State v. Lewis

727 So. 2d 1274, 1999 WL 52720
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 3, 1999
Docket97-KA-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 727 So. 2d 1274 (State v. Lewis) 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. Lewis, 727 So. 2d 1274, 1999 WL 52720 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

727 So.2d 1274 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Terry LEWIS.

No. 97-KA-1549.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

February 3, 1999.

*1275 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Susan Erlanger Talbot, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, Louisiana, Counsel for Plaintiff.

J. Wilson Rambo, Louisiana Appellate Project, Monroe, Louisiana, Counsel for Defendant.

Court composed of Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES III, Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG, and Judge DENNIS R. BAGNERIS, Sr.

BAGNERIS, Judge.

On May 17, 1995, defendant, Terry Lewis, was charged by bill of information with carnal knowledge of a juvenile in violation of La. R.S. 14:80. At his arraignment on May 19, 1995, the defendant entered a plea of not guilty. After a jury trial on November 7, 1996, the defendant was found guilty as charged. On December 13, 1996, the defendant filed a motion in arrest of judgment. On the same date, the state filed a multiple bill of information to which the defendant pled not guilty. On January 15, 1997, the defendant was sentenced to ten years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Defendant's motion for appeal was granted on April 4, 1997. Defendant's motion for reconsideration of sentence was denied on the same date. A multiple bill hearing was held on February 19, 1998. The defendant was adjudicated a third felony offender. The trial court vacated the sentence previously imposed and sentenced defendant to serve twenty years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Defendant's motion for appeal was granted and a return date of April 22, 1998 was set. Defendant's motions for reconsideration of sentence and new trial were denied. The trial court denied defendant's motion in arrest of judgment on July 30, 1998. Defendant now appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the defendant's conviction, the sentence is excessive and fails to comply with LSA-C.Cr. P. Art.894.1.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS[1]

In February of 1995, D. J., was thirteen years old and a student at Colton Middle School. She lived with her grandmother while her mother was in a rehabilitation clinic. During the months of February and March of 1995, D.J. had a sexual relationship *1276 with the defendant. D.J. met the defendant through her cousin, Laquanta, and a friend of her family, Troy. On one evening in February, D.J. and Laquanta met the defendant and Troy at Armstrong Park. They went to a movie and a game room afterwards. The defendant gave D.J. his telephone number. She spoke with the defendant later that evening. They talked about the movie and the fun they had at the game room. The defendant told her he would like to see her again. A few days later, D.J. skipped school and met the defendant at the corner of her street. They went to his house. The defendant's grandmother needed something from the store, and they went to the store. When they returned, they went to the other side of the house which was vacant and had sexual intercourse. It was D.J.'s first experience. She really did not want it to happen but went along with the defendant's request. Afterwards, D.J. and the defendant bought sandwiches and went to Armstrong Park. D.J. then went home. She spoke with the defendant later that evening. D.J. saw the defendant every day as he walked her to school and waited for her in the afternoons after school. A few days later, D.J. skipped school again and met the defendant. They went straight to the abandoned house and had sexual intercourse. D.J. stayed with the defendant until 3:30 p.m. when she went home. On one occasion, D.J. asked Troy the defendant's age. The defendant told Troy he was nineteen. One day when D.J. was talking to the defendant on the telephone, D.J. asked the defendant his age. The defendant told D.J. his birthday was in her telephone number. When D.J. determined the defendant was twenty-eight years old, she came up with an excuse to get off the telephone. She did not call the defendant for a couple of days. The following Sunday, Troy called D.J. and told her that the defendant needed to talk to her. When she called the defendant, he told her he just wanted to hear her voice. The next morning, the defendant was waiting to walk her to school. D.J. thought she was too young and the defendant was too old. She felt it was a big mistake. One of the girls at school told a school security guard about the defendant and D.J. The school called D.J.'s grandmother who then called D.J.'s mother.

Emily Jones (E.J.), D.J.'s mother, was contacted by her mother-in-law and told of the situation with D.J. After receiving permission to leave the rehabilitation clinic, E.J. spoke with D.J. and met with the school's principal, the security guard and a police officer. She took D.J. to Charity Hospital for an examination.

Dr. Dean Leone, a pediatrician at Charity Hospital, performed a rape examination on D.J. on March 7, 1995. The examination revealed a well healed scar and was consistent with penetration of an old nature. D.J. mentioned three occasions of sexual intercourse, the first on February 14, 1997, and the second a couple of days after Mardi Gras and the last on March 1, 1995.[2]

A. Errors Patent

A review of the record for errors patent reveals two. The trial court failed to rule on the defendant's motion for new trial and motion in arrest of judgment prior to sentencing defendant. On February 19, 1998, the trial court adjudicated the defendant a third felony offender and sentenced him to twenty years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. On the same date, after sentencing the defendant, the trial court denied the defendant's motion for new trial. Thereafter, on July 30, 1998, the trial court denied defendant's motion in arrest of judgment. La.C.Cr.P. articles 853 and 861 require that motions for new trial and motions in arrest of judgment be disposed prior to sentencing. Thus, because the trail judge failed to do this the defendant's sentence must be vacated and the matter remanded for resentencing.

Further, the record also reveals that the sentence imposed by the trial court is illegal. The trial court ordered that the defendant's sentence be served without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. *1277 La. R.S. 14:80 does not deny a person convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile the possibility of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. La. R.S. 15:529.1, however, precludes probation or suspension of sentence for a person sentenced under the multiple offender statute. Thus, the trial court erroneously denied the defendant the possibility of parole.

B. Assignment of Error No.1

In his first assignment of error, the defendant contends the state failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain his conviction for carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The defendant specifically contends the state failed to produce evidence that he was over the age of seventeen and more than two years older than the victim was.

When assessing the sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction, the appellate court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found proof beyond a reasonable doubt of each of the essential elements of the crime charged. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817 (La. 1987).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
727 So. 2d 1274, 1999 WL 52720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lewis-lactapp-1999.