State v. Girod

703 So. 2d 771, 1997 WL 730755
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 25, 1997
Docket96-KA-660
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 703 So. 2d 771 (State v. Girod) 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. Girod, 703 So. 2d 771, 1997 WL 730755 (La. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

703 So.2d 771 (1997)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Wilton GIROD.

No. 96-KA-660.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

November 25, 1997.

*773 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Assistant District Attorney, Gretna, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Margaret S. Sollars, Thibodaux, for Defendant/Appellant.

Before DUFRESNE, WICKER and GOTHARD, JJ.

GOTHARD, Judge.

Wilton Girod appeals his convictions of two counts of possession of stolen things and his sentencing as a fourth felony offender. We affirm the convictions, vacate the multiple offender sentencing, and remand the matter for resentencing.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information on January 25, 1995, charging the defendant and three other individuals, Juan Lastrapes, Avery Logue, and Reanna Mataya with numerous counts of theft, simple burglary, criminal damage to property and possession of stolen things. On February 13, 1996, the defendant proceeded to trial on two counts of possession of stolen things valued over $500.00 in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:69, counts nine and eleven of the twenty-two count bill of information. At the conclusion of the one-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged on the both counts. After denying the defendant's motion for new trial on June 6, 1996, the trial court sentenced the defendant to serve a term of eight years at hard labor on each count to run consecutively.

On September 6, 1996, the state dismissed the remaining charges in this case against the defendant, but reserved the right to reinstate the charges. On September 27, 1996, the state filed a multiple offender bill of information alleging the defendant to be a fourth felony offender. The trial court conducted a hearing on the multiple offender bill on October 25, 1996, and at the conclusion of the hearing, the court took the matter under advisement. On November 18, 1996, the trial court found the defendant to be a fourth felony offender, vacated the defendant's original sentence, and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The defendant filed a timely motion to reconsider sentence, which the trial court denied on January 10, 1997.

FACTS

John Russo testified that on the night of November 7, 1994, his 1986 tan Ford F-250 pickup truck[1] was stolen from his business, Johnny's Crab Traps, which was located on Chef Mentuer Highway in New Orleans. He later received a telephone call from an anonymous caller reporting the location of his truck and Russo notified the police of this information.

Deputy Shane Taylor of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified that he recovered Russo's pick-up truck at 2800 Mt. Kennedy, an apartment complex located in Jefferson Parish. When Russo retrieved his truck, he noticed that the steering column was broken, the radio was "ripped out" and his rack used to deliver crab traps was missing.

Robert Knapp, branch manager of Beard Equipment Company in Mobile, Alabama, testified that a John Deere lawn mower was stolen from Beard Equipment Company over the weekend of November 12-13, 1994. He identified an invoice for the lawn mower showing that Beard Equipment Company received it on November 8, 1994, and the invoice also showed that it was purchased for the price of $2,009.20.

Juan Lastrapes testified that he, Avery Logue, and the defendant were involved in the theft of a tan Ford F250 pick-up truck from Johnny's Crab Traps in New Orleans. Lastrapes stated that the defendant, whom he knew as "Jerome," entered the premises *774 of Johnny's Crab Traps, "hot wired" the truck and drove it back to the defendant's apartment on Destrahan Avenue in Jefferson Parish.

Lastrapes also testified that he, Logue, the defendant and another subject named "Wayne" drove to Mobile, Alabama in Logue's car. Lastrapes stated that the defendant told Logue to pull into the driveway of a business which sold John Deere equipment. The defendant exited the car and cut the locks on the gate. There was a trailer loaded with a large lawn mower inside the gate. Defendant hitched the trailer to a truck inside the gate, "hot wired" the truck, and drove the truck out of the gate. Lastrapes next saw the lawn mower parked across the street from defendant's apartment.

When Reagan testified that in November of 1994, the defendant, whom he knew as "Baldy," offered to sell him a beige Ford 250 pickup truck, which defendant had driven to his residence located in Gretna, Louisiana. Reagan stated that he did not buy the truck, but that he did purchase a John Deere lawn mower from the defendant.

Lieutenant Toca of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified that he conducted a search of Reagan's residence after obtaining his consent, and he found the lawn mower in the shed.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

By this assignment, the defendant contends that the trial court improperly allowed Robert Knapp to testify about damage done to Beard Equipment Company's fence as well as to testify about the theft of a trailer that occurred when the John Deere lawn mower was stolen. The defendant specifically complains of the following testimony elicited by the prosecutor during the direct examination of Robert Knapp:

Q: Were you employed with Beard Equipment Company in November of 1994?
A: Yes, I was.
Q: All right. And did you become aware of a theft that occurred from the property?
A: Yes, I—
Q: Theft of Equipment.
A: Yes, I did.
Q: Was there any physical damage done to the property at Beard Equipment that you noticed?
A: Yes. A chain was cut that holds together— we have a chain fence that surrounds the building, and the chain—

The defendant objected to this testimony and requested a mistrial which the trial court denied.

The following exchange occurred later during the direct examination of Mr. Knapp:

Q: Thank you. Now, I believe you said that a trailer was also taken from the property?
A: Yes.
Q: I show you what I'm marking as State's Exhibit Five.
MR. AMSTUTZ (defense counsel):
Judge, I'm going to object to the trailer on the basis of relevance. We're not on trial for—
THE COURT:
Come on up, counsel.
(The following conversation occurred at the Bench, out of earshot of the jury.)
MS. McELWEE (prosecutor):
The trailer was how they stole the lawn mower. They loaded it on there.
MR. AMSTUTZ:
Once again, Judge, that's evidence of another crime, and I'm going to again move for a mistrial.
THE COURT:
I think that is, and the Court's going to instruct the jury to disregard the last question, and don't get into it any further.
(End of Bench Conference)
THE COURT:
All right, jury, I'm going to ask that you disregard that last question, please.

The defendant argues that the testimony constituted an impermissible reference to other crimes and that a mistrial was mandated *775 by LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 770. That article provides in pertinent part:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
703 So. 2d 771, 1997 WL 730755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-girod-lactapp-1997.