State v. Kirsch

880 So. 2d 890, 2004 WL 1672300
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 27, 2004
Docket04-KA-214
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 880 So. 2d 890 (State v. Kirsch) 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. Kirsch, 880 So. 2d 890, 2004 WL 1672300 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

880 So.2d 890 (2004)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
John E. KIRSCH.

No. 04-KA-214.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

July 27, 2004.

*892 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Anne Wallis, Bobby Malbrough, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA.

William R. Campbell Jr., New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

*893 Panel composed of Judges EDWARD A. DUFRESNE, JR., CLARENCE E. McMANUS and WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD.

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

On March 28, 2003, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, John Kirsch, with one count of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling (LSA-R.S. 14:62.3) and one count of aggravated battery (LSA-R.S. 14:34). Defendant was arraigned on March 31, 2003, and pled not guilty.

Defendant was tried by a six-member jury on September 16, 2003. The jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged as to count one, and guilty of the lesser included offense of simple battery (LSA-R.S. 14:35) as to count two.

Defendant filed a Motion for New Trial on September 18, 2003. On October 2, 2003, the district court denied the motion after hearing arguments from counsel. Defendant waived statutory delays, and the court sentenced him that day to two years at hard labor as to count one, and six months in parish prison as to count two. The court further ordered that the sentences run concurrently with each other.

Defendant filed a timely Motion for Appeal on October 2, 2003. The district court granted the motion that day.

FACTS

The trial transcripts are found in the original volume of the record, and they are duplicated in the supplemental volume. Trial testimony reveals the following:

On the night of March 8, 2003, Mary Gagnon and Thomas Legault entertained several friends at their home at 310 Glenn Street, Apartment C in the Bucktown area of Metairie. Ms. Gagnon testified that defendant, John Kirsch, knocked on the front door of the apartment at about 11:30 p.m. She further testified that she was acquainted with defendant from having seen him around the neighborhood, but that she did not socialize with him. Mr. Legault answered the door. Legault testified that, although defendant was neither invited nor expected, he allowed defendant into the apartment.

Defendant demanded to know where "Rene" was. Mr. Legault testified that he had allowed Rene to live in the motor home he kept parked in a nearby lot. However, he had evicted Rene days earlier for failing to pay rent. Ms. Gagnon testified that she and her companions told defendant Rene was not there. Defendant repeatedly demanded to know where Rene was, and he became increasingly more agitated.

Robert Craft, one of the guests, testified that defendant pulled out a shotgun from under his jacket and asked, "You want some of this?" Defendant continued to call for Rene and to wave the gun at the guests. He hit Mr. Craft in the eye socket with the gun. Mr. Craft punched defendant in the face, and then restrained defendant by putting him in a headlock. Mr. Legault took the gun from defendant and tossed it out the door. It landed on a neighbor's property. Some of the guests managed to force defendant out through the front door. Mr. Craft testified that defendant stood outside the apartment and shouted that he had another gun, and that he would get back inside. Ms. Gagnon called 9-1-1 to report the incident. Defendant tried unsuccessfully to get in the back door of the apartment by breaking the glass.

Deputy Christopher Gorman of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified that he and several other officers responded to the 9-1-1 call. Deputy Lipps saw defendant fleeing the scene on foot. He and other officers relocated to where defendant *894 was. Deputy Malcolm Faber, a canine handler, performed an "area search" with his dog, and located defendant. Faber testified that defendant was lying face-down on the ground on the side of the apartment complex. Deputy Gorman testified that one of the victims identified defendant as the perpetrator at the scene of the arrest.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, defendant asserts two assignments of error. He argues that the trial court erred in denying his challenge to a juror during jury selection and that he is entitled to a new trial. He also complains that the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, as the testimony of state's witnesses showed that defendant was authorized to enter the apartment. Defendant made this claim below in a Motion for New Trial. The trial court denied the motion.

When issues are raised on appeal as to sufficiency of the evidence and as to one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine sufficiency of the evidence. When the entirety of the evidence, including inadmissible evidence which was erroneously admitted, is insufficient to support the conviction, the accused must be discharged as to that crime, and any issues regarding trial errors become moot. State v. George, 95-0110 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 975, 978; State v. Conner, 02-363 (La.App. 5 Cir. 11/13/02), 833 So.2d 396, 401, writ denied, 02-3064 (La.4/25/03), 842 So.2d 396.

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. 5 Cir. 6/30/99), 742 So.2d 604, 607.

Unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling is defined by LSA-R.S. 14:62.3 A as "the intentional entry by a person without authorization into any inhabited dwelling or other structure belonging to another and used in whole or in part as a home or place of abode by a person." An unauthorized entry is an entry without consent, express or implied. State v. Ortiz, 96-1609, p. 14 (La.10/21/97), 701 So.2d 922, 931, cert. denied, 524 U.S. 943, 118 S.Ct. 2352, 141 L.Ed.2d 722 (1998); State v. Rivet, 01-353 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/25/01), 798 So.2d 219, 224. In the case of a private residence, a person must have the consent of the occupant or an occupant's agent to constitute a defense to unauthorized entry. This consent must be given by a person with authority or capacity to consent. Id.

The evidence showed that the co-residents of the apartment at 310 Glenn Street were Mary Gagnon and her companion, Thomas Legault. Defendant required consent from one of them to legally enter the residence.

Mr. Legault testified that defendant was not an invited guest. However, he did allow defendant to enter when defendant knocked on the door. According to Mr. Legault, defendant became engaged in a fight with one of his invited guests, Mr. Craft, and was thereafter forced to leave the apartment. Defendant then attempted to re-enter the residence by breaking some glass in the back door. According to Legault, defendant did not succeed in re-entering the apartment.

Ms. Gagnon testified that Mr. Legault opened the door when defendant knocked. *895 She further stated that defendant asked if Rene was there, and Mr. Legault and others in the apartment told him Rene was not there. Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
880 So. 2d 890, 2004 WL 1672300, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kirsch-lactapp-2004.