State v. Hampton

259 So. 3d 1125
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 15, 2017
DocketKA 17–383
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 259 So. 3d 1125 (State v. Hampton) 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. Hampton, 259 So. 3d 1125 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

PERRET, Judge.

Defendant Gregory Hampton was convicted of aggravated second degree battery, in violation of La.R.S. 14:34.7, and second degree kidnapping, in violation of La.R.S. 14:44.1(A)(2). For the charge of aggravated second degree battery, Defendant was sentenced to ten years at hard labor, the first year to be served without *1127benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. For the charge of second degree kidnapping, the trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty-five years at hard labor, the first two years to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. The sentences will run concurrently with credit for time served.

Defendant seeks review of his convictions by this court alleging insufficient evidence and double jeopardy. Defendant also contends the sentence for aggravated second degree battery with one year to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence was improper. For the reasons that follow, we affirm Defendant's conviction, but modify his sentence for aggravated second degree battery to remove the requirement that one year be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

ISSUES FOR REVIEW

This court must decide:

1. whether the evidence introduced at trial, when viewed under the Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) standard, was insufficient to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Gregory Hampton committed aggravated second degree battery and second degree kidnapping of Caroline Strahan;
2. whether Gregory Hampton's convictions for both second degree kidnapping and aggravated second degree battery are in violation of the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against double jeopardy; and
3. whether the trial court committed error by ordering one year of the aggravated second degree battery sentence to be served without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant was charged with the November 6, 2015 aggravated second degree battery and second degree kidnapping of Caroline Strahan. The State presented the details of the crimes to the jury through Ms. Strahan's testimony, as well as various witnesses including an eyewitness, the detectives involved in the investigation, and Ms. Strahan's medical examiners.

On November 6, 2015, Ms. Strahan was at her cousin's house visiting when Defendant came to the house.1 Ms. Strahan testified Defendant was returning her phone. Ms. Strahan further testified that she got into Defendant's truck to retrieve her phone, leaving one leg out of the door when Defendant sped off and the truck door slammed shut.

On the contrary, Defendant testified that Ms. Strahan contacted him asking for a ride from her cousin's house, and that Defendant drove Ms. Strahan to a location where she purchased crack.

Aside from the differing testimonies regarding how Ms. Strahan came to be in the vehicle, both the Defendant and the victim testified that while in the car, Defendant began hitting Ms. Strahan, first with his hands, then with a cane. Defendant admitted to hitting Ms. Strahan with the cane while in the vehicle. Ms. Strahan further testified Defendant hit her with a pistol. Defendant denies he had a gun.

Ms. Strahan testified they stopped at a graveyard, where she got out of the truck. Defendant continued to hit her, and at some point, hit her with a pistol again. Ms. Strahan got back in the truck because she *1128felt she "had no choice but to get back in" because "he just kept hitting [her] and [she] just didn't have a choice."

Defendant and Ms. Strahan continued to Green Oak Road. At this point, Ms. Strahan decided to jump out of the moving truck. Defendant stopped and tried, unsuccessfully, to get Ms. Strahan back into the truck. Ms. Strahan believes she lost consciousness at some point. Around this time, Kyle Touchet, a passerby, saw Defendant hitting Ms. Strahan on the side of the road. Mr. Touchet decided to stop and intervene. Ms. Strahan recalls Mr. Touchet arriving and telling Defendant to leave her alone, but then she passed out immediately after. Mr. Touchet punched Defendant in the head and returned to his vehicle to copy Defendant's license plate.2 Mr. Touchet watched Defendant make one last attempt to drag Ms. Strahan back into his truck. However, when Defendant caught a glimpse of police lights, he took off, leaving Ms. Strahan behind.

Ms. Strahan was taken to the emergency room and treated for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and nose and rib fractures. The responding paramedic recalled Ms. Strahan's head was bleeding, and her nose was deformed with swelling. The paramedic "suspected a possible loss of consciousness" because of her low Glasgow Coma Score. Ms. Strahan also had road rash on both legs. Her treating physician, Dr. Celeste Lujan, testified to Ms. Strahan's injuries. Dr. Lujan specifically noted the victim "had a lot of swelling to her head, to her face ..." and "[a] lot of swelling, no lacerations or anything like that" on her head."

Meanwhile, after fleeing the scene, Defendant contacted his niece, Eva Horne. Ms. Horne testified at trial. Defendant told Ms. Horne he beat Ms. Strahan and needed a ride. Defendant was eventually dropped off at Paul Lavan's motel room. Mr. Lavan also testified at trial. Defendant told Mr. Lavan he beat Ms. Strahan in his truck and that he had a pistol. Defendant told Mr. Lavan he had left Ms. Strahan for dead after she jumped from the truck. Mr. Lavan drove Defendant to his truck, which Defendant had left in a parking lot. Defendant was eventually apprehended running between Speedway Motors and an American Inn. Defendant's truck was found, identified by its license plate, with blood inside the cab. A cane and bat were found inside Defendant's truck. No gun was retrieved from the Defendant, his truck, or his residence.

The jury found Defendant guilty as charged.

ERRORS PATENT

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by the court for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find there is one error patent, which was also asserted by Appellant on appeal. The trial court sentenced Appellant to ten years at hard labor, the first year to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for aggravated second degree battery. However, La.R.S. 14:34.7(C) does not permit the trial court to require the first year of this sentence be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

At the time Defendant committed this offense, La.R.S. 14:34.7(C) (emphasis added) provided the following sentence:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
259 So. 3d 1125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hampton-lactapp-2017.