State v. Horton

28 So. 3d 370, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 250, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 1809, 2009 WL 3448207
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided October 27, 2009·No. 09-KA-250·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

| .¡Defendant, Earl Horton, was charged by bill of information with one count of aggravated flight from an officer in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:108.1 (count one), three counts of felon in possession of a firearm in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:95.1 (counts two, four, and five), one count of possession of stolen property, a Cadillac valued over $500, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:69 (count three), and two counts of possession of a stolen firearm in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:69.1 (counts six and seven). Defendant proceeded to trial on August 5, 2008. After a two-day trial, a jury found *373 him guilty as charged on all seven counts. The trial court sentenced defendant to two years at hard labor on count one, aggravated flight from an officer; ten years at hard labor on count two, felon in possession of a firearm; ten years at hard labor on count three, possession of stolen property; ten years on each count for counts four and five, felon in possession of a firearm; and five years on |4each count for counts six and seven, illegal possession of a stolen firearm. The trial court ordered the three counts of felon in possession of a firearm to be served without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. It also ordered all the sentences to run concurrently with each other.

The State subsequently filed a multiple offender bill of information against defendant. However, the multiple offender proceedings are the subject of another appeal, State v. Earl Horton, # 09-KA-251, 2009 WL 3447857, 28 So.3d 381. 1

FACTS

At approximately 3:15 a.m. on June 1, 2007, Sergeant Joseph Ragas was on patrol when he observed an SUV and a Cadillac following each other at a high rate of speed on Gretna Blvd. He explained that the section of Gretna Blvd. on which the vehicles were traveling had become a corridor to a drug infested area of the Scottsdale subdivision. Sgt. Ragas followed the cars as they turned into the Scottsdale subdivision and saw both cars run a stop sign. He was behind the second vehicle, which was the Cadillac, and activated his lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop. The driver of the Cadillac refused to stop and sped off. Sgt. Ragas followed the Cadillac through the neighborhood at speeds of 40-45 mph until the Cadillac eventually crashed into a light pole on Otis St. During the chase, Sgt. Ragas confirmed that the Cadillac was a stolen vehicle.

The driver, who was the sole occupant, exited the vehicle, grabbed at his waistband, and turned to run, at which time a handgun dropped to the ground. The driver, later identified as defendant, then ran into the backyard of a nearby residence and climbed over the fence into the adjacent parking lot of Mothe’s |r,Funeral Home. Sgt. Ragas pursued defendant as he went over the fence into the parking lot of the funeral home. As Sgt. Ragas came over the fence, he saw defendant running in the parking lot along the fence line toward a State building on the Westbank Expressway. He also saw two other deputies in the parking lot of the funeral home who were close to defendant and who he thought were about to catch defendant, so he returned to secure the Cadillac. He observed a second weapon on the floorboard of the passenger side and advised over the radio that defendant was armed. He then instructed officers to set up a perimeter around the State building, which was fenced in.

Meanwhile, Deputy Carl Cade, one of the two deputies in the funeral home’s parking lot, saw defendant running through the funeral home parking lot and watched him climb over the chain link fence and enter the parking lot of the State building. He saw defendant jog to *374 ward the back of the State building and disappear between some FEMA trailers.

As the perimeter was set up, Deputy Curtis Roy responded to the scene with his K-9, Taaka. He went through the State building, which was unlocked by a cleaning crew that was cleaning the building, into the fenced-in back parking lot area and released Taaka on a 30 ft. lead. Taaka alerted to the FEMA trailers. Deputy Roy gave a warning but there was no response. Deputy Roy then saw defendant make a break for the back fence that ran along the residences. He released Taaka, who seized defendant by biting him on the arm. Defendant proceeded to punch the dog until he was knocked to the ground and handcuffed. Deputy Roy explained that defendant had been hiding underneath the insulation under one of the trailers.

Later the same day, an Otis St. resident, Angelo Deleo, discovered a revolver in his backyard, which was behind the State building. It was determined |fithat the revolver had been previously stolen. Additionally, it was discovered that the handgun discarded by defendant outside the Cadillac had been stolen from an NOPD Lieutenant’s car in April 2007.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

In his first counseled assignment of error, defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, because the State failed to prove his identity as the perpetrator of the charged offenses. He contends there was no physical evidence linking him to the Cadillac or to any of the firearms allegedly discarded by him or found in the car. He further maintains that there was an irreconcilable conflict between the description of the suspect and his appearance, because he did not match the description given by Sgt. Ragas to dispatch. Thus, defendant argues that the State did not exclude the reasonable hypothesis that he was innocently ensnared in a trap set for another.

The State responds that the evidence sufficiently proved defendant’s identity as the perpetrator, because it showed that the police maintained an almost constant view of defendant from the time of the traffic violation until he entered the secured perimeter. The State contends there were no other subjects in the area at the early hour of 3:30 a.m., defendant was the only one being pursued, and he was found hiding in the secured area. Additionally, the State asserts that defendant’s name and address were found on a piece of paper on the floor of the stolen vehicle.

The standard of review for the sufficiency of the evidence to uphold a conviction is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could conclude that the State proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). A reviewing court is required to consider the whole record and determine whether a rational trier of fact Lcould have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Price, 00-1883 (La.App. 5 Cir. 7/30/01), 792 So.2d 180, 184.

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State v. Horton, 28 So. 3d 370, 9 La.App. 5 Cir. 250, 2009 La. App. LEXIS 1809, 2009 WL 3448207 (La. Ct. App. 2009).

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