State v. Naquin

61 So. 3d 67, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 474, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 208, 2011 WL 523372
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 15, 2011
DocketNo. 10-KA-474
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 61 So. 3d 67 (State v. Naquin) 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. Naquin, 61 So. 3d 67, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 474, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 208, 2011 WL 523372 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

CLARENCE E. MCMANUS, Judge.

| gDefendant appeals his conviction and sentence for simple burglary. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On October 9, 2007, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information that charged defendant, Brandon M. Na-quin, with simple burglary in violation of [68]*68LSA-R.S. 14:62. Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment on October 23, 2007. Defendant proceeded to trial on November 10, 2009. The following testimony was elicited at trial.

Keith Jones testified that on September 7, 2007, he went to work in his Nissan Maxima and left his vehicle in a parking lot because his employer, Campo’s Medical Pharmacy Company, provided him with a company van for his deliveries. Before leaving, he locked his vehicle. At approximately 11:20 p.m., when he returned from making his deliveries and turned off of Mounes Street onto Distributor Row in Harahan, he noticed that the lights on his vehicle were flashing and the dome light in his vehicle was on. He then observed a young, white male in the backseat of his vehicle, leaning over to the front with an object in his hand and trying to break the facing from around his radio.

laMr. Jones testified that the subject then jumped out of his vehicle and ran across the street. Mr. Jones pursued him in the van. When defendant ran toward some buildings, Mr. Jones went around the back on Elmwood Parkway. He caught up with the subject as he was attempting to get into an orange, low-rider truck. However, when the subject noticed the van, he ran off again. Mr. Jones exited the van, went to the door of the orange truck, and had a conversation with the driver of the truck. Mr. Jones agreed that the driver said he did not know the identity of the person trying to get into the truck. After realizing he would not catch the subject, Mr. Jones returned to his vehicle and called 9-1-1. He noticed that the door hinge on his vehicle was “messed up” and the back vent window was gone. He also noticed a wallet by the back door that was about two and one-half feet away from the vehicle. According to Mr. Jones, he did not pick up the wallet or look into it. He also noticed that the interior of the vehicle was damaged. He explained that the bottom part of the facing around the radio was broken and it appeared from the side area that the subject was trying to pry it apart to get the radio out.

At 11:33 p.m., Deputy Ronald David Ray, Jr. of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office received the dispatch in reference to a vehicle burglary and responded to 660 Distributors Row. As he arrived, he noticed a black male trying to flag him down near a vehicle with its hazard flashers on. The deputy inspected the vehicle and noticed pry marks and that the door was damaged. He explained that the handle was damaged and the rear vent window on that same side was gone. He also noticed that inside of the vehicle the mounting bracket in the center console around the stereo was damaged. He recovered a wallet that was on the ground a short distance from the vehicle. Deputy Ray picked up the wallet and inspected its contents. The wallet contained a Louisiana driver’s license with a photograph, a social security card, a Chase Visa debit card, a certification card, ajochase Visa rewards card, and a health insurance card, all of which reflected defendant’s name. Deputy Ray testified that defendant’s wallet was in his possession at 11:40 p.m.

According to Mr. Jones, the officer did not show him the wallet. Mr. Jones told the police what he had observed. Deputy Ray then learned from headquarters that someone called to report a robbery at gunpoint. The subject, who was named “Brandon” was at the Wal-Mart on Jefferson Highway near Clearview. Because of additional information provided in the dispatch, Deputy Ray responded to the Wal-Mart location, where defendant and a juvenile subject named Russell Gautro were present. Defendant explained to Deputy Ray that he and Gautro left the movies [69]*69and were approached by a black male who had a gun and demanded his wallet and the stereo in his vehicle. Defendant claimed his wallet was stolen. Deputy Ray testified that defendant and Gautro were unable to provide any details of the claimed robbery. Defendant did tell Deputy Ray that the robbery was about 15 minutes before he called the Sheriffs Office. Defendant called 9-1-1 at 12:25 a.m. As such, Deputy Ray concluded the robbery would have happened about 12:10 a.m. Deputy Ray explained that although defendant said his wallet was stolen at this time, he had defendant’s wallet in his possession since 11:40 p.m.

Mr. Jones later went to the Wal-Mart parking lot in a patrol car to see if he recognized the two subjects. Upon his arrival, he recognized the orange truck. He was able to identify defendant as the person who robbed him and also identified the driver of the orange truck. He testified that he was 100 percent certain of the identifications and that this was the truck he saw defendant run to. After defendant was positively identified, he was advised of his Miranda1 rights and was arrested. |aGautro was arrested as well. Mr. Jones also identified defendant at trial as the person that was trying to steal his stereo.

Aischa Prudhomme, an expert in fingerprint examination, testified that a fingerprint recovered from the vehicle matched the right index finger of Louis Morris. Other fingerprints were insufficient for identification purposes. Mr. Jones testified that Louis Morris was a co-worker and friend of his who had previously been in his car on several occasions with his permission, including two days prior to the incident.

Defendant, his mother, and Russell Gau-tro testified as defense witnesses. Beverly Naquin, defendant’s mother, testified that she received a call from defendant between 11:00 and 12:00 from the Wal-Mart parking lot on the night he was arrested. She testified that defendant was panicking and crying, stating that he had just been “held up” at gunpoint. She told defendant to stay where he was and she would meet him. She also told him to call 9-1-1. She said it took her ten minutes to get there and she arrived around 11:30 p.m. She testified that when she arrived the officers were already there. She examined defendant’s truck and noticed that the stereo system and the speaker systems were missing. She testified that the dashboard was “tore up pretty bad,” and defendant’s cell phone and wallet were missing. She explained that the police’s attitude toward her and defendant was that defendant was a “known thief.”

Gautro testified that he was 16-years old on September 7, 2007, and on that day he “hung around” with defendant before they went to see a movie together. He testified that after the movie he threw his ticket stub away. He explained that about five minutes after they left the movie, they were pulled over by a car and then robbed by Mr. Jones and three other men in another vehicle. He denied that the robber had a gun. He said the robber walked up to the driver’s side window | fiand said for them to get out. Then another car pulled up behind them. He testified that two cell phones, speakers, and a wallet were taken out of defendant’s truck. Gau-tro stated that after the robbery defendant called his mother. Gautro said defendant used his cell phone to call his mother and then they went to Wal-Mart and called the police.

Gautro testified that when Mr. Jones arrived he and defendant were in police [70]*70units.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
61 So. 3d 67, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 474, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 208, 2011 WL 523372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-naquin-lactapp-2011.