State v. Gray

639 So. 2d 421, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 1831, 1994 WL 285487
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 22, 1994
DocketNo. 26,115-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 639 So. 2d 421 (State v. Gray) 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. Gray, 639 So. 2d 421, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 1831, 1994 WL 285487 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

jjLINDSAY, Judge.

At the conclusion of his bench trial, the defendant, Kenneth W. Gray, was found guilty as charged of simple burglary. He appeals, claiming there was insufficient evidence upon which to base the conviction. For the following reasons, we reverse.

FACTS

The defendant was charged with the simple burglary of a camp house belonging to James Rogers. The burglary is alleged to have occurred on September 21, 1992. On September 27, 1992, Mr. Rogers arrived at the camp house to prepare it for hunting season. He found a skeleton key in the front door which did not fit the lock. The back door of the house was standing open and a massive wood burning heater, which Mr. Rogers had personally made, was missing. Ashes were strewn about the interior of the house and dresser drawers and containers had been opened and scattered about. Other items missing from the house included a chest of drawers, a trunk, a churn, a table, and a brass and glass coffee table. Law [423]*423enforcement officials were summoned, but due to the dusty conditions in the house, no fingerprints were recovered.

Based upon information provided to law enforcement officials by a local resident, Mr. Jimmy F. Cheatwood, the defendant was arrested and charged with simple burglary of the camp house. Although the defendant’s house was subsequently searched, none of the items missing from the camp house were recovered, either from the defendant’s house or from any other source.

The defendant waived his right to a jury trial. A bench trial was held on May 21, 1993.

laAt the trial, Mr. James Rogers testified that he discovered this most recent burglary of the house' on September 27, 1992. He stated that he gave law enforcement officials a list of items missing from the camp house. The main item that had been taken was a wood burning stove. Mr. Rogers testified that he made the stove himself. The stove was made of steel pipe. It was 26 inches in diameter and was approximately three feet long. Mr. Rogers stated that he weighed the stove after it was built and it weighed 463 pounds. Mr. Rogers’ son, Lofton Shane Rogers, testified that it took four people to place the stove in the house.

The camp house had been previously burglarized in August, 1992. Among the items taken at that time was a white mattress with pink flowers. Rickey Watts testified that he was working near the Rogers camp house in August and saw someone he thought was the defendant near the house. Mr. Watts testified he saw a white mattress with pink flowers on the defendant’s truck as it left the area. The record does not show that the defendant was charged with or convicted of the August burglary.

Mr. Cheatwood testified that on September 21, 1992, at about 6:30 p.m., he saw the defendant pulling out of the driveway of Mr. Rogers’ camp. The driveway was frequently used by local residents as a “turn around” spot. Mr. Cheatwood stated that the defendant was driving a brown pickup truck that at one time belonged to Mr. Cheatwood. Mr. Cheatwood stated that the defendant had something in the bed of the truck which looked like a barbecue grill. Mr. Cheatwood is blind in his left eye, but has 20/20 vision in his right eye.

IsMr. Cheatwood’s spouse, Susan, testified that on the evening of September 21, 1992, she saw the brown pickup truck pass as her husband pulled into their residence. She stated she thought the truck was in front of her husband but was not sure. Mr. Cheat-wood had testified that the defendant pulled onto the roadway behind him. Mrs. Cheat-wood stated there were some items in the back of the truck, but she could not specify what those items were. She also stated that she could not identify the driver of the truck.

The defendant testified in his own defense. He testified that on September 21, 1992, his brown truck was inoperable. He testified that about September 18, 1992, a front wheel bearing went out on the truck. He stated that on September 21, 1992, he borrowed money from his sister, Dora Lee Gray, to obtain a part to fix the vehicle. He claimed that he installed the part improperly and the vehicle broke down again. He testified that he did not successfully repair the wheel bearing until September 29,1992, but he then had flat tires on the truck which he did not repair until October 4 or 5, 1992.

He testified that he was on probation for theft of property valued at more than $500. His probation officer, Dave Lloyd, testified that he saw the defendant on September 24, 1992 and that he was trying to get a ride to Arcadia, Louisiana to get a part for his truck. Mr. Lloyd also testified that on September 22, 1992, the truck was in the defendant’s driveway when he went by for a routine check. Mr. Lloyd contacted the defendant to inquire into his attempts to find employment. The defendant told Mr. Lloyd that his truck was not operational. Mr. Lloyd also testified that in mid-September, |41992, while making rounds in the area, he saw a brown pickup truck he thought belonged to the defendant but upon closer inspection found that it was not the defendant.

Dora Lee Gray, the defendant’s sister, corroborated his testimony that on September 21, 1992, she lent him money to buy a part for his truck. Vernadine Davis, the defen[424]*424dant’s live-in companion, testified that the defendant’s truck broke down around September 18, 1992 and was not back in service until October 3, 1992. Ms. Davis also testified that on September 21, 1992, the defendant borrowed money from his sister to buy a part for the truck.

Mickey Turner, owner and operator of Arcadia Auto Parts, testified that he searched his sales receipts and could find no record of a sale of wheel bearings from September 14 through 23, 1992. However, Mr. Turner testified that the defendant came into the store and bought wheel bearings, but he could not remember the day the purchase took place. Mr. Turner testified that the cash receipts he kept were also entered into a computer, but he did not bring the computer records to court.

At the conclusion of the trial, the judge found the defendant guilty as charged. The court stated that he found that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence had been excluded and the defendant was guilty of simple burglary beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also stated that, although it believed the defendant’s truck was incapacitated and that he borrowed money from his sister to purchase a new wheel bearing, the purchase took place on September 28, 1992 and not September 21, 1992.

IsOn September 7,1993, the defendant was sentenced to serve eight years at hard labor. The defendant filed motions for post judgment verdict of acquittal, new trial and to reconsider the sentence. These motions were denied by the trial court. The defendant now appeals his conviction, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support a verdict of guilty of simple burglary or any other responsive verdict to that charge and that the trial court erred in denying the motions for post judgment verdict of acquittal and for new trial.

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

The standards of review are the same for denial of a motion for post judgment verdict of acquittal and for sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a verdict. LSA-C.Cr.P.Art. 821; State v. Sumler, 395 So.2d 766 (La.1981).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
639 So. 2d 421, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 1831, 1994 WL 285487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gray-lactapp-1994.