State v. Payne

262 So. 3d 498
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 16, 2019
DocketNo. 52,310-KA
StatusPublished

This text of 262 So. 3d 498 (State v. Payne) 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. Payne, 262 So. 3d 498 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

GARRETT, J.

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Michael G. Payne, was convicted as charged of one count of aggravated assault with a firearm and sentenced to ten years at hard labor, with all but 18 months suspended, and supervised probation for five years. As to a second charge of aggravated assault with a firearm, he was convicted of the responsive verdict of simple assault and sentenced to 90 days in the parish jail. As to a charge of second degree battery, he was convicted of the responsive verdict of simple battery and sentenced to six months in the parish jail. The misdemeanor sentences were imposed concurrently with any other sentences and with credit for time served. The defendant appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and asserting that the sentences were excessive. We affirm the defendant's convictions and sentences.

FACTS

In the early morning hours of July 7, 2014, the police were summoned to a residence on Albany Avenue in Shreveport occupied by Edward Carey, his wife, and their two young children. The defendant and his wife, Dr. Jennifer Payne, lived across the street from the Careys. Following a violent domestic confrontation with the defendant, Dr. Payne had fled to the Carey residence and taken refuge there. After the police arrived and spoke to Mr. Carey and Dr. Payne, the defendant was arrested. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm for pointing an SKS rifle at his wife and Mr. Carey. He was also charged with one count of second degree battery for injuries sustained by Dr. Payne before she fled from her home to the Carey residence.

Jury trial was held in September 2017. The state presented the testimony of Dr. Payne, Mr. Carey, the emergency room physician who treated Dr. Payne, the police detective who handled the case, and a police officer who responded to the scene. The defendant testified, recounting a version of events that differed wildly from that of the state's witnesses. He also presented two character witnesses. Dr. Payne then testified on rebuttal. On the two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, the jury convicted the defendant as charged on the count pertaining to Mr. *502Carey but simple assault on the charge pertaining to Dr. Payne. On the charge of second degree battery against his wife, he was convicted of simple battery.

A sentencing hearing was held in October 2017, at which the defendant's mother testified. After a careful and painstaking review of the aggravating and mitigating factors, the trial court imposed a 10-year hard labor sentence on the felony conviction of aggravated assault with a firearm; however, it suspended all but 18 months of the sentence and ordered the defendant to serve active supervised probation for five years following his release from jail. As to the misdemeanor convictions of simple battery and simple assault, the trial court ordered the defendant to serve, respectively, six months and 90 days in the parish jail. The misdemeanor sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with any other sentences and with credit for time served. The defendant's timely motion to reconsider sentence was denied.

The defendant appealed. He asserted that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the sentences imposed were excessive.

SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

Law

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. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) ; 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. Robinson , 50,643 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/22/16), 197 So.3d 717, writ denied , 16-1479 (La. 5/19/17), 221 So.3d 78. 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 factfinder. State v. Pigford , 05-0477 (La. 2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517 ; State v. Robinson , supra .

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 the factfinder's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Robinson , supra ; State v. Jackson , 51,575 (La. App. 2 Cir. 9/27/17), 244 So.3d 764.

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. Robinson , supra ; State v. Randle , 49,952 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/24/15), 166 So.3d 465. In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Lambert , 52,004 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/23/18), 248 So.3d 621 ; State v. Johnson , 47,913 (La. App. 2 Cir. 4/10/13), 113 So.3d 1209.

The testimony of a victim alone is sufficient to convict a defendant. State v. Lambert , supra ; State v. McGill , 50,994 (La. App. 2 Cir.

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Bluebook (online)
262 So. 3d 498, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-payne-lactapp-2019.