State v. Morris

918 So. 2d 1107, 2005 WL 3579357
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 30, 2005·No. 05-725·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

918 So.2d 1107 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Melvin B. MORRIS.

No. 05-725.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

December 30, 2005.
Rehearing Denied February 8, 2006.

*1108 Hon. William E. Tilley, District Attorney — 30th JDC, Terry W. Lambright, Assistant District Attorney, Leesville, Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellee: State of Louisiana.

Carey J. Ellis, III, Louisiana Appellate Project, Rayville, Counsel for Defendant/Appellant: Melvin B. Morris.

Court composed of JOHN D. SAUNDERS, OSWALD A. DECUIR, and GLENN B. GREMILLION, Judges.

GREMILLION, Judge.

In this case, the defendant, Melvin Morris, was convicted of one count of filing false public records, in violation of La.R.S. 14:133, one count of insurance fraud, in violation of La.R.S. 22:1243(A)(2), and one count of theft over $500, in violation of La.R.S. 14:67(B)(1). He was sentenced to five years at hard labor and ordered to pay a fine of $1000 plus court costs for the conviction of theft over $500. On the remaining two charges, he was sentenced to three years at hard labor and ordered to pay a fine of $750 plus court costs. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently with each other. The trial court then suspended the sentences and placed Defendant on supervised probation for a period of five years. Additionally, he was *1109 ordered to pay restitution to AIG Insurance Company in the amount of $4400. He now appeals contending that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. For the following reasons, we affirm the convictions for insurance fraud and felony theft, but reverse the conviction for filing false public records. However, because of an error patent on the face of the record, the case is remanded to the trial court with instructions for resentencing.

FACTS

On January 30, 2004, Defendant reported to police that four tires and rims, ten Marc Anthony amplifiers, and a Sony compact disc changer were stolen from his truck. He subsequently received $4000 from AIG for these items. Thereafter, on April 6, 2004, police felt the tires and rims on Defendant's truck matched those he had earlier reported as stolen. The truck was then seized and Defendant was charged with filing false public records, insurance fraud, and felony theft.

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

Insurance Fraud and Theft

Defendant contends there was insufficient evidence to legally convict him of each of the charges against him.

When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, Louisiana appellate courts are controlled by the standard enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Under this standard, the appellate court "must determine that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt." State v. Neal, 00-0674, (La.6/29/01)[,] 796 So.2d 649, 657 (citing State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984)).
When circumstantial evidence is used to prove the commission of the offense, La. R.S. 15:438 requires that "assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence." Neal, 796 So.2d at 657. Ultimately, all evidence, both direct and circumstantial must be sufficient under Jackson to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a rational jury. Id. (citing State v. Rosiere, 488 So.2d 965, 968 (La.1986)).

State v. Brown, 03-0897, p. 22 (La.4/12/05), 907 So.2d 1, 18.

In November 2003, Defendant bought a 1992 Chevrolet Silverado extended-cab show truck from Thomas Byles. The truck was painted a "yellow checkerboard," was equipped with ten Marc Anthony amplifiers, a custom amplifier rack cover, four Remington brand tires, and a lockable bed cover.

On January 29, 2004, Defendant drove Billy Dalby to New Orleans for a doctor's appointment using a vehicle rented by Dalby. Dalby testified that they returned to Leesville, after which he dropped Defendant off at his home by 7:00 p.m. On January 30, 2004, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Lieutenant Jeanette Miller responded to a call from Defendant's residence. When she arrived there, Defendant told her that he had gone to New Orleans and had "gotten home probably around two o'clock in the morning," when he noticed that his truck was on blocks and the tires were gone. Lieutenant Miller observed that all four tires and rims had been removed from the truck and the lug nuts were lying nearby. According to Lieutenant Miller, the amplifier cover had been set to the side and ten Marc Anthony amplifiers had been removed from the bed *1110 of the truck. Additionally, she said a Sony CD changer had been taken. She did not observe any signs of forcible entry into the truck; however, she noted that the latch from the truck's bed cover was missing.

Investigator Zachary Strickland eventually took over the case. During the early stages of the investigation, he contacted Sergeant Kevin Rhodes with the Insurance Fraud Unit of the Louisiana State Police in order to determine if Defendant had filed an insurance claim. Sergeant Rhodes contacted AIG and found out that Defendant had been paid approximately $4000 as a result of the theft. He provided Investigator Strickland with this information. When asked about his claim, Defendant told Investigator Strickland that AIG had denied his claim and he replaced the stolen items "out of his pocket."

Investigator Strickland contacted the previous owner of the truck, Thomas Byles. Byles informed him about the specific make-up of the truck and gave him a photograph of it. On April 6, 2004, Investigator Strickland, along with Investigator Johnny Hagan, went to Defendant's residence. When driving by, the two noticed that the truck in question was equipped with tires and rims that looked like those that had been reported stolen. The two then took photographs of the truck. Sergeant Rhodes also drove by the Defendant's residence that same day. He testified that he felt, based on the photograph provided by Byles, that the rims and tires on the truck appeared to be the "same exact rims and similar tires" as those that were on the truck when Defendant bought it.

It is interesting to note that Defendant called Investigator Strickland on April 7, 2004, and informed him that he had posted a five hundred-dollar reward for information regarding the stolen property, but had heard nothing.

Pursuant to the April 6, 2004 photographs and Investigator Strickland's discussions with Byles and Sergeant Rhodes, a search warrant was issued for Defendant's residence and the truck in question. The truck was seized on April 8, 2004, after which Byles "identified the rims, tires, Weld racing caps, the amplifiers, the amplifier rack that he (sic) custom built and the latch on the back of the cover of the truck."

During Defendant's trial, Byles examined the tires and testified that the two back tires were fifteen-inch Remington tires and looked like the two he sold Defendant. Additionally, he said that the rims and Weld racing caps appeared to be the same rims he sold Defendant; but, he admitted that there were no identifying marks on the rims. Byles later testified that the left front tire depicted was not the same tire he sold to Defendant.

Byles also testifie

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State v. Morris, 918 So. 2d 1107, 2005 WL 3579357 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

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