State v. Mickel

961 So. 2d 516, 2007 WL 1545879
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 29, 2007
Docket07-KA-47
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 961 So. 2d 516 (State v. Mickel) 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. Mickel, 961 So. 2d 516, 2007 WL 1545879 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

961 So.2d 516 (2007)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Abron J. MICKEL.

No. 07-KA-47.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

May 29, 2007.

*519 Paul D. Connick, Jr. District Attorney, Terry M. Boudreaux, Thomas J. Butler, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Bertha M. Hillman, Louisiana Appellate Project, Thibodaux, LA, for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges CLARENCE E. McMANUS, FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, and GREG G. GUIDRY.

FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, Judge.

In this criminal matter defendant, Abron J. Mickel, appeals his conviction on a charge of armed robbery in violation of La. R.S. 14:64, and his conviction and sentence as a multiple offender. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The defendant was originally charged by bill of information with armed robbery.[1] After he entered a plea of not guilty, he was tried by a jury and found to be guilty as charged. The trial court denied defense motions for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial, and in due course defendant was sentenced to serve sixty years at hard labor.

Subsequently, the State filed a multiple offender bill of information, alleging that the defendant entered guilty pleas to charges of distribution of cocaine in 1993 and 1995, and was convicted in 1998 for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant denied the allegations in the multiple offender bill and filed a motion to quash that was denied by the trial court. Subsequently, the defendant made an oral motion to quash the multiple offender bill of information as it related to the conviction of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in violation of La. R.S. 14:95.1. In response to that motion, the State agreed to dismiss that part of the multiple offender bill of information, and amended it accordingly. After a hearing on the multiple offender bill of information, the trial court adjudicated the defendant to be a third felony offender.[2] The trial court vacated the original sentence and re-sentenced the defendant to serve life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The defendant filed a timely motion for appeal which was granted.

FACTS

The victim, Charles Williams, testified at trial. He stated that in July of 2003, he was employed as a certified nursing assistant at Jo Ellen Smith Convalescent Center. On July 4th, after he received his paycheck, Mr. Williams and a co-worker, Danita Coleman, went together to a nearby store to cash their checks. Mr. Williams put his cash in a wallet in his car. Mr. Williams wanted to get a haircut, but because it was the Fourth of July, the barbershop was closed. Instead Mr. Williams went to Ms. Coleman's house where her boyfriend, Torian Maryland[3], *520 agreed to cut Mr. Williams' hair. After the haircut, Mr. Williams remained at Ms. Coleman's apartment, passing the time by watching T.V. and playing cards.

Later that evening, Mr. Williams went with Mr. Maryland to meet his cousin, a meeting that had been arranged by Ms. Coleman a few weeks earlier. When the two men got into the car, Mr. Williams took his wallet from the back seat and paid Mr. Maryland ten dollars for the haircut. Mr. Williams drove to another apartment complex. When they arrived at the apartment building, Mr. Maryland borrowed Mr. Williams' cell phone to call his cousin. Mr. Williams waited in his car. A man came out of the complex and was introduced to Mr. Williams as "Bop." Bop was about six feet tall, had tattoos on his left arm, and was dressed in a camouflage outfit. Bop got into the car and began a conversation with Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams assumed that Bop was Mr. Maryland's cousin with whom Ms. Coleman had set up the meeting. About five minutes later, Mr. Maryland came back to the car, knocked on the window and asked to speak to Bop. Bop got out of the car and had a conversation with Mr. Maryland out of Mr. Williams' earshot. Bop got back into the car. Mr. Maryland and another man came up to the car and Bop told the man to get in. The man got in the back seat and pointed a gun at Mr. Williams and asked, "What you got?" Mr. Williams replied that he had nothing. Bop went through Mr. Williams' pockets, but found nothing. Mr. Williams gave the man with the gun two rings and a watch, but no money. The gunman continued to ask for money, which Mr. Williams denied having. However, the gunman found Mr. Williams' wallet under the seat and took $485.00. The gunman instructed Mr. Williams not to look at him, and he and Bop got out of the car and ran away together. Mr. Williams drove to a nearby gas station where he spotted a police car. He reported the robbery to police at that time.

Mr. Williams admitted that he was reluctant to tell police officers that he was gay, so he simply told them he was at the apartment complex to meet a friend. Mr. Williams stated that the report to officers was accurate in every other detail. Subsequently, Mr. Williams identified Mr. Maryland and the defendant from photo lineups. Further, Mr. Williams identified the defendant at trial as being the gunman.

Torrian Maryland, who at the time of trial was serving a two-year sentence in St. Charles Parish for theft, testified as a hostile witness to the State. He testified that in July of 2003 he was dating Danita Coleman who worked with Charles Williams. On the Fourth of July, he was with Mr. Williams at Ms. Coleman's apartment. Mr. Maryland testified that he and Mr. Williams got into Mr. Williams car and drove to an apartment building on Manhattan Street on the West Bank. However, Mr. Maryland denied that he was to introduce Mr. Williams to anyone. Mr. Maryland's version was that he needed a ride to his mother's home. On the way the two men stopped at a nearby apartment building on Manhattan because Mr. Maryland wanted to buy a "bag of weed." Mr. Maryland got out of the car. He stated that there were several individuals around the car including a man named "Black" who wanted to sell Mr. Williams drugs. Mr. Maryland also testified that Black has been known to commit robberies in that area. Black got in the car and Mr. Maryland went to a nearby store. When Mr. Maryland returned a short time later, Mr. Williams had driven away.

Mr. Maryland admitted knowing the defendant and knew that his nickname was "Bop," but denied introducing him to Mr. *521 Williams. Mr. Maryland further testified that Black is now deceased.

The court heard testimony from Detective John Carroll of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office who investigated the armed robbery of Mr. Williams. In the course of his investigation Detective Carroll interviewed both Mr. Williams and Mr. Maryland. After the interview with Mr. Maryland, the investigation focused on the defendant as the likely perpetrator. Subsequently, Mr. Williams was shown two photo lineups. In one he identified Mr. Maryland, and in the second he identified the defendant as the man who robbed him at gunpoint. An arrest warrant was obtained for the defendant and he was prosecuted for the crime. Detective Carroll and his investigating team was unable to find any further evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, fibers, hair samples or a gun.

Two other police officers who participated in the investigation also testified at trial. The officers verified that the defendant came up to them to report the robbery, and that interviews with Mr. Maryland and the defendant were conducted. Further, the officers testified concerning the identifications by the photo lineups.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
961 So. 2d 516, 2007 WL 1545879, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mickel-lactapp-2007.