State v. Odums

210 So. 3d 850, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2151
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 30, 2016
DocketNo. 50,969-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 210 So. 3d 850 (State v. Odums) 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. Odums, 210 So. 3d 850, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2151 (La. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

CARAWAY, J.

| Following a jury trial, Surcorey Odums was found guilty as charged of second degree murder, in violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1, and sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Odums appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm.

Facts

On February 11, 2010, James Pouncy was found in his vehicle on a Shreveport residential street with multiple gunshot wounds. Pouncy later died from his wounds. Upon investigation, Shreveport police officers were unable to locate any eyewitnesses to the shooting or identify the shooter from the evidence collected at the crime scene. The case remained unsolved until 2013, when police obtained the murder weapon and a video taken six days after the murder showing Surcorey Odums selling the murder weapon, a gun, to undercover law enforcement officers.

Detectives interviewed Odums, who confessed that he shot Pouncy and sold the murder weapon to the undercover agents. Odums was arrested, and on August 15, 2013, a grand jury indicted Odums for the second degree murder of James Pouncy.

After a jury trial beginning April 22, 2015, Odums was convicted as charged of second degree murder. Odums filed motions for post-verdict judgment of acquittal and new trial asserting that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction and that a new trial was warranted because of newly-discovered evidence (a fabricated lab report) that was never disclosed to the defense. After a hearing the trial court denied both ^motions. On June 24, 2015, Odums was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, concurrent with any other sentence Odums was serving. Odums was ordered to serve 30 days in the parish jail in lieu of court costs, concurrent to the other sentence and with credit for time served. After the trial court denied a timely motion to reconsider sentence, this appeal followed.1

Discussion

Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first assignment of error, Odums argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict of guilty of second degree murder. Odums asserts that the state’s witnesses presented many different and conflicting stories about the events and that there was no substantial evidence linking him to Pouncy’s murder. Odums also claims that his confession to the murder was uncorroborated.

The proper test for determining a claim of insufficiency of evidence in a criminal [853]*853case is whether, on the entire record, a rational trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim 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. State v. Tate, 01-1658 (La. 5/20/03), 851 So.2d 921, cert. denied, 541 U.S. 905, 124 S.Ct. 1604, 158 L.Ed.2d 248 (2004); State v. Crossley, 48,149 (La.App. 2 Cir. 6/26/13), 117 So.3d 585, writ denied, 13-1798 (La. 2/14/14), 132 So.3d 410. This standard, now legislatively embodied in La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford, 05-0477 (La. 2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; Crossley, supra; State v. Dotie, 43,819 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1/14/09), 1 So.3d 833, writ denied, 09-0310 (La. 11/6/09), 21 So.3d 297. The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, 94-3116 (La. 10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442. A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury’s decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Eason, 43,788 (La.App. 2 Cir. 2/25/09), 3 So.3d 685, writ denied, 09-0725 (La. 12/11/09), 23 So.3d 913, cert. denied, 561 U.S. 1013, 130 S.Ct. 3472, 177 L.Ed.2d 1068 (2010); State v. Hill, 42,025 (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/9/07), 956 So.2d 758, writ denied, 07-1209 (La. 12/14/07), 970 So.2d 529.

Direct evidence provides proof of the existence of a fact, for example, a witness’s testimony that he saw or heard something. State v. Lilly, 468 So.2d 1154 (La. 1985). Circumstantial evidence provides proof of collateral facts and circumstances, from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience. Id. The trier of fact is charged with weighing the credibility of this evidence and on review, the same standard as in Jackson v. Virginia, is applied, giving great deference to the fact finder’s conclusions. State v. Hill, 47,568 (La.App. 2 Cir. 9/26/12), 106 So.3d 617.

14When the state relies on circumstantial evidence to establish the existence of an essential element of a crime, the court must assume every fact that the evidence tends to prove and the circumstantial evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. La. R.S. 15:438; Lilly, supra; State v. Robinson, 47,437 (La.App. 2 Cir. 11/14/12), 106 So.3d 1028, writ denied, 12-2658 (La. 5/17/13), 117 So.3d 918.

Where there is conflicting testimony about factual matters, the resolution of which depends upon a determination of the credibility of the witnesses, the matter is one of the weight of the evidence, not its sufficiency. State v. Glover, 47,311 (La.App. 2 Cir. 10/10/12), 106 So.3d 129, writ denied, 12-2667 (La. 5/24/13), 116 So.3d 659; State v. Speed, 43,786 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1/14/09), 2 So.3d 582, writ denied, 09-0372 (La. 11/6/09), 21 So.3d 299.

The trier of fact is charged to make a credibility determination and may, within the bounds of rationality, accept or reject the testimony of any witness in whole or in part; the reviewing court may impinge on that discretion only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental due process of law. State v. Casey, 99-0023 (La. 1/26/00), 775 So.2d 1022, cert. denied, 531 U.S. 840, 121 S.Ct. 104, 148 L.Ed.2d 62 (2000); State v. Woodard, 47,286 (La.App. 2 Cir. 10/3/12), 107 So.3d 70, writ denied, 12-2371 (La. 4/26/13), 112 So.3d 837.

[854]*854Specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm may be inferred from the extent and severity of the victim’s injuries. State v. Patterson, 10-415 (La. App. 5th Cir. 1/11/11), 63 So.3d 140, writ denied, 11-0338 (La. 6/17/11), 63 So.3d 1037; State v. Durand, 07-4 (La. App. 5th Cir. 6/26/07), 963 So.2d 1028, writ denied, 07-1545 (La. 1/25/08), 973 So.2d 753. As a state of mind, specific intent need not be proved as a fact; it may be inferred from the circumstances and the actions of the defendant. State v. Kahey, 436 So.2d 475 (La. 1983). The determination of whether the requisite intent is present is a question for the trier of fact. State v. Huizar, 414 So.2d 741 (La. 1982).

Flight and attempt to avoid apprehension are circumstances from which a trier of fact may infer a guilty conscience. State v. Garner, 45,474 (La.App. 2 Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Johnathan Trayvon Kelly
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
State of Louisiana v. Rotrick Deon Ivory
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2023
Pipkins v. Stewart
W.D. Louisiana, 2022
State of Louisiana v. Patrick Newton Harris
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
State of Louisiana v. Joshua Darelle Lewis
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2020
State of Louisiana v. Raymond George Johnson
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
State v. Sanders
273 So. 3d 635 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
210 So. 3d 850, 2016 La. App. LEXIS 2151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-odums-lactapp-2016.