State v. Iverson

855 So. 2d 835, 2003 WL 22191978
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 24, 2003
Docket37,369-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 855 So. 2d 835 (State v. Iverson) 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. Iverson, 855 So. 2d 835, 2003 WL 22191978 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

855 So.2d 835 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Hozey Falicinno IVERSON, Appellant.

No. 37,369-KA.

Court of Appeals of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 24, 2003.

*836 G. Paul Marx, Lafayette, for Appellant.

Hozey Falicinno Iverson, Pro Se.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, J. Thomas Butler, Edward M. Brossette, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, GASKINS and CARAWAY, JJ.

WILLIAMS, J.

The defendant, Hozey F. Iverson, was charged by bill of information with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, to-wit: cocaine, second offense, a violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967(C) and 40:982. After a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty as charged. The trial court adjudicated defendant a third felony offender and imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Defendant's motions to quash the multiple offender bill, for new trial and for post verdict judgment of acquittal were denied. Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On September 4, 1999, at approximately 1:45 a.m., the defendant's vehicle was being pursued by city of Shreveport Police Officer J.E. Coffey because the defendant was playing the music in his vehicle too loudly. Initially, the defendant attempted to flee by increasing his speed; however, he eventually pulled into a driveway and opened his car door.

When the officer arrived, the defendant was holding his right hand in the upper portion of his overalls. He disregarded the officer's verbal command to put his hand down and exit the vehicle. The officer pulled out his service weapon and called for backup. After Officers Ramsey and L. Brett Pitman arrived and pulled *837 their weapons, defendant put his hands on his head. Officer Coffey patted down defendant's chest and felt what the officer believed to be drugs. The defendant got out of the vehicle and was placed on the ground and handcuffed. He was read his Miranda rights and Officer Pitman continued the pat down search of the defendant's lower torso for weapons. At some point, another officer, Amy Bowman, arrived at the scene.

The defendant was then directed to stand up to allow the officer to conduct a full search of his person incident to his arrest. The officer shook the defendant's pants legs. After the defendant was moved to be escorted to a patrol car, the officers noticed a large bag of what they suspected to be cocaine on the ground where the defendant had been standing during the full search of his person.

Subsequently, the defendant was charged by bill of information with possession of cocaine. The bill alleged that this charge was a second or subsequent offense under the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substance Act (CDS). LSA-R.S. 40:967(C); 40:982. It listed defendant's CDS prior conviction as possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The bill of information was subsequently amended to reflect that the prior CDS conviction was a 1997 conviction for possession of cocaine.

After a hearing, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The state then filed a habitual offender bill of information against the defendant charging him as a third felony offender. The defendant's motion to quash the multiple offender bill alleged that the enhanced sentence under the habitual offender law would be a prohibited double enhancement because the state had elected to charge him under the CDS statute's enhanced penalty provision. The trial court denied the motion to quash, finding that different predicates were used for the CDS second offense conviction and the habitual offender sentence enhancement. Defendant was adjudicated a third felony offender and sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor. Defendant appeals his conviction, adjudication as a third felony offender and sentence.

DISCUSSION

Assignment of Error Number One:

By this assignment, the defendant contends his sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, is illegal because the habitual offender statute was erroneously applied. The defendant argues that once the state elected to charge him under the enhanced penalty provision of the Controlled Dangerous Substance Law, it could not then "double enhance" by filing a multiple offender bill of information against him. In response, the state argues that there was no double enhancement because the predicate offense for the second offense, CDS was not used in the chain of offenses for the habitual offender proceeding under LSA-R.S. 15:529.1.

LSA-R.S. 15:529.1(D) provides as follows:

D. (1)(a) If at any time, either after conviction or sentence, it shall appear that a person convicted of a felony has previously been convicted of a felony under the laws of this state or adjudicated a delinquent under Title VIII of the Louisiana Children's Code for the commission of a felony-grade violation of either the Louisiana Controlled Dangerous Substance Law involving the manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance or a crime of violence as listed in Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of this Section, or has been convicted *838 under the laws of any other state, of the United States, or of any foreign government or country of a crime, which, if committed in this state would be a felony, the district attorney of the parish in which subsequent conviction was had may file an information accusing the person of a previous conviction or adjudication or delinquency.

In the present case, the state charged defendant as a third felony offender relying on a July 1993 conviction of possession of stolen things and a December 1993 conviction of distribution of cocaine as the prior offenses, coupled with the current conviction of Schedule II CDS, second offense. In addition, a March 1997 conviction of possession of cocaine was the predicate offense for defendant's November 2000 conviction of possession of cocaine, second offense.

In State v. Murray, 357 So.2d 1121 (La. 1978), the supreme court stated:

LSA-R.S. 15:529.1 refers generally to "a felony." It contains no restriction as to the type of felony. Its provisions may be invoked after conviction or after sentence within a reasonable time after the prior felony becomes known. State v. Maduell, 326 So.2d 820 (La.1976); State v. McQueen, 308 So.2d 752 (La.1975). By statute, the district attorney is accorded wide discretion in determining when and how he shall prosecute. LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 61. When more than one provision of the law applies, the district attorney has the discretion to elect which of the provisions to invoke. LSA-R.S. 14:4.
We discern no reason why this discretion should not apply to the use of the multiple offender procedures as long as the same offense is not used twice to enhance the penalty.

The factual situation in the present case is distinguishable from the facts of State v. Harrison, 32,643 (La.App.2d Cir.10/27/99), 743 So.2d 883, writ denied, 99-3352 (La.6/30/00), 765 So.2d 327. There, we held:

The bill of information charging Harrison with second offense possession of marijuana utilized as the underlying felony the earlier distribution of marijuana conviction in docket no. 30,437.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Baker
970 So. 2d 948 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2008)
State v. Baker
935 So. 2d 366 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Garner
913 So. 2d 874 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
State v. White
907 So. 2d 180 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
State v. Lee
868 So. 2d 256 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
855 So. 2d 835, 2003 WL 22191978, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-iverson-lactapp-2003.