State v. Luckey

212 So. 3d 1220, 16 La.App. 1 Cir. 494, 2017 WL 511873, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 171
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 8, 2017
DocketNO. 16-KA-494
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 212 So. 3d 1220 (State v. Luckey) 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. Luckey, 212 So. 3d 1220, 16 La.App. 1 Cir. 494, 2017 WL 511873, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 171 (La. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

WICKER, J.

[ iDefendant, Joshua Luckey, appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of sexual battery upon a known juvenile under the age of thirteen, in violation of La. R.S. 14:43.1. The district court granted defendant’s motion for appeal, and defendant’s appeal followed. Defendant has also filed a pro se supplemental brief. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s convictions and his sentences. Finding two errors patent reflected in defendant’s commitment order, we remand for correction of the commitment.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On April 3, 2013, the State charged defendant by bill of information with the sexual battery of a known juvenile, E.D. (D.O.B. 9/22/2005), in violation of La. R.S.14:43.1 (count 1) and with the sexual battery of a known juvenile, A.B. (D.O.B. 7/18/2008), in violation of La. R.S. 14:43.1 (count 2). The bill of information alleged that defendant committed both offenses on or between November 1, 2011 and February 3, 2013, when the juveniles were, at most, seven years old and four years old, respectively. Defendant was arraigned on these charges and entered a single plea of not guilty. Following a jury trial, the jury rendered a verdict of guilty on both counts on November 14, 2014. On February 9, 2015, the district court sentenced defendant to “[twenty-five] years on each count, those sentences to run consecutive to each other.”

On March 6, 2015, defendant filed a “notice of appeal” “from the final judgment entered by this Court on February 9th, 2015 [sic],” the date of defendant’s sentencing. Defendant did not indicate that he sought to appeal his conviction, which occurred on November 14, 2014. Several months later, defendant filed a pro se writ of mandamus with this Court because the district court had not yet granted him an appeal. This Court granted defendant’s writ of mandamus and | ^instructed the district court to enter an order granting defendant an appeal. The district court’s subsequent order reflects that defendant “sought to appeal his convictions and sentences, imposed February 9, 2015.” Although defendant did not explicitly seek review of his convictions in his March 6, 2015 notice of appeal, defendant’s sole counseled assignments of error and his three pro se assignments of error pertain only to his convictions, not to his sentences. Nevertheless, the Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized that appeals are favored in the law and has disapproved of the dismissal of appeals on “hypertechnical” grounds. State v. Armant, 02-907 (La.App. 5 Cir. 1/28/03), 839 So.2d 271, 274 (citing State v. Bunnell, 508 So.2d 55 (La. 1987)). Accordingly, we will address defendant’s assignments of error concerning his conviction and will conduct a full errors patent review.

FACTS

After meeting on a dating website, the victims’ mother, B.B., and defendant became romantically involved in November 2011. According to B.B., who identified defendant in open court, the couple had plans to marry. In December 2011, defendant moved into B.B.’s aunt’s house in Marrero with B.B. and her children, L.D., E.D., A.B., and A.W. They then moved to another home in Marrero where they lived for approximately six months. Thereafter, defendant, B.B, and the children moved into a two-bedroom apartment on Barata-ría Boulevard. In this apartment, all of the children slept in one room on the opposite side of the apartment from the bedroom in which B.B. and defendant slept. The kitch[1225]*1225en and the bathroom separated the two bedrooms.

Although B.B. acknowledged that defendant could be harsh with the children in terms of discipline, B.B. testified that the children loved him and that he would babysit them when she had something to do. She denied ever seeing | .¡defendant abuse the children, and she never observed any strange behavior that might suggest any issues with defendant and her children. B.B. testified that, in the weeks leading up to the day when the allegations came to light, she felt like defendant was hiding something from her and maybe was cheating on her.

According to B.B., on February 3, 2013, at about 7:30 a.m., she woke up, went into the kitchen of the Barataría Boulevard apartment, and saw defendant putting frozen fruit in a cup for her oldest daughter, E.D., who was seven years old at the time. When B.B. asked defendant “what was [E.D.] getting that for,” defendant responded that E.D. “had cleaned up the dog’s mess on the floor.” B.B. testified that, at the time, she thought nothing of it. Later that morning, as she cooked breakfast, her oldest son, L.D., helped her with the dishes. According to B.B., L.D. commented to her that “[E.D.] was a lucky bird because she always got all the hugs and kisses.” B.B. testified, “[T]hat set an alarm off in my head.” B.B. then approached E.D. to ask her if anything was wrong: “[S]he told me that Josh had been coming in her room at night and that she wasn’t getting any sleep and that he had been touching her. So I grabbed her by the arm, and I went into the room. And I grabbed my cell phone, and I dialed 911.”

Among the police officers who responded to B.B.’s call was Deputy Thelma Hill. Deputy Hill testified that, after speaking with B.B. who reported that E.D. told her “that Josh comes into their room at night and talks and feels on her,” she spoke with E.D., who explained to her that Josh comes in her room at night when she’s asleep and touches her on her vagina and sometimes places his finger in there.”. E.D. told Deputy Hill that the last time defendant came into her room was the previous night and that defendant agreed to give her a frozen treat if she agreed to hug him. E.D. explained to Deputy Hill that she complied but that defendant did not want to let her go when she wanted to leave. Deputy Hill testified that she also spoke with B.B.’s son, L.D., who told her that defendant comes into the children’s | .(bedroom at night “all the time” and talks “very low” to E.D. When Deputy Hill asked E.D. whether she had ever seen defendant’s private area, E.D. responded affirmatively, adding that “he shows it to her all the time.” E.D. reported to Deputy Hill that defendant has “some types of scars or designs on [his penis].” Thereafter, Deputy Hill confirmed with B.B. that defendant has “some type of implants or something on his penis.”

Detective Ronald David Ray, Jr., the lead investigator in this matter, also testified that E.D. reported to him at the scene that “Joshie had been touching her in what she termed her tu-tu.” When Detective Ray asked E.D. to explain “tu-tu,” E.D. pointed to her vaginal area. Detective Ray testified that E.D. also confirmed her statement about “the bumps” on defendant’s genitalia. Based on E.D.’s statement concerning unusual bumps or scarring on defendant’s penis, Detective Ray obtained a search warrant to take photographs of defendant’s person. Detective Ray testified that the photographs—which were admitted into evidence and published to the jury—reveal bumps on defendant’s penis in the shapes of a heart and a diamond.

At the scene, Detective Ray also interviewed E.D.’s older brother, L.D., who likewise confirmed that he would see de[1226]*1226fendant come into the children’s room at night and give E.D. lots of hugs. At the Detective Bureau, Detective Ray also spoke with defendant who denied any inappropriate touching but “did say that there may have been some inadvertent contact during playtime.” Although defendant maintained to Detective Ray that he gave E.D.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
212 So. 3d 1220, 16 La.App. 1 Cir. 494, 2017 WL 511873, 2017 La. App. LEXIS 171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-luckey-lactapp-2017.