State v. Penny

486 So. 2d 879
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 25, 1986
Docket85 KA 1245
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 486 So. 2d 879 (State v. Penny) 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. Penny, 486 So. 2d 879 (La. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

486 So.2d 879 (1986)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
James PENNY.

No. 85 KA 1245.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

March 25, 1986.
Writ Denied June 6, 1986.

*881 Bryan Bush, Dist. Atty., Baton Rouge by Doug Simmons, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

Robert Roux, Public Defenders' Office, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant.

Before GROVER L. COVINGTON, C.J., and WATKINS and SHORTESS, JJ.

WATKINS, Judge.

James Penny was charged by bill of information with one count of armed robbery, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:64. He was tried by a jury, which convicted him as charged; and he was subsequently sentenced to a term of ninety-nine years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. He has appealed, assigning thirty-one errors and briefing twenty-one in eight arguments. Assignments of error not briefed are considered abandoned. Uniform Rules— Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-12.4.

Defendant and his companion, Kennedy Thompson, were charged with the armed robbery of Joseph Shaw, an elderly black male with whom Thompson was slightly acquainted. On the evening of January 27, 1983, the two men hid in the bushes near Shaw's home in Baton Rouge and awaited his arrival. When the victim returned, they ran from the bushes and Thompson began beating him about the head with an oak stick. After Shaw fell to the ground, defendant took his wallet and the two men made their escape. Approximately $3700.00 was taken in the robbery with the assailants sharing equally. Shaw was discovered in his yard some time later, suffering from the beating and exposure. He was treated by Emergency Medical Service personnel for hypothermia and bleeding, resulting from a fractured skull. After examination at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge, he was transported to Charity Hospital in New Orleans where he remained in a coma for several days before dying as a result of the head injuries sustained in the robbery.

Defendant was arrested in his home after the police received information that he had been involved in an armed robbery of a local bar, the Cedar Rose Lounge. Prior to defendant's arrest, the police also received word that he had been involved in the Shaw incident. After the arrest, defendant was transported to the police station and approximately three hours later, after being informed that Shaw had died from the injuries sustained during the robbery, gave a taped confession in which he admitted participating in the robbery but denied inflicting the injuries which caused the victim's death.

ADMISSION OF DYING DECLARATION AND EVIDENCE OF THE VICTIM'S INJURIES

Assignments of Error Numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14

Defendant argues the court erred in permitting the state to introduce medical evidence regarding the death of Joseph Shaw and evidence of his dying declaration to the Emergency Medical Services technician who first treated the victim. He argues that the medical evidence was admitted only for its inflammatory, prejudicial impact and was of only slight probative value. He also argues that evidence of Shaw's death had such an impact upon the jurors they would be unable to fairly determine his guilt or innocence on the charge of armed robbery.

In its opening statement, the prosecution, over defendant's objection, advised the jury that the victim of this offense died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the robbery. Thereafter, in order to establish the foundation for the admission of Shaw's last words, the state presented the medical records, hospital reports, testimony of the doctor who performed the autopsy *882 and the autopsy report, all of which indicated the victim was near death after the attack. The physician who performed the autopsy described the injuries suffered by the decedent. The doctor examined an oak stick supplied by the state and testified the injuries could have been inflicted by a weapon similar to it.[1]

The state presented the testimony of Donald Breland, the ambulance attendant dispatched to the victim's home, who testified that the victim momentarily regained consciousness on the way to the hospital and stated, "Them god damn niggers took my money."

Defendant submits Shaw's statement was admitted without a showing that the declarant was aware or believed that his death was imminent; therefore, the statement was not admissible as a dying declaration and should have been excluded as hearsay.[2]

A statement is admissible as a dying declaration if made when the declarant is conscious of his condition and aware of his approaching demise. State v. Verrett, 419 So.2d 455 (La.1982). However, the necessary state of mind may be inferred from the facts and circumstances surrounding the making of the declaration and the victim need not express this belief in direct terms. Id. The Louisiana Supreme Court, in Verrett, quoted the standard previously set forth in State v. Augustus, 129 La.617, 56 So. 551 (1911), in pertinent part as follows:

... [W]hile no absolute rule can be laid down by which to decide with certainty whether the declarant, at the time of making his statement, really expected to die, yet when the wound is from its nature mortal, and when, as a matter of fact, the deceased shortly after making his statement died, the courts have uniformly held that the declarant really believed that death was impending, and his statement has been admitted as a dying declaration.

419 So.2d at 456. The court concluded that it is not sacramental that the victim declare that he feels the end is near if such belief may be reasonably presumed from the facts and circumstances surrounding the declaration.

We believe the trial court correctly determined that the declaration of the victim was admissible because a sufficient showing had been made from which the court could infer that the victim felt his death was near. The victim, an elderly man, was hit in the head several times, at least once so hard that his skull was driven toward his brain, tearing that organ. Because of these injuries, he was unable to move and remained on the ground for at least half an hour on a cold, rainy night in January. When first examined by Emergency Medical Services personnel, the victim's body temperature had dropped significantly. The medical reports established that the blows to his head caused massive bleeding under his skull and that emergency surgery was required to drain the blood which had accumulated there. Despite the surgical procedures performed and hospital care rendered, the victim died as a result of these injuries. We find the magnitude of the injuries, the circumstances surrounding the declaration, and the victim's death establish an inferential basis for finding that the victim was in fact, and believed himself to be, near death.

Defendant's argument that the evidence of the victim's condition in the ambulance was irrelevant is likewise without merit. The fact that the victim became *883 comatose after making his statement is relevant to the examination of the circumstances required by Verrett. We find that the court did not err in finding the foundation requirements were met and that the admission of the medical evidence was necessary to establish this foundation.

Defendant further argues, however, that evidence of the victim's injuries and untimely death prejudiced the jurors to the extent that they could not impartially judge his guilt of the crime for which he was charged.

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Bluebook (online)
486 So. 2d 879, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-penny-lactapp-1986.