State v. McLeod

843 So. 2d 1268, 2003 WL 1984363
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 30, 2003
Docket03-50
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 843 So. 2d 1268 (State v. McLeod) 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. McLeod, 843 So. 2d 1268, 2003 WL 1984363 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

843 So.2d 1268 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Carl Bowman McLEOD.

No. 03-50.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 30, 2003.

*1269 J. Phillip Haney, District Attorney, New Iberia, LA, and Thomas C. Senette, Assistant District Attorney, Franklin, LA, for Appellee, State of Louisiana.

G. Paul Marx, Attorney at Law, Lafayette, LA, for Defendant-Appellant, Carl Bowman McLeod.

Court composed of NED E. DOUCET JR., Chief Judge, JOHN D. SAUNDERS, and JIMMIE C. PETERS, Judges.

NED E. DOUCET JR., Chief Judge.

Defendant, Carl Bowman, was charged with possession of cocaine, a violation of La.R.S. 40:967. At a hearing held on November 29, 1999, the trial court denied Defendant's motion to suppress. On December 6, 1999, jury selection began; the next day the trial jury found Defendant guilty as charged. Subsequently, on December 14, 1999, the court sentenced Defendant to five years at hard labor.

Subsequently, an appeal was granted, but, was never lodged. On November 8, 2001, in an unpublished writ bearing docket number 01-703, this court granted Defendant's writ in part and remanded the case for determination of the appeal's status. On September 11, 2002, the trial court issued an order clarifying Defendant's appellate rights.

Defendant originally appealed to this court, asserting three assignments of error through counsel. Subsequently, Defendant filed a pro se brief asserting seven additional assignments of error. To avoid confusion, we have broken this opinion into two sections: (1) Initial Assignments (those assigned by counsel) and (2) Pro Se Assignments. We have addressed the respective assignments under the applicable section.

FACTS:

In Jeanerette, Louisiana, acting in conjunction with police, informant Ulysses "Teddy" Spencer, arranged to "rent" Defendant's vehicle in exchange for crack cocaine. On July 24, 1998, police outfitted Spencer with a concealed audio transmitter and supplied him with a "twenty," i.e., approximately twenty dollars worth of crack cocaine to make the transaction. Spencer then entered Defendant's residence with the crack cocaine. The officers' reception of Spencer's audio transmission was poor, but, within a few *1270 minutes of Spencer's entry, upon hearing references to "twenty," they elected to enter Defendant's residence.

Upon entry, the officers observed the informant sitting on a sofa in the living room. Defendant was in the kitchen, with a piece of crack in one hand and a crack pipe in the other.

ERRORS PATENT:

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed by the court for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find there are no errors patent.

SECTION 1: INITIAL ASSIGNMENTS

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2:

Defendant's second error assigned shall be addressed first, as Defendant attacks the sufficiency of the evidence adduced against him at trial. As recognized in State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La. 1992), a finding that the evidence was insufficient would require an acquittal; therefore, sufficiency claims should be addressed at the outset.

This court has previously explained the analysis for sufficiency claims:

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court 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, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La. 1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determinations of the triers of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, 436 So.2d 559 (citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983)). In order for this Court to affirm a conviction, however, the record must reflect that the state has satisfied its burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

State v. Kennerson, 96-1518, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367, 1371.

As noted earlier, the State charged Defendant with possession of cocaine, a violation of La.R.S. 40:967. That statute states, in pertinent part:

C. Possession. It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess a controlled dangerous substance as classified in Schedule II unless such substance was obtained directly or pursuant to a valid prescription or order from a practitioner, as provided in R.S. 40:978 while acting in the course of his professional practice, or except as otherwise authorized by this Part.
Schedule II lists cocaine as a controlled dangerous substance. La.R.S. 40:964.

The basis of Defendant's appellate argument is somewhat unclear. He argues:

That there was crack in the house is beyond dispute, but of course it was put there by Jeanerette police. There is no evidence of any other crack, only that delivered by the police.

* * *

In this case the police rushed in at such a frantic and dramatic pace that McLeod may have simply been startled into picking up cocaine and paraphernalia that the confidential informant had simply thrown on the kitchen counter. *1271 There was no evidence in this case to suggest that McLeod had control or possession of the stuff until that instant.

Thus, he does not dispute being in actual, physical possession of the crack when police entered the residence. He does not appear to suggest that he came into possession through any sort of mistake of fact. At best, his present argument seems to suggest entrapment issues, possibly lack of intent. The State's brief includes a discussion of entrapment. However, Defendant specifically eschewed an entrapment defense before trial. At the close of trial, Defendant's trial counsel argued credibility and chain of custody issues, not mistake of fact or intent. Thus, the issue of possible entrapment is not properly before this court.

Regarding intent, Defendant's language suggests the police informant could have thrown the cocaine and pipe onto the kitchen counter, and that, Defendant merely picked them up in surprise. However, the testimony of Officer Jeff Matthews established that Defendant was ten to fifteen feet away from the informant. Defendant was in the kitchen area, while the informant sat on a sofa in the front room. Apparently, both men were visible to Matthews when he made entry into the residence. The testimony of the other two arresting officers, Murray Sheppard and Chief Mannie Mendoza, generally corroborated Matthews's recollection of the scene.

Thus, there is no question, Defendant physically possessed the cocaine. Defendant contests the intent element with his argument that he merely picked up the rock of crack and the crack-pipe, because he was startled by the officers' entry.

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Bluebook (online)
843 So. 2d 1268, 2003 WL 1984363, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mcleod-lactapp-2003.