State v. Mayer

743 So. 2d 304, 1999 WL 766115
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 28, 1999
Docket98-KA-1311
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 743 So. 2d 304 (State v. Mayer) 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. Mayer, 743 So. 2d 304, 1999 WL 766115 (La. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

743 So.2d 304 (1999)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Sterling MAYER, Jr.

No. 98-KA-1311.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

September 28, 1999.

*306 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Ellen S. Fantaci, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, Louisiana, Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Laurie A. White, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, Louisiana, Attorney for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges SOL GOTHARD, JAMES L. CANNELLA and MARION F. EDWARDS.

GOTHARD, Judge.

The defendant, Sterling Mayer, Jr., was convicted of attempted simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:27:62.2, and he was sentenced to six years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Following sentencing, the defendant was adjudicated a quadruple felony offender and he received an enhanced sentence of ten years imprisonment at hard labor. The defendant now appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm his conviction for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and the adjudication of fourth offender status on the multiple offender bill of information. We vacate the enhanced sentence and we remand the matter for re-sentencing on the multiple bill.

At approximately 6:15 a.m. on September 4, 1996, Mrs. DeVillier, who lived at 1513 Mimosa in Marrero, heard two loud knocks. She saw a man on the patio, coming towards the french door with a yellow towel. She testified that she was no more than ten feet away from where the defendant stood in her back yard, that she was able to see his face. Mrs. DeVillier went into her bedroom and told her husband that someone was on their patio. She remained in the bedroom and called 911 while her husband and her son went to check the patio. As she was on the telephone with the 911 operator, Mrs. DeVillier heard noises that sounded like glass being punched in. Mrs. DeVillier did not leave her bedroom until the police arrived. Once they arrived and she exited her bedroom, she discovered that one of the glass panes in her french door had been punched in.

While his wife was dialing 911, Mr. Aubrey DeVillier woke his son, Jeff DeVillier. The two men armed themselves and searched around their house. Jeff DeVillier found the defendant sitting on the curb. As the defendant looked like he was about to try to run away, Jeff DeVillier pointed his rifle at the defendant to prevent the defendant from escaping while they waited for the police to arrive. According to Jeff DeVillier, when he pointed his gun at the defendant and asked him what he was doing, the defendant said "no, man, it wasn't me."

Mrs. DeVillier testified that after the police arrived, she looked out of her window and saw "the man standing along the cop car, against it and that was the same man that I had seen in the back yard" and that she was positive that he was the perpetrator. A yellow towel was found wrapped around a brick, which was found in the back yard. The yellow towel belonged to Mrs. DeVillier, and had been left outside. There was also a pile of bricks in Mrs. DeVillier's back yard.

Officer Phillips, who was employed with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office at the time the crime was committed, testified that he arrived at the scene at approximately 6:35 a.m. and found the defendant, *307 whom he identified in court, in the victims' custody. He inspected the victims' home and discovered the glass pane that was partially removed from the french door. Subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant did not live in the victims' neighborhood.

The defendant presented no evidence.

In his first assignment of error, defendant alleges that insufficient evidence was presented to support the verdict. He contends that the State failed to prove that the defendant was the person responsible for committing the crime. In brief, defendant admits that Mrs. DeVillier testified that he was the man whom she saw both before and after the glass pane in her french door was punched out, but he claims that because the district attorney showed Mrs. DeVillier a photograph of him before she gave this testimony, her testimony at trial was tainted.

When assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, the reviewing court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Juluke, 98-0341 (La.1/8/99), 725 So.2d 1291; State v. Rosiere, 488 So.2d 965 (La.1986).

Regarding circumstantial evidence, LSA-R.S. 15:438 provides that "assuming every fact to be proved that the [circumstantial] evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence."

It is not the function of the appellate court to assess the credibility of witnesses or to reweigh the evidence. Rosiere, 488 So.2d at 968; State v. Sampson, 95-58, p. 7 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/30/95), 656 So.2d 1085, 1088, writ denied, 95-1665 (La.11/27/95), 663 So.2d 730. It is the role of the fact-finder to weigh the respective credibilities of witnesses, and this court will not second-guess the credibility determinations of the trier of fact beyond our sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. State ex rel Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559, 563 (La.1983).

We also note that the State is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Battle, 93-900 (La.App. 5 Cir. 3/29/94), 635 So.2d 337, 340, writ denied, 94-1592 (La.10/28/94), 644 So.2d 649.

The defendant's sole complaint on appeal concerns whether he was the perpetrator. Although the defendant complains that "there was no testimony presented that Mrs. DeVillier identified the appellant at the scene as the person whom she saw creeping around the house earlier that morning," the record provides otherwise. Mrs. DeVillier testified that after the police arrived she looked out of the windows of her home and saw "the man standing along the cop car, against it and that was the same man that I had seen in the back yard." When asked whether she was certain that the man against the police vehicle was the same man she saw in her back yard, Mrs. DeVillier responded affirmatively. Officer Phillips testified that he arrived at the scene at approximately 6:35 a.m. and found the defendant, whom he identified in court, in the victims' custody. Therefore, while Mrs. DeVillier may not have identified the defendant pursuant to any police procedures on the morning of the crime, her testimony establishes that immediately following the commission of the crime, she made sure that the man taken into custody was, in fact, the man whom she had seen creeping around her house earlier that morning.

Additionally, Mrs. DeVillier testified unequivocally that the defendant was the man whom she saw outside her french door at approximately 6:15 a.m. on September 4, 1996. She testified that she was no more than ten feet away from where the defendant stood in her back yard, that she was able to see his face, and that she *308 was positive that he was the perpetrator. It is true that this testimony was given after she allegedly saw the defendant's photograph in court. However, Mrs.

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

Related

State v. Collins
44 So. 3d 775 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Mosley
16 So. 3d 398 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State v. Conner
833 So. 2d 396 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
State v. Norwood
802 So. 2d 721 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Davis
792 So. 2d 126 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Jackson
814 So. 2d 6 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Vortisch
763 So. 2d 765 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
743 So. 2d 304, 1999 WL 766115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mayer-lactapp-1999.