State v. Jackson

781 So. 2d 705, 2001 WL 194390
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided February 28, 2001·No. 34,378-KA·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

781 So.2d 705 (2001)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Gabriel JACKSON, Appellant.

No. 34,378-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

February 28, 2001.

*707 Wilson Rambo, Louisiana Appellate Project, Monroe, Counsel for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, Jason W. Waltman, Tommy J. Johnson, Ross Stewart Owen, Assistant District Attorneys, Counsel for Appellee.

Before NORRIS, KOSTELKA and DREW, JJ.

*708 NORRIS, Chief Judge.

Gabriel Jackson was convicted of aggravated burglary, a violation of R.S. 14:60, adjudicated a second felony offender, and sentenced to 18 years hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. He appeals his conviction and sentence. We amend the sentence and as amended, affirm.

Facts

Charleston Stroughter went to pick up his live-in girlfriend, Tammy Carson, from work. Upon returning home they noticed a window open and went to investigate. Stroughter checked the bedroom he was sharing with Carson, while Carson went to check the children's two bedrooms. Upon opening the door to the second bedroom, Carson saw two males and asked them what they were doing. Carson testified that one of the men, later identified as Jackson, pointed a gun at her. Stroughter overheard Carson talking to the men and came up behind Carson and saw the gun. While Carson ran out of the house to a neighbor's home to call the police, Stroughter fired at the two men. After he shot twice, his gun jammed and he left the room, first observing that both the men fell to the floor.

Officers responded to the shooting and Stroughter told them that the men were armed and had been shot. Officer Petterway testified that when they entered the house he saw a bloody .38 revolver in the hallway. Upon entering the bedroom, the officers observed that both men had been shot, Jackson in the right hand and Charles Harris, the other male, in the leg.

While en route to LSUMC via an ambulance, Jackson was accompanied by Officer Rosemary Smith. Officer Smith testified that Jackson started telling her how upset he was that Stroughter had shot him. He told her that he and Harris were only in the home to steal some clothes and to mess around. Jackson indicated that he should not have been shot for something that minor.

Detective H.D. Malone interviewed Jackson in the ER. Jackson told Detective Malone that he did not know Stroughter, who lived a few blocks away from him. He further told Detective Malone that he and Harris observed Stroughter leaving the house and saw the carport door open and decided, as a joke, to go into the house, mess around and steal some clothes; he and Stroughter were the same size. He stated that shortly after they entered the house he heard someone in the house, the light in the room went on, and Stroughter started shooting. Jackson denied having a gun.

After Jackson made his statement, Detective Malone told Jackson that the hammer of the .38 had been broken off in such a way that it had apparently been struck by a bullet. Detective Malone then told Jackson that his hand injury suggested he had been holding the .38 when the hammer was struck. Jackson then told Detective Malone that, without his knowledge, Harris had brought the gun and when shot, Harris dropped it. Jackson stated that he picked the gun up to throw it out of the room when he was shot by Stroughter.

Jackson was found guilty of aggravated burglary, adjudicated a second felony offender, and sentenced to 18 years at hard labor. Jackson appeals his conviction and sentencing, assigning as errors the sufficiency of the evidence, the introduction of certain photographs, the second felony adjudication, alleging his sentence was excessive, and alleging his counsel was ineffective for failing to file a Motion to Reconsider the sentence.[1]

*709 Sufficiency of Evidence

When issues are raised on appeal concerning the sufficiency of the evidence and one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine the sufficiency of the evidence. The sufficiency issue is reviewed first because the accused may be entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v. Louisiana, 450 U.S. 40, 101 S.Ct. 970, 67 L.Ed.2d 30 (1981), if a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not reasonably conclude that all of the elements of the offense have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La. App.2d Cir.4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333; State v. Bellamy, 599 So.2d 326 (La.App. 2d Cir.), writ denied, 605 So.2d 1089 (1992).

This court's authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case is limited to the sufficiency-of-the-evidence evaluation under Jackson v. Virginia, supra, and does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact. La. Const. art. 5, § 10(B); State v. Williams, 448 So.2d 753 (La.App. 2d Cir.1984). A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Bosley, supra; State v. Rogers, 494 So.2d 1251 (La.App. 2d Cir.1986), writ denied, 499 So.2d 83 (1987). In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Bellamy, supra.

Aggravated burglary is the unauthorized entering of any inhabited dwelling with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, if the offender is armed with a dangerous weapon. La. R.S. 14:60.

Jackson acknowledges that he was in Carson and Stroughter's home without their permission and with the intent to steal clothes. Jackson argues that the state did not prove he was armed with a dangerous weapon; he alleges that unbeknown to him Harris brought the gun in the house and Jackson only picked it up to throw it out of the room once Stroughter shot Harris. Additionally, Jackson cites to Stroughter's testimony that he first shot at Harris, which would indicate that Harris had the gun.

Carson and Stroughter testified that Jackson had the gun and pointed it at Carson. They both identified Jackson at the house and at trial as the individual who aimed the gun at them.

Sergeant Mark Rogers, an expert in the field of crime scene analysis, testified that he found a revolver with the hammer missing in the hallway of the house. Sergeant Rogers stated that the weapon was coated in fresh blood which effectively covered any fingerprints. In examining the weapon, Sergeant Rogers determined that the broken-off hammer, which was found in the room where Jackson and Harris were shot, was bent and discolored, indicating a great degree of contact and pressure on the edge next to the firing pin. Sergeant Rogers stated that it appeared as if an object had struck the hammer with sufficient force to bend the hammer and shear it off the rest of the hammer mechanism that was shielded inside the grip frame.

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State v. Jackson, 781 So. 2d 705, 2001 WL 194390 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

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