Abbeville police officer Trent Guidry testified that he was patrolling the area [356]*356and heard shots fired. He then received a call reporting a battery at the Williams’ house. Upon arrival, he saw and interviewed the victim, who advised that an altercation between him and three men had occurred and that he had been hit in the | gface with a gun. Officer Guidry also stated that he went to Defendant’s residence and recovered three nine-millimeter casings from his backyard.

According to the testimony of Kelly Hardy, Defendant’s probation officer, Defendant had previously been convicted of a felony. 'Proof of Defendant’s prior conviction was introduced into evidence.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On October 4, 2012, the State filed a bill of information charging Defendant with one count of aggravated battery and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, violations of La.R.S. 14:84 and La.R.S. 14:95.1 respectively. Defendant’s jury trial commenced on June 11, 2018. Defendant was convicted of the lesser included offense of simple battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant was sentenced to six months in the parish jail for his conviction of simple battery and fifteen years at hard labor for his conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Defendant’s motion to reconsider sentence was denied.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Defendant only appeals his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and assigns the following errors:

ASSIGNMENT!] OF ERROR NO. 1: The evidence presented at trial was insufficient to find the Appellant guilty of the offense of [a] felon in possession of a firearm because the State failed to prove Appellant had a firearm in his possession.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR [NO. 2J: The trial court committed error patent by failing to advise Appellant he had two years from the time his sentence became final in which to file an application for post-conviction relief.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3: The trial court committed error patent by allowing a verdict where the record is absent of evidence of an essential element of the offense.

^ERRORS PATENT and ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER TWO

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find an actionable error patent as set forth in Defendant’s second assignment of error.

In assignment of error number two, Defendant alleges that the trial court erred in failing to properly advise him of the time in which to seek post-conviction relief. Defendant requests that he be notified in writing of the appropriate prescriptive period in which to file for post-conviction relief.

At sentencing, the trial court stated, “you have two years, sir, within which to file motions for post-conviction relief.” Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 930.8(A)(emphasis added) states that the defendant has “two years after the [judgment of conviction and sentence has become final ” to seek post-conviction relief. Since the advisement was insufficient and has been raised as an error, we order the trial court to fully inform Defendant of the provisions of La.Code Crim.P. art. 930.8 by sending written notice to Defendant within thirty days of the rendition of this opinion that he has “two years after the judgment of conviction and sentence [357]*357has become final” to seek post-conviction relief and to file written proof that Defendant received the notice in the record of the proceedings. State v. Roe, 05-116 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/1/05), 903 So.2d 1265, writ denied, 05-1762 (La.2/10/06), 924 So.2d 163.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NUMBERS ONE AND THREE

In these assignments of error, Defendant basically argues that the State’s evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. The analysis for such insufficiency claims is well-settled:

|4When the issue of sufficiency of 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 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determinations of the triers of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, 436 So.2d 559 (citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983)). In order for this Court to affirm a conviction, however, the record must reflect that the state has satisfied its burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Kennerson, 96-1518, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367,1371.

The relevant statute, La. R.S.14:95.1(A) (footnote omitted), states, in pertinent part: “It is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence ... to possess a firearm or carry a concealed weapon.” Defendant argues the State failed to prove that the object in his hand was a firearm. However, the victim and Ms. Williams identified the object in Defendant’s hand as a gun.

Defendant argues:

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Related

State v. Washington
219 So. 3d 1221 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)

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Bluebook (online)
149 So. 3d 354, 2014 La.App. 3 Cir. 228, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2344, 2014 WL 4851763, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gilliam-lactapp-2014.