State v. Joseph

921 So. 2d 1060, 2006 WL 118567
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 17, 2006
Docket05-KA-368
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 921 So. 2d 1060 (State v. Joseph) 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. Joseph, 921 So. 2d 1060, 2006 WL 118567 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

921 So.2d 1060 (2006)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Travis JOSEPH.

No. 05-KA-368.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

January 17, 2006.

*1061 Hon. Harry J. Morel, Jr., District Attorney, David L. Chaisson, Assistant District Attorney, Hahnville, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Jane L. Beebe, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges JAMES L. CANNELLA, SUSAN M. CHEHARDY, and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

JAMES L. CANNELLA, Judge.

The Defendant, Travis Joseph, appeals from his conviction of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and sentence of seven *1062 years imprisonment at hard labor. For the reasons which follow, we affirm and remand.

The St. Charles Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information on July 1, 2004, charging the Defendant with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a violation of La. R.S. 14:68.4. Defendant was arraigned on July 22, 2004 and pled not guilty. Trial was held before a six member jury on September 28 and 29, 2004.

Lionel Harvey (Harvey) testified that he lives in Orleans Parish and owns a 1999 blue Dodge Durango sports utility vehicle. His vehicle was stolen from in front of his home at about 2:30 a.m. on June 25, 2004. He reported the theft to police that day. Harvey testified that he did not give anyone permission to use the vehicle. He further testified that there was no damage to the Durango's steering column prior to the theft.

Deputy Stephen Stewart of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office testified that he was on duty at 8:00 p.m. on June 28, 2004. While stopped on Louisiana Highway 52 at Canal Street, he saw a blue Dodge Durango traveling at a high rate of speed. Using Doppler Radar, he clocked the vehicle's speed at 55 miles per hour, 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Deputy Stewart activated his overhead lights and siren, followed and attempted to stop the Durango. The vehicle continued in a reckless manner, speeding past several other vehicles and forcing at least one vehicle off the highway. Deputy Stewart continued to follow the Durango through a residential neighborhood. The chase eventually took them to a wooded area. At that point Deputy Stewart took an alternate route in hope of blocking the only exit from the neighborhood.

Deputy Tate Roussel testified that Deputy Stewart notified him that he was in pursuit of a stolen vehicle. Deputy Roussel and Deputy Damion Dyson, an officer in training, joined the chase. Deputy Roussel and Deputy Dyson followed the Durango until it entered the wooded area and slowed considerably. Deputy Roussel testified that he and Deputy Dyson exited their police cruiser and approached the vehicle. The Durango came to a stop in a ditch. Both Deputy Roussel and Deputy Dyson testified that the Defendant exited the driver's side of the vehicle. Two other persons escaped from the passenger side and fled in different directions. The officers apprehended the Defendant, but were unable to catch the other two persons.

Deputy Roussel testified that when he looked inside the Durango, he saw that the steering column had been damaged and the ignition had been defeated and wrapped in duct tape. There was a fake key in the ignition, as if someone were trying to conceal the defeated ignition lock. Deputy Roussel stated that a defeated ignition makes it easier to start a vehicle without a key.

Deputy Stewart testified that, when he arrived at the scene, he found that the Defendant had been placed in handcuffs. Deputy Stewart advised the Defendant of his Miranda[1] rights before questioning him. He told the Defendant that he was under arrest for possession of a stolen vehicle and asked the Defendant for the names of his companions. The Defendant repeatedly refused to give Deputy Stewart the names.

Following trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. On December 6, 2004, the Defendant filed a motion for a New Trial, and a Motion for Post-verdict Judgment of Acquittal. The trial court heard arguments on both motions that day and denied them. On January 20, 2005, *1063 the trial court sentenced the Defendant to seven years imprisonment at hard labor. The Defendant filed for appeal on January 27, 2005. The trial court granted the motion on January 28, 2005. On appeal, the Defendant assigns two errors.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial because the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. The State disagrees, asserting that it sufficiently proved each element of the offense.

The constitutional standard for testing the sufficiency of the evidence, as enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), requires that a conviction be based on proof sufficient for any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Juluke, 98-0341 (La.1/8/99), 725 So.2d 1291; State v. Williams, 99-223, p. 6 (La.App. 5th Cir.6/30/99), 742 So.2d 604, 607. When circumstantial evidence forms the basis for a conviction, such evidence must consist of proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. State v. Williams, 99-223 at p. 8, 742 So.2d at 608. When circumstantial evidence is used to prove a case, the trial judge must instruct the jury that, "assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence." La. R.S. 15:438. This statutory test works with the Jackson sufficiency test to evaluate whether all evidence, direct or circumstantial, is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a rational jury. State v. Neal, 00-0674, p. 9 (La.6/29/01), 796 So.2d 649, 657, cert. denied, 535 U.S. 940, 122 S.Ct. 1323, 152 L.Ed.2d 231 (2002).

La. R.S. 14:68.4 A defines the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle as follows:

Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle is the intentional taking or use of a motor vehicle which belongs to another, either without the other's consent, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, but without any intention to deprive the other of the motor vehicle permanently.

This Court, while acknowledging that there are few published cases interpreting La. R.S. 14:68.4, has found the jurisprudence interpreting La. R.S. 14:68 (prohibiting the unauthorized use of a movable) instructive since the two statutes proscribe the same conduct. See: State v. Varnado, 01-367, p. 4 (La.App. 5th Cir.9/13/01), 798 So.2d 191, 193; State v. Spencer, 97-811, pp. 6-7 (La.App. 5th Cir.1/27/98), 707 So.2d 119, 120.

In State v. Bias, 400 So.2d 650, 652-653 (La.1981), the Louisiana Supreme Court clarified the meaning of La. R.S. 14:68 as follows:

A person commits the crime of unauthorized use of a movable when he either takes or uses another's property without the owner's consent or by means of fraudulent practices. R.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
921 So. 2d 1060, 2006 WL 118567, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-joseph-lactapp-2006.