State v. Hopkins

268 So. 3d 1226
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 10, 2019
DocketNo. 52,660-KA
StatusPublished

This text of 268 So. 3d 1226 (State v. Hopkins) 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. Hopkins, 268 So. 3d 1226 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

STONE, J.

The defendant, Troy Hopkins, was convicted of manslaughter pursuant to La. R.S. 14:31, adjudicated as a third-felony offender and sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment without benefits. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. State v. Hopkins , 34,119 (La. App. 2 Cir. 12/20/00), 774 So.2d 1178. Hopkins filed a motion to correct illegal sentence under State ex rel. Esteen v. State , 16-0949 (La. 1/30/18), 239 So.3d 233. The trial court granted the motion and set the matter for resentencing. Hopkins was resentenced to 65 years at hard labor. Hopkins appeals his sentence. For the following reasons, Hopkins' sentence is affirmed and the matter is remanded for correction of the minutes.

*1228FACTS

On October 20, 1999, Hopkins was convicted by the jury of the responsive verdict of manslaughter, in violation of La. R.S. 14:31. The following facts are taken from this Court's prior opinion on appeal of Hopkins' conviction and original sentence:

On August 31, 1997, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Defendant shot and killed the victim, Roderick Adger, while on the way to make a drug exchange. Mr. Adger's friend, Amy White, was present during the shooting.
Mr. Adger, who lived with his girlfriend in a house on Lyon Street, contacted Ms. White, who lived in Mr. Adger's home on Malcolm Street, about a half block away. Mr. Adger, disturbing Ms. White's sleep, informed her that Defendant would be arriving at the house on Malcolm Street, at which time Ms. White was to go to Mr. Adger's residence on Lyon Street and inform him of Defendant's arrival. Ms. White informed Mr. Adger of Defendant's arrival at the Lyon Street address, at which time Mr. Adger armed himself with his .38 caliber pistol hidden under his shirt and sagged pants.
Himon Jones, Jr., Mr. Adger's first cousin, had just arrived at Mr. Adger's Lyon Street address to deliver a vehicle belonging to Mr. Adger's girlfriend, Philea, on which he had been making repairs. Mr. Adger, accompanied by Ms. White and Mr. Jones, drove the vehicle to the Malcolm Street address to meet Defendant. While at her home, Ms. White secured her nine-millimeter pistol in a brown paper bag to carry with her on the drug transaction.
Mr. Adger, Ms. White, Mr. Jones and Defendant then left the Malcolm Street address together in the vehicle. Seated in the four-door vehicle were Mr. Adger in the driver's seat, Defendant in the front passenger seat, and Mr. Jones and Ms. White in the backseat. Mr. Jones testified that, after having traveled only a short distance, he noticed that Defendant was pointing a pistol at him. Mr. Jones then jumped from the moving vehicle. Startled by Mr. Jones' immediate departure from the vehicle, Ms. White looked up to discover that Defendant was pointing a pistol at the side of Mr. Adger's head. Defendant demanded whatever drugs and money Mr. Adger possessed, which Mr. Adger turned over. As the remaining trio drove down Wallace Street toward Midway Street, only a few blocks from the initial point of departure, Defendant climbed between the bucket seats of the car to the back seat, keeping his pistol pointed at Mr. Adger. Ms. White requested that she and Mr. Adger be released since Defendant had what he wanted.
Once the vehicle was stopped at the intersection of Wallace Street and Midway Street, Defendant agreed to release Ms. White; however, Ms. White did not want to leave the vehicle without Mr. Adger. Ms. White exited the vehicle and waited near the trunk of the vehicle on the passenger side, disregarding Defendant's request that she walk away. Defendant told Ms. White to open the door on the front passenger side for Mr. Adger and to then move back. Mr. Adger, who was wearing a seat belt, was told to slide out of the unfastened seat belt. Mr. Adger managed to slide across to the passenger side and exit the vehicle. Suddenly, before Mr. Adger could completely turn toward the vehicle or utter Ms. White's name, Ms. White stated that she witnessed Defendant fire his gun at Mr. Adger, wounding him in the right side of his chest. Mr. Adger then returned fire in the direction of Defendant.
Ms. White testified that she did not see Mr. Adger with his gun out at the time Defendant first fired. She further *1229stated that Mr. Adger, after being wounded, said, "Amy, serve him." This meant that Mr. Adger wanted Ms. White to retaliate. Ms. White fired all of her ammunition in the direction of Defendant and then fled the scene, running approximately four blocks to her house on Malcolm Street. After returning fire, Defendant drove off in the vehicle with the stolen drugs. The vehicle was later found totally destroyed by fire. Ms. White returned to the scene several minutes later and found Mr. Adger a few houses away from the scene of the shooting on Michel Street, fatally wounded ; Mr. Adger later died at the hospital from the gunshot wound to the right side of his chest. The bullet entered the right side of Mr. Adger's chest and traveled in a descending lateral direction damaging his right lung, diaphragm, stomach and liver.
Soon after the shoot-out, officers arrived to process the crime scene. Ms. White was questioned briefly, but left the crime scene to check on Mr. Adger at the hospital. The following day, Ms. White was shown a photographic lineup and immediately identified Defendant as the person who shot Mr. Adger. Mr. Jones was shown the same photographic lineup on September 3, 1997, and also immediately identified Defendant as the person who shot Mr. Adger. Defendant was arrested later that night and was eventually indicted by a grand jury for first degree murder. The indictment was later amended, however; and Defendant was indicted for second degree murder. State v. Hopkins, supra.
* * *

Hopkins was adjudicated a third-felony offender based on prior convictions of simple robbery and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. Hopkins was sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

On May 22, 2018, Hopkins filed a motion to correct illegal sentence pursuant to Esteen, supra. The trial court granted the motion, finding that Hopkins was one of the defendants whom the ameliorative changes in the habitual offender law was designed to benefit. In a written ruling, the trial court calculated the sentencing range for Hopkins under the ameliorative provisions to be 26.6 years to 80 years. At resentencing on July 25, 2018, the trial court imposed a midrange sentence of 65 years at hard labor. A motion to reconsider sentence was denied. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

In two assignments of error, Hopkins' appellate counsel challenges his sentence as excessive and argues that it is not particularly tailored to his circumstances and the case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
268 So. 3d 1226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hopkins-lactapp-2019.