State v. Lang

128 So. 3d 330, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 21, 2013 WL 5553136, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2033
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 9, 2013
DocketNo. 13-KA-21
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 128 So. 3d 330 (State v. Lang) 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. Lang, 128 So. 3d 330, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 21, 2013 WL 5553136, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2033 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROBERT M. MURPHY, Judge.

2Pefendant, Tremika D. Lang, appeals her conviction and sentence for conspiracy to commit second degree murder, a violation of La. R.S. 14:26:30.1.1 For the reasons that follow, the Court affirms defendant’s conviction and remands for correction of sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In July 2009, defendant sought to purchase a car at auction; she gave Marvin Hudson $7,200.00 without obtaining a receipt or any documentation. Unable to reach Marvin Hudson after he failed to deliver a car, defendant called and sent text messages to Marvin Hudson’s girlfriend Rose Grace to find Hudson. Defendant sought the promised car or the return of her money. Defendant also went in person to Grace’s home looking for Marvin Hudson. Defendant further exchanged text messages with her then boyfriend Kendrick Henry. These messages conveyed ^defendant’s desire for revenge against Hudson for his failure to deliver the vehicle or return her money.

On July 29, 2009, two male gunmen opened fire at 3601 Tulane Drive in Ken-ner, Louisiana, the residence of Marvin [332]*332Hudson and Rose Grace. Marvin Hudson’s brother, Jonathan Hudson, was killed, and Michael Cauley was injured. Marvin Hudson was uninjured, and the gunmen remain unidentified.

On November 24, 2009, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, with conspiracy to commit second degree murder in violation of La. R.S. 14:26 and R.S. 14:30.1 between July 25, 2009 and July 29, 2009.2 Defendant was arraigned the next day and pled not guilty. On January 25, 2011, the State amended the bill of information to change the ending date of the conspiracy to October 9, 2009. On January 4, 5, and 6, 2012, the case was tried before a 12-person jury that found defendant guilty as charged.

Defendant filed a Motion for New Trial and Alternatively to Arrest the Judgment that was denied on March 28, 2012. On that same date, after waiving sentencing delays, the trial judge sentenced defendant to imprisonment at hard labor for 17 years. Defendant filed a Motion to Reconsider Sentence that was denied. Also on March 28, 2012, defendant filed a timely Motion for Appeal that was granted.

On April 2, 2012, the trial judge amended the sentence to reflect that it was to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. On August 7, 2012, defendant filed a Motion for Clarification of Sentence that was granted. In her ruling on that motion, the trial judge recommended that defendant 14be allowed to participate in all substance abuse and rehabilitative programs available while incarcerated.

LAWAND DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of the evidence.' Defendant argues in her first assignment of error that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict. She contends that the only evidence against her was unrelated text messages containing her angry thoughts that were never intended to be acted upon or seen by anyone other than her and her boyfriend, Kendrick Henry. Defendant further contends that none of what she and Henry texted ever came to pass, as Marvin Hudson was not killed or 2tortured, his car was not stolen, his home was not robbed or burned, and no phones were taken. She asserts that she and Henry were simply “trash talking,” that no action was ever taken, and that no plan was ever enacted.

The State responds that a rational fact finder, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could have found that defendant had the specific intent to kill, and that defendant and Henry were in agreement in their desire to kill Marvin Hudson. The State further responds that defendant’s attempts to physically locate Marvin Hudson were acts done in furtherance of their agreement. The State also asserts that defendant’s consciousness of guilt was evidenced by her sudden flight to Atlanta shortly after the murder, her instructions to friends not to talk to the police about a murder, her lies to the police as to her whereabouts and knowledge of the offense, and her alteration of the appearance of her vehicle after the murder.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court must determine that the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, or a mixture of both, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecu[333]*333tion, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond 15a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); 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); State v. Mickel, 09-953, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/11/10), 41 So.3d 532, 534, writ denied, 10-1357 (La.1/7/11), 52 So.3d 885. Under the Jackson standard, a review of the record for sufficiency of the evidence does not require the court to ask whether it believes that the evidence at trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jones, 08-20, p. 6 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/15/08), 985 So.2d 234, 240. Rather, the reviewing court is required to consider the whole record and determine whether any rational trier of fact would have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id., 08-20 at 7, 985 So.2d at 240.

Defendant was charged with and convicted of conspiracy to commit second degree murder in violation of La. R.S. 14:26 and 14:30.1. Second degree murder is defined, in pertinent part, by La. R.S. 14:30.1 as follows:

A. Second degree murder is the killing of a human being:
(1) When the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm[.]
Criminal conspiracy is defined by La. R.S. 14:26(A) as:
[T]he agreement or combination of two or more persons for the specific purpose of committing any crime; provided that an agreement or combination to commit a crime shall not amount to a criminal conspiracy unless, in addition to such agreement or combination, one or more of such parties does an act in furtherance of the object of the agreement or combination.

Thus, the elements of the crime of conspiracy are: (1) an agreement or combination of two or more persons for the specific purpose of committing a crime, plus (2) an act done in furtherance of the object of the agreement or combination. State v. Tatum, 09-1004, p. 11 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/25/10), 40 So.3d 1082, 1089.

|fiThe first element of a criminal conspiracy, specific intent, is defined as the “state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act.” La.C.Cr.P. art. 14:10(1); State v. Zeno, 99-69, p. 6 (La.App. 5 Cir. 8/31/99), 742 So.2d 699, 704, writ denied, 00-105 (La.6/30/00), 765 So.2d 1065. The determination of specific criminal intent is a question of fact and may be inferred from circumstances and actions of the defendant. Id. Proof of a conspiracy may be made by direct or circumstantial evidence. Id., 99-69 at 7, 742 So.2d at 705.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Scott
2024 Ohio 5849 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2024)
State v. McIntosh
275 So. 3d 1 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State v. Pierce
216 So. 3d 210 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)
State v. Harris
190 So. 3d 466 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State v. Williams
186 So. 3d 242 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State v. Owens
151 So. 3d 86 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
128 So. 3d 330, 13 La.App. 5 Cir. 21, 2013 WL 5553136, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lang-lactapp-2013.