State v. Jefferson

606 So. 2d 869, 1992 WL 233223
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 23, 1992
Docket24076-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 606 So. 2d 869 (State v. Jefferson) 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. Jefferson, 606 So. 2d 869, 1992 WL 233223 (La. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

606 So.2d 869 (1992)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Thomas D. JEFFERSON, Appellant.

No. 24076-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 23, 1992.

*870 Robert S. Tew, Monroe, for appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Atty. Gen., Jerry Jones, Dist. Atty., Charles Cook, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before SEXTON, LINDSAY and BROWN, JJ.

BROWN, Judge.

The defendant, Thomas D. Jefferson, was charged by a bill of information with armed robbery, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:64. Defendant was tried by jury, found guilty as charged, and sentenced to serve sixteen (16) years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. On appeal defendant claims the guilty verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence and that his sentence was excessive. Determining that this appeal has no merit, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

Shortly after 8:00 P.M. on February 2, 1991, a black male, described by witnesses as short and heavy-set, entered the Kettle Restaurant in Monroe, Louisiana. The man sat down in the booth closest to the cash register. Cheryl Herzog, a waitress at the restaurant, took his to go order. The man then walked over to the cashier, Mary Youngblood, who was in the process *871 of giving change to two young boys. The man showed Ms. Youngblood a long, blue, company type check, drawn on Premier Bank, and made payable to Thomas Jefferson and asked if she could cash it. When Ms. Youngblood said she could not cash a two-party check, the man pulled out a small caliber revolver. Seeing the revolver, Ms. Youngblood, six months pregnant, stepped back, tripped and fell to the floor. The man reached into the register, removed some money and fled north across the road from the restaurant in the direction of the Harvester Trailer Park.

During its investigation, the Monroe Police Department learned that a black male named Thomas Darryl Jefferson resided at the Harvester Trailer Park. This was the same trailer park which the suspect had run toward the night of the robbery. The police also learned that a young woman named Christa Graves owned the trailer and resided there with Jefferson.

Police officers went to the trailer to speak with Ms. Graves. At the trailer, the officers confronted Jefferson, took him into custody and advised him of his rights. Ms. Graves voluntarily consented to a search of her trailer. Inside, the police found a small caliber revolver, which defendant later stated that he owned. The police also discovered a wallet, identified by Ms. Graves as belonging to the defendant. Inside the wallet was a long, blue, Premier Bank check made payable to Thomas Jefferson.

The defendant was identified in a photo lineup by Cheryl Herzog, the waitress who had taken his initial order, as the perpetrator of the robbery. Defendant was placed under arrest and charged with armed robbery. Defendant's first trial in May 1991 resulted in a mistrial when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.[1] Thereafter, defendant was tried by jury on September 9-10, 1991 and found guilty as charged. On November 5, 1991, the trial court sentenced defendant to sixteen (16) years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.

DISCUSSION

A. RELEVANT REVIEW STANDARDS

In the first assignment of error, defendant argues that the evidence introduced at trial was not sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, defendant argues that his conviction should be set aside.

1. REASONABLE DOUBT STANDARD

The United States Supreme Court has explicitly held that "the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects each person accused of a crime against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged." Cage v. Louisiana, 498 U.S. 39, ___, 111 S.Ct. 328, 329, 112 L.Ed.2d 339, 341 (1990); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 368, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1075, 25 L.Ed.2d 368, 377-78 (1970). This reasonable doubt standard "plays a vital role in the American scheme of criminal procedure." Cage, 498 U.S. at ___, 111 S.Ct. at 329; Winship, 397 U.S. at 363, 90 S.Ct. at 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d at 375. Among other things, "[i]t is a prime instrument for reducing the risk of convictions resting on factual error." Id.

The requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt has this vital role in our criminal procedure for cogent reasons. The accused during a criminal prosecution has at stake interests of immense importance, both because of the possibility that he may lose his liberty upon conviction and because he would be stigmatized by the conviction. Accordingly, a society that values the good name and freedom of every individual should not condemn a man for commission of a crime when there is reasonable doubt about his guilt. Winship, supra. Moreover, use of the reasonable doubt standard is indispensable to command the respect and confidence of the *872 community in applications of the criminal law. To this end, the reasonable doubt standard is irreplaceable, for it impresses on the trier of fact the necessity to be sure of the facts in issue. Id.

2. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE STANDARD

Sufficiency of the evidence review involves assessment by the courts of whether the evidence adduced at trial could support any rational determination of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 67, 105 S.Ct. 471, 478, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In reviewing whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction, an appellate court in Louisiana is controlled by the standard enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, supra, and its progeny. This federal constitutional standard, which was adopted by the Louisiana Legislature's enactment of LSA-C.Cr.P. Art 821 pertaining to post-verdict motions for acquittal based on insufficiency of evidence, requires the appellate court to determine if the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Romero, 574 So.2d 330 (La.1990); State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305, 1308 (La.1988); State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984); State v. Bellamy, 599 So.2d 326, 329 (La.App. 2 Cir.1992); State v. Scott, 588 So.2d 1365, 1367 (La.App. 2 Cir.1991). This standard of appellate review applies to all evidence, direct and circumstantial. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198 (La.1984); Bellamy, supra.

B. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

In the instant case, defendant has been connected to this armed robbery by the testimony of several eyewitnesses and by supporting tangible evidence. The Louisiana Legislature has defined armed robbery as the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while armed with a dangerous weapon. LSA-R.S. 14:64; State v. Wheatley, 550 So.2d 724 (La.App.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
606 So. 2d 869, 1992 WL 233223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jefferson-lactapp-1992.