State v. Linnear

26 So. 3d 303, 2009 WL 4642001
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 9, 2009·No. 44,830-KA·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinion

26 So.3d 303 (2009)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Stacey James LINNEAR, Appellant.

No. 44,830-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

December 9, 2009.

*304 Peggy J. Sullivan, Louisiana Appellate Project, for Appellant.

Charles R. Scott, II, District Attorney, Suzanne Owen, Sarah Midboe, William Edwards, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before CARAWAY, MOORE and LOLLEY, JJ.

CARAWAY, J.

The defendant, Stacey J. Linnear, was charged by bill of information with second degree battery in violation of La. R.S. 14:34.1. A jury convicted the defendant as charged and the trial court sentenced him to four years and nine months at hard labor with credit for time served. Because the evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant and because his near maximum sentence is not excessive, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

Facts

In the early morning hours of October 6, 2007, an unidentified man was carried out of Shreveport's Kokopelli's nightclub by club security after he was physically attacked by another patron. Security placed the man, who was unconscious, on the sidewalk outside the club. Police officers patrolling the downtown area immediately responded. The man was unresponsive to questioning and his face appeared severely disfigured. The victim was taken by ambulance to LSU Medical Center, where he was treated for multiple fractures of the jaw, an injury to his head and later, a decubitus ulcer on his back. Police were unable to locate any witnesses at the scene and surveillance videos failed to capture what went on inside the club.

The victim was later identified as John Fuggins. Fuggins recalled that prior to entering the club that evening he, along with his cousin and two other friends, attended a high school football game. Fuggins admitted that they then proceeded to ride around drinking, smoking marijuana, and taking Ecstasy. Around midnight, the friends arrived at Kokopelli's. Fuggins, only 20 years of age at the time, entered the nightclub through the VIP entrance. Fuggins remembers going to the bar to get a drink and then walking around the club with his cousin. He claimed that he was trying to stay out of trouble because he did not want to get thrown out for being underage. Fuggins' last memory from the night in question was throwing a neighborhood gang sign in rhythm to the music. Fuggins testified that he was not affiliated with a gang and that he was merely representing the neighborhood in which he was raised.

On October 9, 2007, pursuant to an anonymous tip received by Fuggins' mother, Detective Demery, of the Shreveport police department's homicide division, picked up defendant, Stacey J. Linnear, for an interview. After waiving his Miranda[1] rights, Linnear agreed to make a statement, the admissibility of which is not contested. In his statement, Linnear recalled *305 arriving at Kokopelli's around 11:00 p.m. on October 5, 2007. He purportedly did not have anything to drink that evening. He alleged that he had been at the club for a couple of hours when he witnessed Fuggins first staring at him and then circling around him. He further stated that Fuggins threw gang signs in his face and kept bumping him as he walked past. According to Linnear, he had let Fuggins' behavior "pass" too many times and something "clicked" as he "went off" on him. He punched Fuggins with enough force to cause him to fall to the club's cement floor. In his statement, Linnear admits that after the first punch, Fuggins did not have an opportunity to fight back. The defendant proceeded to get on top of Fuggins and hit him repeatedly before leaving the club. Defense witness, Christopher Crutchfield, who failed to come forward initially, but was later interviewed by investigators, told detectives before trial that "the first lick knocked [the victim] out." Crutchfield later testified that Fuggins' eyes were still open after the first punch. Crutchfield also testified that because of Fuggins' behavior, he felt that Linnear was in danger and only used the force necessary to defend himself.

After Detective Demery concluded the interview with Linnear, he was taken into custody and charged with second degree battery in violation of La. R.S. 14:34.1. A jury convicted Linnear of the crime charged and he was sentenced to four years and nine months at hard labor, with credit for time served. Defendant now appeals.

Sufficiency of the Evidence to Convict

Linnear argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. He argues that because he was acting in self-defense, he lacked the specific intent to cause severe bodily harm. Linnear additionally asserts that it is unclear what actually caused Fuggins' injuries. Therefore, the evidence used to convict the defendant was purely circumstantial and the state failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.

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, 01-1658 (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. Cummings, 95-1377 (La.2/28/96), 668 So.2d 1132; State v. Murray, 36,137 (La.App.2d Cir.8/29/02), 827 So.2d 488, writ denied, 02-2634 (La.9/05/03), 852 So.2d 1020. This standard, now legislatively embodied in La. 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, 05-0477 (La.2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; State v. Robertson, 96-1048 (La.10/4/96), 680 So.2d 1165. 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. 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. Hill, 42,025 (La.App.2d Cir.5/9/07), 956 So.2d 758, writ denied, 07-1209 (La.12/14/07), 970 So.2d 529; State v. Gilliam, 36,118 (La.App.2d Cir.8/30/02), 827 So.2d 508, writ denied, 02-3090 (La.11/14/03), 858 So.2d 422.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such *306 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 circumstances established by that 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. Parker, 42,311 (La. App.2d Cir.8/15/07), 963 So.2d 497; 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.

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