State v. Outlaw

485 So. 2d 217
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 26, 1986
Docket17702-KW
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 485 So. 2d 217 (State v. Outlaw) 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. Outlaw, 485 So. 2d 217 (La. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

485 So.2d 217 (1986)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
David OUTLAW, Appellant.

No. 17702-KW.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

February 26, 1986.

*219 Charles R. Whitehead, Jr., Natchitoches, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, and Don Burkett, Dist. Atty., Many, for appellee.

Before JASPER E. JONES, SEXTON and LINDSAY, JJ.

JASPER E. JONES, Judge.

The defendant, David Outlaw, was charged by separate bills of information with hunting from a moving vehicle, hunting or discharging a firearm on a public road, and criminal trespass. After a bench trial, he was found guilty on all charges. After sentencing, the defendant applied for a writ of review, asserting that the evidence was insufficient to sustain any of his convictions. In the alternative, he claimed that the fines and sentences imposed, except for those for the criminal trespass conviction, are illegal and that the conditions of his probation are not authorized by law.

FACTS

On November 18, 1984, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Mr. A.L. Litton and his wife were sitting in their home when they heard three gunshots. Mrs. Litton learned that the sounds were coming from the direction of a family owned rodeo arena. She immediately proceeded in her truck to the rodeo arena area to investigate. The rodeo arena was approximately 300 yards away across an open field but about ¼ of a mile distant by way of a blacktop parish road.

The trip took about five minutes and when she arrived she observed the defendant and another person just getting into a *220 car parked on the road. She saw no other vehicles at the site or during the short journey. As she drove past the parked car and was turning around, the vehicle pulled away with the defendant sitting in the passenger seat. She followed the vehicle and as she overtook it the vehicle increased its speed, but Mrs. Litton was able to obtain the car's license plate number.

Mrs. Litton immediately returned to her home, told her husband what had occurred, and telephoned Randy Greer, a game warden. When she completed reporting the incident to the game warden she observed a car drive up to the house. The defendant exited from the vehicle. The defendant knocked on the door which was opened by Mr. Litton. Mr. Litton was informed by the defendant that the defendant and his buddy had just killed a big buck deer and that it was in the car. The defendant asked Mr. Litton three separate times during the conversation not to call anyone about the incident. The defendant left after Mr. Litton told him that a game warden had already been notified.

The game warden arrived at approximately 5:45 p.m. and he and Mr. Litton drove to the area where Mrs. Litton had first observed the defendant. The site, which is directly across from the rodeo arena, is immediately adjacent to the parish road and consists of a grassy area, 25-30 yards wide, and a wooded area. It is used as a parking lot when a rodeo was taking place and Mr. Litton had nailed numerous "posted" signs to the trees, with each sign giving his name, address and telephone number in five inch letters.

Upon arriving, the game warden and Mr. Litton observed blood beneath a tree bearing one of the "posted" signs. They also saw a depression in the grass where something had been dragged from the tree to the road, leaving a trail of blood. The trial ended at a pool of blood on the road. The game warden found two empty 7 m.m. cartridges on the road. As it had turned dark, the game warden marked the spot where the shells lay and returned the next day and took photographs of the scene. The game warden noticed some hair mixed with the blood, but could not identify it as deer hair. No one observed a deer carcass, no ballistic tests were made on the shells and no weapon was recovered.

The defendant was charged by separate bills of information with hunting from a moving vehicle, a violation of LSA-R.S. 56:124(1)(a)(iii); hunting or discharging a firearm on a public road, a violation of LSA-R.S. 32:292; and criminal trespass, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:63.

Trial was held on May 8, 1985, at which counsel for the defendant waived a jury trial and was granted his request for a consolidation of all charges. At the conclusion of the trial the court found defendant guilty of violating LSA-R.S. 32:292. The trial court deferred a decision as to the defendant's guilt on the remaining charges. Sentencing for the conviction was also deferred until a pre-sentence investigation could be submitted.

On August 22,1985, the trial court found the defendant guilty of the remaining charges. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $250 plus court costs and sentenced to 90 days in the parish jail for hunting from a moving vehicle. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $350 plus court costs and sentenced to 60 days in jail on the conviction of hunting or discharging a firearm on a public road. He was also assessed an additional fine of $5.00 under the authority of LSA-R.S. 56:70.3(C). On the criminal trespass violation he was ordered to pay a fine of $350 plus court costs and sentenced to 60 days in the parish jail. On all charges the sentences of imprisonment were suspended and he was placed on supervisory probation for two years under the following special conditions: 1) that his hunting privileges be suspended for the length of the probation; and 2) that he pay all fines and costs.

The three assignments of error which were briefed and argued raise the following issues:

1) (Assignment of Error # 1) Did the state fail to establish the corpus delecti beyond a reasonable doubt?;
*221 2) (Assignment of Error # 2) Did the trial court err in holding that there was sufficient evidence to convince a reasonable trier of fact of the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt of every element of each charged crime?; and
3) (Assignment of Error # 3) Do the sentences imposed exceed the legal maximums and are the conditions of probation illegal?

We reverse the conviction and sentence under LSA-R.S. 56:124(1)(a)(iii). Our decision makes it unnecessary to determine whether the corpus delicti was established for this violation.

We affirm the conviction under LSA-R.S. 32:292 but reverse the $5.00 fine imposed under LSA-R.S. 56:70.3(C). We vacate the remainder of the sentence and remand for resentencing.

We affirm the conviction and sentence for violating LSA-R.S. 14:63.

We affirm the probationary conditions imposed.

(ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR # 1)

DID THE STATE FAIL TO ESTABLISH THE CORPUS DELECTI?

LAW ON ESTABLISHING THE CORPUS DELECTI

The corpus delecti, the body or substance of a crime, is composed of two elements: (1) an unlawful injury has occurred; and (2) some person's illegal conduct caused that injury. State v. Reed, 420 So.2d 950 (La.1982). The corpus delecti must be proven by evidence which the jury may reasonably accept as establishing that fact beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Willie, 410 So.2d 1019 (La.1982), affirmed on remand, 436 So.2d 553 (La.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1327, 79 L.Ed.2d 723 (1984). Extrajudicial declarations or admissions are not in themselves sufficient to establish the corpus delecti, but may be considered along with other evidence. The law does not require that proof of the corpus delecti connect the accused with the crime charged. State v. Simmons,

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

Related

State v. Lee
208 So. 3d 492 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
State v. Brown
513 So. 2d 425 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Bailey
511 So. 2d 1248 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Scott
511 So. 2d 828 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Willis
510 So. 2d 411 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1987)
State v. Moore
490 So. 2d 588 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
485 So. 2d 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-outlaw-lactapp-1986.