State v. Greenwell

746 So. 2d 29, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 2333, 1999 WL 624338
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 18, 1999
DocketNo. 32,249-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 746 So. 2d 29 (State v. Greenwell) 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. Greenwell, 746 So. 2d 29, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 2333, 1999 WL 624338 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

h GASKINS, J.

The defendant, Richard Greenwell, was convicted of attempted second degree kidnapping, a violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:44.1, and aggravated burglary, a violation of La. R.S. 14:60. Adjudged a habitual offender, he was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 20 years at hard labor [33]*33without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence for attempted second degree kidnapping and 15 years at hard labor for aggravated burglary. The defendant now appeals, urging six assignments of error. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the defendant’s convictions and sentences.

FACTS

Shortly before 11:30 p.m. on September 26, 1997, two incidents occurred in the Hillside subdivision of West Monroe. The first one involved an intruder at a residence located at 326 Hillside Circle. Taló-la Bowie, who resided at that house with her children and her sister, had been performing household cleaning that evening. In particular, she had been washing clothes, going back and forth between the interior of her home and her laundry room which was located off of the carport. She thought she locked the door after she entered the house the last time. Ms. Bowie was cleaning her bathroom when she heard the outside door leading to the carport open. Stepping into the hallway from the bathroom, she observed a white male in an orange shirt and blue jeans stealthily entering her home. She saw that he was armed with a knife. The man also observed her and began to walk toward her with the knife pointed in her direction.

Swiftly, Ms. Bowie retreated into the bathroom and shut the door. She began to scream to her sister, Shanta Holland, who was asleep in one of the bedrooms. In response to her sister’s cries, Ms. Holland ran into the hallway. She too saw the white male armed with a knife and began to scream. The man fled from the house. The sisters called 911; their call was logged in at 11:27 p.m.

| gMelissa Parker and Christy Cage, both age 12, were walking to Melissa’s home on Wilson Drive from a babysitting job. On Lou Drive near a wooded area, they saw a white male in an orange shirt and blue jeans “jogging” toward them. When he got close to them, he grabbed Christy by the arm and asked the girls, “Who’s going first?” Christy observed that her assailant lacked several fingers on his right hand.1 She broke away from him and began to run. The man then grabbed Melissa’s arm; holding a knife to her chest, he attempted to pull her toward the wooded area. However, Melissa also broke free; she described the man’s grip on her arm as “weird” and not “very tight.” She fell to the ground but got up and began to run in the opposite direction from Christy. Both girls screamed as they fled. . The man initially chased Christy, but the girl reached Melissa’s house safely and told Melissa’s mother what had happened. As the Parkers’ telephone was out of order, their neighbors across the street called the police. Meanwhile, Melissa had run to the home of a neighbor who also called 911. Both telephone calls were received at 11:35 p.m.

Deputy Sheriff Thomas Malone of the Ouachita Parish Sheriffs Department and his partner received a radio message concerning the Hillside Circle burglary which described the intruder as a white male in an orange shirt and blue jeans. They were cautioned that the man was armed with a knife. As Deputy Malone approached the corner of Hillside Drive West and Hillside Drive South, he saw a man matching that description — the defendant — running down the street. Stopping his patrol car in front of the defendant, Deputy Malone ordered him to stop and let him see his hands. The defendant did not initially obey the command, and the deputy was forced to draw his weapon and repeat the order several times before gaining the defendant’s compliance. Deputy Malone observed the ^defendant place his hands behind his neck; when the defen[34]*34dant was patted down, a knife was recovered from the collar behind his neck.

The defendant appeared nervous and recounted to Deputy Malone that he was being chased by a man in a pick-up truck who had yelled insults at him. He stated that earlier that evening he had attended a high school football game, and an acquaintance had dropped him off in the neighborhood instead of taking him home. He had tried calling home for a ride from a nearby grocery store. After no one answered the telephone, he had begun to walk home when a man in a pick-up truck had driven by and yelled at him. He told Deputy Malone that he recalled a friend named King living at 326 Hillside Circle. He said he had gone to that house, knocked on the door, and left after no one answered the door. According to his account, he then heard the pick-up truck returning, began to run, and encountered the officers.

The defendant was transported to the residence on Hillside Circle. Both of the sisters identified him as the man they had seen in their home armed with a knife. Ms. Bowie also identified the knife. The police then took the defendant to the Parker residence. Christy and Melissa were shown the defendant separately. Each positively identified him as the man who accosted them. Additionally, Melissa recognized the knife as the one held to her chest.

The defendant was charged with aggravated burglary of the Bowie/Holland residence and with the attempted second degree kidnapping of Melissa Parker. He filed a motion to suppress on the basis that he was stopped without probable cause; the motion was denied. Waiving his right to a jury trial, the defendant opted for a bench trial. The trial judge found him guilty of both offenses.

The state filed a habitual offender bill, asserting that the defendant had a prior conviction for indecent behavior with a juvenile. He was adjudicated a second felony offender and sentenced to 15 years at hard labor on the charge of Daggravated burglary. He received a sentence of 20 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence for attempted second degree kidnapping. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively. The defendant’s motion to reconsider sentence was denied.

The defendant appeals, asserting six assignments of error. One assignment of error was not briefed and is thus deemed abandoned. URCA Rule 2-12.4; State v. Schwartz, 354 So.2d 1332 (La.1978); State v. Kotwitz, 549 So.2d 351 (La.App. 2d Cir.1989), writs denied, 558 So.2d 1123 (La.1990).

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

In this assignment of error, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions for aggravated burglary and attempted second degree kidnapping. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), provides the proper standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of evidence claim. That standard 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. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App.2d Cir.4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333; State v. Bellamy, 599 So.2d 326 (La.App. 2d Cir.1992), writ denied, 605 So.2d 1089 (La.1992).

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence.

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746 So. 2d 29, 1999 La. App. LEXIS 2333, 1999 WL 624338, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-greenwell-lactapp-1999.