State v. Mahogany

970 So. 2d 1150, 2007 WL 3172797
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 2007
Docket07-KA-360
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 970 So. 2d 1150 (State v. Mahogany) 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. Mahogany, 970 So. 2d 1150, 2007 WL 3172797 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

970 So.2d 1150 (2007)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Antonio MAHOGANY.

No. 07-KA-360.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

October 30, 2007.

*1151 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Twenty-Fourth Judicial District, Parish of Jefferson, Terry M. Boudreaux, Thomas J. Butler, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Jane L. Beebe, Attorney at Law, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant.

*1152 Panel composed of Judges MARION F. EDWARDS, WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, and GREG G. GUIDRY.

WALTER J. ROTHSCHILD, Judge.

On October 20, 2005, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Antonio Mahogany, with unauthorized entry of a place of business, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.4. Defendant pled not guilty on November 7, 2005. On September 6, 2006, after a bench trial, defendant was found guilty as charged. He filed a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and a supplemental motion, which were denied on January 30, 2007. Also on January 30, 2007, the State filed a multiple bill and defendant denied the allegations.[1] The trial court set the multiple bill hearing for a later date. Then, the trial court sentenced defendant on the unauthorized entry of a place of business conviction to two years imprisonment at hard labor. Defendant filed a motion to appeal his conviction and sentence, which was granted.

FACTS

At trial, Edwin Tobin, the store manager of Cash America Pawn Shop in Harvey, testified that he went to the business at about 8:30 a.m. on September 1, 2005, just days after Hurricane Katrina struck the area, and he noticed that the store had been broken into. Because his store had already been looted, he decided to move the remaining jewelry to the Cash America store in Marrero. Mr. Tobin had checked the Marrero store the previous day and noted that it had not been broken into and appeared to be secure.

On his way to the Marrero store, Mr. Tobin observed two Jefferson Parish police officers, Sergeant Lori Arnaud[2] and Deputy Janice Griffin, and he approached them. He explained who he was, showed them his business card, told them he thought the jewelry would be safer at the store that had not been broken into, and asked that they escort him to the Cash America store in Marrero. Sergeant Arnaud and Deputy Griffin followed Mr. Tobin to the store.[3] When they arrived at Cash America, the side wall of the building was destroyed. It appeared that someone had used a vehicle to damage the side of the building, creating an opening in the wall. Mr. Tobin testified that he did not know when the damage occurred, but it was not there the prior day when he observed the building.

As Mr. Tobin opened the door to the Marrero store, he and the officers observed a light inside. At the time, there was no electricity in the area, so no lights should have been on. The light was a headlight of a four-wheeler "which was currently in pawn." Defendant, Antonio Mahogany, was observed inside the building in the area where the light was on. Sergeant Arnaud saw defendant duck down. She advised Mr. Tobin to vacate the property. Then, she went to the side of the building where the hole was located, while Deputy Griffin stayed in the front of the building. When Sergeant Arnaud went to the side of the building, she heard the four-wheeler running. After Sergeant Arnaud gave a couple of verbal commands to exit the building, defendant complied.

Defendant was arrested by Sergeant Arnaud. He was searched, and a Ford key *1153 was found on his person. From her knowledge, Sergeant Arnaud did not believe the key came from the pawn shop. In court, Sergeant Arnaud identified defendant as the person she saw inside the Cash America Pawn Shop. Sergeant Arnaud admitted that she did not know defendant's motivations for being in the store that day. Mr. Tobin testified that defendant did not have permission to be in the Cash America store. After the storm, the business was no longer open to the public.

LeKeva Harris, who shares three children with defendant, testified that they did not evacuate for Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Harris stated that there was some food in the house when the storm came, but the food and drink situation got worse as the days went by. According to Ms. Harris, there was a little food in the house on September 1, 2005. However, she then testified that there was nothing left in the house for the kids to drink or eat on September 1st. She indicated that defendant had a Camaro and a Ford Explorer at the time, but they did not have fuel to get out of town. She stated that defendant left home on the morning of September 1st on her daughter's bike with a gas can to look for gas. Ms. Harris further testified that she left town in defendant's brother's car about a week after defendant was arrested. She admitted that defendant's brother was in the house with them on September 1st, and he had a vehicle with gasoline in it, but "not that much." She then stated that she did not know if defendant's brother had a vehicle with fuel on the day defendant was arrested.

Defendant was called to the stand in his defense. He admitted that he had two prior convictions and testified that he owned a Ford Explorer. According to defendant, his vehicle did not have fuel in it on September 1, 2005. He also testified that the car was not dependable, because it ran hot. He stated that he woke up on September 1, 2005, and told Ms. Harris that a man was ciphering gas and filling gas cans for $10, so she should get the children ready, and they would leave when he got back. He left on their daughter's bike with the gas can and some money and went to where he was told the man with the gas would be, but he was not there. After he could not get gas, he saw the Cash America business and thought he would try to find something to help them get through the rest of the storm. He claimed that his family did not have access to anything and could not get water from shelters because they were not staying there. Defendant testified that after he was arrested, the officers did not give him the opportunity to explain what he was doing in the store. However, he also testified that he explained to the arresting officer that he was looking for anything that would help his family.

Defendant admitted that he was in the pawn shop, but stated that he did not turn the four-wheeler's lights on. He testified that there was nothing in the store that could have helped his family, so he left. At that time, the arresting officer saw him. He claimed that the officers did not see him inside the building. He did not think he would find gas in the pawn shop, but he thought the pawn shop might have a generator that could have helped. When asked what he planned on putting in the generator, he said "whatever was possible" and noted that he might not have been thinking at the time. Defendant explained that the key in his pocket when he was arrested was for a Ford Explorer that was in a junkyard. The owner of the junkyard gave him the authority to take parts off the vehicle and to use the parts for his vehicle. He stated that the officer took the key because it was tagged.

*1154 On rebuttal, Sergeant Arnaud testified that she did not recall defendant explaining to her why he was in the business. She stated that she had no doubt that he was in the building, because she saw him when the front door was opened and then watched him exit the hole in the building. She did not recall seeing a gas can or a bicycle.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
970 So. 2d 1150, 2007 WL 3172797, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mahogany-lactapp-2007.