State v. Herrera

729 So. 2d 75, 1999 WL 61950
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 10, 1999
Docket98-KA-677
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 729 So. 2d 75 (State v. Herrera) 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. Herrera, 729 So. 2d 75, 1999 WL 61950 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

729 So.2d 75 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Pearla HERRERA.

No. 98-KA-677.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

February 10, 1999.

*76 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Thomas J. Butler, Terry M. Boudreaux, Joan S. Benge, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, Louisiana, Attorneys for Appellee.

Bertha M. Hillman, Thibodaux, Louisiana, Attorney for Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges CHARLES GRISBAUM, Jr., MARION F. EDWARDS and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant/appellant Pearla Herrera appeals from the trial court's denial of her motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. Based on the following reasons, we affirm in part and remand with instructions.

On May 30, 1997, the defendant was charged with theft of goods valued between $100.00 and $500.00 in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:67.10. Defendant was arraigned on July 9, 1997 and pled not guilty.

A bench trial was held on August 19, 1997, and the judge found the defendant guilty as charged. On September 3, 1997, defendant filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal which was heard and denied that same day. The trial court then sentenced the defendant to two years at hard labor, with credit for time served.

On September 8, 1997, defendant filed a motion for appeal and a motion to reconsider sentence. On September 10, 1997, the court granted the appeal motion. The court denied defendant's motion to reconsider sentence.[1]

The events in question occurred on March 12, 1997 at the Home Depot Store on Veterans Boulevard in Kenner. The defendant and another woman left the store pushing shopping carts, and upon exiting the doors, the theft alarm was activated. The defendant stopped and was questioned by Charmaine Robertson, a cashier employed by Home Depot. The other woman continued toward the parking lot and was not detained. Ms. Robinson testified that both women had *77 passed the cashier station and proceeded to the exit without paying for any merchandise. Brett Caminita, another cashier on duty at the store, testified that there was a young child with the defendant when she was stopped at the exit.

The only item in the possession of the defendant was a black handbag found in the shopping cart. When asked if she had a store receipt, defendant replied that she did not have one. Steven Theall, the head cashier, was summoned to the exit. In the presence of Mr. Theall and Mr. Caminita, Ms. Robinson passed the defendant's handbag by the sensor, causing the theft alarm to activate. Mr. Theall opened the handbag and found various items of store merchandise. Defendant was then detained and the police were notified.

Officer Stephen Fonte of the Kenner Police Department was dispatched to the store. He advised defendant of her Miranda rights and then proceeded to question her concerning the items found in her handbag. Defendant admitted that the handbag was hers, but she denied taking any of the items. She admitted that she had come to the store with another person, but she refused to identify this person to the police. The items taken from the defendant's handbag were scanned into the store computer and the total value of the merchandise was calculated at $240.58.

Brett Caminita testified at trial that he saw a second woman in the parking lot at the time that the defendant stopped at the exit, but no one attempted to find this woman or detain her. At trial, defense witness Petrina Lae testified that she had been shopping at Home Depot with the defendant on the date in question and that she had placed the stolen items in the defendant's handbag. Ms. Lae testified that the defendant stayed with her cart the entire time, but never saw her place the items in defendant's handbag. She further testified that she took the merchandise for her own use, and that none of it was intended for the defendant. According to Ms. Lae, she never heard the store alarm and continued on to her car. She claims that she went to her car and waited in the parking lot for the defendant for 25 minutes before finally leaving the premises. Even though she admitted to the crime, the trial judge did not find her to be a credible witness. The trial judge still found the defendant guilty as a principal to the crime committed by Ms. Lae.

Defendant asserts that the trial judge erred in denying her motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. A motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal is the device by which a defendant may raise the issue of sufficiency of the evidence. LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 821; State v. Ellis, 95-1005 (La.App. 5th Cir. 3/26/96), 672 So.2d 1007.

Defendant claims that the evidence presented at trial was not sufficient to sustain a conviction. The state's trial exhibits, which consisted of a set of photographs and the black handbag, were not properly introduced at trial. Although those exhibits were shown to and identified by several witnesses at trial, the record does not show that the state properly offered them for admission into evidence, or that they were in fact admitted by the court.[2] At the hearing on the motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal, the state conceded that it had failed to properly introduce its evidence at trial. The trial judge nevertheless denied defendant's motion, finding that, even excluding the two exhibits, there was sufficient evidence at trial to prove defendant's guilt.

On appeal, defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction since Petrina Lae admitted to the theft. The constitutional standard for testing the sufficiency of the evidence, as enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), requires that a conviction be based in proof sufficient for any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Rosiere, 488 So.2d 965 (La. 1986); State v. Robinson, 97-269 (La App. 5th Cir. 5/27/98), 713 So.2d 828.

The theft of goods statute, LSA-R.S. 14:67.10, provides in part:

*78 A. Theft of goods is the misappropriation or taking of anything of value which is held for sale by a merchant, either without the consent of the merchant to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations. An intent to deprive the merchant permanently of whatever may be the subject of the misappropriation or taking is essential and may be inferred when a person:
(1) Intentionally conceals, on his person or otherwise, goods held for sale.
(2) Transfers goods from one container or package to another or places goods in any container, package, or wrapping in a manner to avoid detection.

(Emphasis added).

Witnesses Charmaine Robertson and Brett Caminita testified at trial that defendant attempted to exit the store with merchandise for which she had not paid. This evidence was sufficient to prove the "taking" element of the offense. It is possible to infer the requisite intent from the testimony that the merchandise was concealed in a handbag in defendant's possession. See State v. Johnson, 95-906 (La.App. 5th Cir. 1/28/97), 688 So.2d 162, where this Court found (pursuant to an Anders

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Bluebook (online)
729 So. 2d 75, 1999 WL 61950, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-herrera-lactapp-1999.