State v. Joshua

973 So. 2d 963, 2008 WL 80370
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 9, 2008
Docket42,766-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 973 So. 2d 963 (State v. Joshua) 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. Joshua, 973 So. 2d 963, 2008 WL 80370 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

973 So.2d 963 (2008)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Kenneth Lennell JOSHUA, Appellant.

No. 42,766-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

January 9, 2008.

*966 Laura M. Pavy, for Appellant.

Kenneth Lennell Joshua, pro se.

Paul J. Carmouche, District Attorney, John F. McWilliams, Jr., Brian H. Barber Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, STEWART and LOLLEY, JJ.

WILLIAMS, J.

The defendant, Kenneth Lennell Joshua, was charged by bill of information with aggravated battery, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:34. Following a jury trial, he was convicted as charged. He was subsequently adjudicated a third felony offender and sentenced to life in prison at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence.

FACTS

On February 3, 2004, the victim, Vincent Shine, was standing near the corner of Portland and Stonewall Street in Shreveport, Louisiana talking to a woman named "Rita." The defendant approached Shine asking, "What are you doing talking to her?" Shine replied, "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to her." The defendant pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot Shine, but the gun jammed. The defendant *967 pulled the trigger again and shot at Shine at least five times, striking him once in the right leg. The defendant and Rita fled the scene. When police officers interviewed Shine, he identified the defendant as the shooter.

Shine was not armed at the time of the incident. The gun used to shoot Shine was never located, but shell casings from a .38caliber handgun were recovered from the crime scene. Police officers were unable to locate any witnesses to the crime.

The defendant was arrested on February 24, 2004. On April 1, 2004, the defendant was charged by bill of information with aggravated battery, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:34. He proceeded to trial before a jury of six and was found guilty as charged. The defendant was subsequently adjudicated a third felony offender and was sentenced to life in prison at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

The defendant's appellate counsel only assigned as error the excessiveness of the defendant's sentence. However, the defendant filed a pro se brief, adding four additional assignments of error.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

In the defendant's first pro se assignment of error, he contends the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction of aggravated battery. According to the defendant, his conviction was based on the victim's uncorroborated testimony. The defendant also contends Detective Russell Ross of the Shreveport Police Department relied primarily upon "secondhand" information and failed to interview witnesses who could have corroborated the defendant's testimony that a person called "Little Duke" shot Shine.

The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Tate, XXXX-XXXX (La.5/20/03), 851 So.2d 921, cert. denied, 541 U.S. 905, 124 S.Ct. 1604, 158 L.Ed.2d 248 (2004); State v. Murray, 36,137 (La.App.2d Cir.8/29/02), 827 So.2d 488, writ denied, 2002-2634 (La.9/5/03), 852 So.2d 1020. This standard, now legislatively embodied in LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford, XXXX-XXXX (La.2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; State v. Robertson, 96-1048 (La.10/4/96), 680 So.2d 1165.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the direct evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. When the direct evidence is thus viewed, the facts established by the direct evidence and inferred from the circumstantial evidence must be sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of every essential element of the crime. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983); State v. Owens, 30,903 (La.App.2d Cir.9/25/98), 719 So.2d 610, writ denied, 98-2723 (La.2/5/99), 737 So.2d 747; State v. Barakat, 38,419 (La.App.2d Cir.6/23/04), 877 So.2d 223. To convict a defendant based upon circumstantial evidence, every reasonable hypothesis of innocence must be excluded. Id., citing LSA-R.S. 15:438. In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict *968 with the physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Burd, 40,480 (La.App.2d Cir.1/27/06), 921 So.2d 219, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.11/9/06), 941 So.2d 35; State v. Wiltcher, 41,981 (La. App.2d Cir.5/9/07), 956 So.2d 769.

The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, 94-3116 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442; State v. Dupree, 41,658 (La.App.2d Cir.1/31/07), 950 So.2d 140, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.10/12/07), 965 So.2d 936. 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. Gilliam, 36,118 (La.App.2d Cir.8/30/02), 827 So.2d 508, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.11/14/03), 858 So.2d 422. When there is conflicting testimony about factual matters, the resolution of which depends upon a determination of the credibility of the witnesses, the matter is one of the weight of the evidence, not its sufficiency. State v. Allen, 36,180 (La.App.2d Cir.9/18/02), 828 So.2d 622, writs denied, 2002-2595 (La.3/28/03), 840 So.2d 566, 2002-2997 (La.6/27/03), 847 So.2d 1255, cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1185, 124 S.Ct. 1404, 158 L.Ed.2d 90 (2004).

Battery is the intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another. LSA-R.S. 14:33. Aggravated battery is a battery committed with a dangerous weapon. LSA-R.S. 14:34. "Dangerous weapon" includes any gas, liquid or other substance or instrumentality, which, in the manner used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm. LSA-R.S. 14:2(3).

In the instant case, Shine testified that he knew the defendant personally and had been involved in an altercation with the defendant in the past. He further testified that on the day in question, he and the defendant exchanged words, and the defendant pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot him, but the gun jammed. The defendant pulled the trigger of the gun again and shot at Shine at least five more times, striking him in the right leg near his knee.

The defendant testified in his own defense. He admitted that he and Shine had been involved in a "fistfight" approximately three weeks prior to the shooting. However, the defendant testified that a man called "Little Duke" shot Shine because Shine owed him money.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
973 So. 2d 963, 2008 WL 80370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-joshua-lactapp-2008.