State v. Harris

911 So. 2d 361, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2067, 2005 WL 2291851
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 21, 2005·No. No. 39,975-KA·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

| .MOORE, J.

Tyrone Harris was indicted on two counts of arson where the damage amounted to $500 or more, La. R.S. 14:52 B. He proceeded to trial in which the jury found him guilty as charged on count one but not guilty on count two. The district court then sentenced him to eight years at hard labor with all but three years suspended, followed by five years’ supervised probation. Harris now appeals, urging that the court imposed an excessive sentence by relying on allegations of prior acts of arson that were not proved at the instant trial or any other trial. For the reasons expressed, we affirm.

Procedural Background

The indictment charged that on February 12, 1999, Harris intentionally set fire to the property of Peggy Wright on Cherry Street in Arcadia; 12 days later, he intentionally set fire to the same victim’s property on Second Street. Shortly before trial, the state amended the indictment to allege that the damage exceeded $500 in both incidents.

Harris did not designate the transcript of the jury trial, which took place on October 18 and 19, 2004, as part of the appellate record. At the sentencing, however, the court recounted the state’s case as showing that Harris and Ms. Wright were [363]*363going through a divorce in early 1999 and Harris had to vacate her house on Cherry Street. On February 12, someone called 911 to report a fire there. A police officer only two blocks away responded almost immediately, finding a fully-dressed black man walking out the back door, carrying two garbage bags loaded with what appeared to be clothing. The officer described him as “cool, collected,” and identified him as Harris. The State Fire Marshal’s office confirmed that the fire was |2incendiary, as someone had poured flammable fluid on the floor and lit it. Ms. Wright testified that after receiving insurance proceeds, she still sustained uninsured losses of $16,443.36 from this fire.

Twelve days later, another building owned by Ms. Wright, located on Second Street and used as a boutique and flea market, also burned down. The fire marshal found this was of the same incendiary origin, flammable liquid poured on the floor and ignited intentionally. A witness testified that someone “resembling” Harris was standing across the street while firemen battled this blaze, but he could not positively identify him.

As noted, a 12-member jury found Harris guilty as charged on count one and not guilty on count two.

At the sentencing hearing, Harris stated he was “real sorry that it got to this point” and asked for the court’s mercy, but admitted he had not reimbursed Ms. Wright for any of her losses. Defense counsel argued that Harris was a first-felony offender, a businessman and the main source of support for his elderly, disabled parents. The court acknowledged some 25 letters from pastors and local officials all over north Louisiana, asking for leniency. Ms. Wright read a letter to the court, asking for “appropriate punishment.” She cited his “deceitfulness, reckless disregard for the safety of others and lack of remorse,” and concluded, “Mr. Harris’s decision to burn down my home was a well-thought, calculated act of malice to hurt me in an act of retribution for a failed marriage.”

The court stated that it took into account several incidents listed in the PSI. In 1980, Harris’s car caught fire in Ruston; he received insurance 1 proceeds for his loss. In Los Angeles, California, while married to his first wife, he reported a house fire which he ascribed to neighborhood children shooting rocket launchers which landed on his roof; the neighbor’s insurer paid for the loss and no criminal charges ensued. In 1990, while married to his second wife, Harris’s house in Jackson Parish burned to the ground; the insurer determined this fire was incendiary and refused to pay; Harris filed suit and lost, but no criminal charges were filed. The court also stated, at least three times, that despite the verdict the court was convinced that Harris set fire to Ms. Wright’s boutique on February 24.

The court also recited the sentencing guidelines of La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1 B item by item, noting the impact of this crime on Ms. Wright, her family and the community. The court then sentenced Harris to eight years at hard labor, with all but three years suspended and five years’ supervised probation. Conditions of probation included paying a fine of $5,000, court costs, and restitution to Ms. Wright of $16,443.36.

Harris filed a motion for reconsideration, urging his first-felony status and that the court “relied on conclusions not judicially determined such as previous fires involving property owned or occupied by defendant.” The court denied this without a hearing.

Discussion

By one assignment of error, Harris urges the court erred in utilizing “unprov[364]*364en facts of other acts of unproven conduct” in fixing a sentence of eight years at hard labor, all but three suspended with five years’ probation. He concedes he was involved in at least three fires before 1990, but | contends the court “apparently assumed he was somehow responsible for some or all” of them, despite the fact that “no jury had ever found beyond a reasonable doubt that Harris had any involvement in starting those fires.” He argues that a sentence violates the sixth amendment if the facts used to support it are neither admitted by the defendant nor found by a jury. Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). He also argues that unproved facts cannot be used as a basis for sentencing. Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Finally, he asserts that a judge’s findings at a sentencing hearing, if supported only by a preponderance of the evidence, are not sufficient to support a sentence. In support, he cites United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005).

The state responds that evidence of pri- or alleged offenses is relevant to the lower court’s determination of an appropriate sentence. State v. Pierson, 296 So.2d 324 (La.1974);1 State v. Tully, 430 So.2d 124 (La.App. 2 Cir.), writ denied, 435 So.2d 438 (La.1983); State v. Anderson, 02-273 (La.App. 5 Cir. 7/30/02), 824 So.2d 517, writ denied, 2002-2519 (La.6/27/03), 847 So.2d 1254. The state submits that the court fully complied with the sentencing guidelines of Art. 894.1 and did not abuse its discretion in imposing this mid-range sentence.

| ¡¡Harris's invocation of Blakely and Ap-prendi, supra, lacks merit. This court recently rejected the same argument in State v. Burford, 39,610 (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/11/05), 902 So.2d 1190. After thoroughly outlining the holdings of those cases, we concluded:

Blakely does not apply in this case. The court relied on a presentence investigation pursuant to La. C. Cr. P. art. 875 to aid in sentencing. The defendant’s arguments are patently inapplicable in this case since Blakely v. Washington, supra, only applies where the trial court uses facts outside the guilty plea to increase a defendant’s sentence beyond the statutory maximum in the offense submitted to a jury.

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State v. Harris, 911 So. 2d 361, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2067, 2005 WL 2291851 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

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