State v. Norfleet

721 So. 2d 506, 1998 WL 790672
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 21, 1998
Docket96-KA-2122
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 721 So. 2d 506 (State v. Norfleet) 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. Norfleet, 721 So. 2d 506, 1998 WL 790672 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

721 So.2d 506 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Joseph NORFLEET.

No. 96-KA-2122.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

October 21, 1998.

*507 Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Suzanne S. Dickey, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, for Appellee.

*508 Pamela S. Moran, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Court composed of Chief Judge PATRICK M. SCHOTT, Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES, III and Judge PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY.

BYRNES, J.

The defendant, Joseph Norfleet, pursuant to a jury trial was found guilty as charged with the first degree murder of James Darby, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.

The victim, James Darby, while walking home from a picnic with a group of friends and relatives was shot in the head and killed by the defendant. James Darby was nine years old at the time. Darby was shot in retaliation for injuries sustained by the defendant's sister in a brawl that occurred at the picnic. The defendant became angry when he saw that his sister had been hit in the face when she came home from the park. Incensed, he got a gun (he said he did so at the suggestion of his friend, James Walker) and drove off in a car with his brother who had witnessed the brawl and could identify the party responsible. James Walker drove the vehicle, and another friend of the defendant, Gerald Grissum, was also present in the vehicle. The young victim had nothing to do with the injuries sustained by the victim's sister. Instead, young Darby had the misfortune of walking with a group of people beside the man the defendant believed was responsible for his sister's injuries and was the victim of the defendant's inaccurate aim. The defendant acknowledged that he fired the shot, but stated that he was shooting, not at the deceased victim, but at the man he held responsible for hitting his sister.

I. ERRORS PATENT

There appears to be one patent error upon review of the appeal record. The docket entry and minute entry of March 21, 1996, indicates that the trial court sentenced the defendant immediately after denying defendant's motion for arrest of judgment. The entries do not indicate that the defendant waived his right to a twenty-four hour delay between the denial of his motion and sentencing. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 873. In State v. Augustine, 555 So.2d 1331 (La.1990), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that failure to waive the twenty-four hour delay did not constitute harmless error, even if the defendant did not raise that issue as error on appeal, where the defendant challenged his sentence on appeal. However, in State v. Collins, 584 So.2d 356 (La.App. 4 Cir.1991), this Court held that the failure to observe the delay would be deemed harmless error where the defendant did not challenge his sentence on appeal and did not raise as error the failure of the trial court to comply with the twenty-four hour delay requirement. In the present case, the defendant's sentence of life imprisonment was mandatory, defendant does not complain of his sentence on appeal, and the defendant failed to raise as error the issue of the twenty-four hour delay. Accordingly, this error is harmless. No other errors patent were found.

II. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

The defendant argues that the State was unable to produce sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon the victim.

When assessing the sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction, the appellate court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found proof beyond a reasonable doubt of each of the essential elements of the crime charged. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817 (La.1987).

The elements must be proved such that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence is excluded. La. R.S. 15:438. La. R.S. 15:438 is not a separate test from Jackson v. Virginia, supra, but rather is an evidentiary guideline to facilitate appellate review of whether a rational juror could have found a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198 (La.1984). All evidence, direct and circumstantial, must meet the Jackson reasonable doubt standard. State v. Jacobs, supra.

*509 La. R.S. 14:30 defines first degree murder, in pertinent part, as "the killing of a human being ... [w]hen the offender has the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm and is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of ... drive-by shooting." The defendant contends the State was unable to produce sufficient evidence to prove he had the intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. Specific intent exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. La. R.S. 14:10(1). It may be proven by direct evidence or inferred from the circumstances or the defendant's actions. Id. Intent to kill has been found where the defendant shot a gun at the victim. State v. Davis, 93-0663 (La.App. 4 Cir. 2/25/94), 633 So.2d 822, writ denied, 94-2077 (La.9/20/96), 679 So.2d 422. Further, evidence showing that a defendant fired a weapon, aimed in the direction of a crowd of innocent bystanders, is sufficient to prove the defendant had the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. State v. Allen, 94-1941 (La.App. 1 Cir. 11/9/95), 664 So.2d 1264, writ denied, 95-2946 (La.3/15/96), 669 So.2d 433.

The defendant acknowledged that he fired the shot. His testimony is corroborated by Michael Norfleet and Gerald Grissum. Michael Norfleet is the defendant's brother. He was in the car with the defendant. He testified that it was he who pointed out to the defendant the man near James Darby allegedly responsible for inflicting the injuries on the defendant's sister. Grissum was also in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. He later reported the incident to the police.

However, defendant argues he did not have the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm on the victim, James Darby. He testified that he asked his brother Michael to point out the person who hit Karen in the eye. Michael identified Herman Payne as the person in question. The defendant then fired the weapon aiming at Herman Payne. He admitted this in a statement given to the police prior to trial, and confirmed it when he testified at the trial. The fact that the defendant struck James Darby instead does not diminish the intent he had to kill. The doctrine of transferred intent provides that when a person shoots at one person with the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm and accidently kills or inflicts great bodily harm upon another person, if the killing or inflicting of great bodily harm would have been unlawful against the person actually intended to be shot, then it would be unlawful against the person actually shot, even though that person was not the intended victim. State v. Jasper, 28,187 (La.App. 2 Cir. 6/26/96), 677 So.2d 553, writ denied, 96-1897 (La.2/21/97), 688 So.2d 521.

In the present case, the defendant admitted his intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm on Herman Payne. He also testified that he actually fired the gun at Herman Payne. The testimony of Michael Norfleet and Gerald Grissum revealed the defendant's anger and search for revenge.

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Bluebook (online)
721 So. 2d 506, 1998 WL 790672, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-norfleet-lactapp-1998.