State v. Percy

137 So. 3d 184, 2014 WL 1386358, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 987
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 9, 2014
DocketNo. 48,922-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 137 So. 3d 184 (State v. Percy) 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. Percy, 137 So. 3d 184, 2014 WL 1386358, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 987 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

PITMAN, J.

| ¶A jury convicted Defendant Michael L. Percy of the responsive verdict of unauthorized entry of a place of business. The trial court sentenced Defendant to the maximum sentence of six years at hard labor and fined him $1,000, in default of which he would serve 60 days in jail. Defendant now appeals his conviction and sentence. For the following reasons, we affirm Defendant’s conviction and affirm his sentence as amended.

FACTS

Defendant was charged with simple burglary in violation of La. R.S. 14:62 and possession with intent to distribute Schedule I controlled dangerous substance, i.e., marijuana, in violation of La. R.S. 40:966(A)(1).

At trial, Jamal Raman testified that he is the owner of H & S Grocery, which is located at 4001 Hollywood in Shreveport. Mr. Raman explained that H & S Grocery is an enclosed structure that is approximately 2,000 square feet with walls that are “probably around six feet, seven feet high.” He stated that the building has three doors which are locked when the store is not open for business. He testified that, in December 2012, the store was operated from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. He explained that his store has been burglarized many times, so he had a surveillance system, an alarm, a caged door and a cinder block wall installed. Mr. Raman testified that, on the night of December 18, 2012, and the morning of December 19, 2012, the alarm system at H & S Grocery was triggered three times during the hours the store was closed. When he arrived at H & S Grocery on the morning of December 19, 2012, he observed that the cinder block wall had been completely knocked down and that approximately $7,000 worth of cigarettes, alcohol, lighters and other items were missing from inside the 12store. He testified that he met with Shreveport Police Ofe. Chris Lee and that they viewed the surveillance video from the previous evening. Mr. Raman stated that he recognized the person on the video as a regular customer, but did not know the person’s name. He explained that he received information about the person on the video after offering a $500 reward and that he gave that information to the police. Mr. Raman identified Defendant as the person on the surveillance video.

Ofc. Lee testified that he responded to an alarm at 4001 Hollywood on December 19, 2012. He explained that, upon arrival, he noticed a hole in the back wall of the store and then made contact with Mr. Ra-[186]*186man. Ofc. Lee stated that he and Mr. Raman noted the merchandise missing from the store and then watched the surveillance video. He testified that he took photographs of the surveillance video with his phone so that he could share the photos with other detectives. Ofc. Lee identified Defendant as the person in the surveillance video.

Det. Angie Wilhite of the Shreveport Police Department testified that she worked on the follow-up investigation on December 20, 2012. She explained that she and other officers used the information Mr. Raman had gathered to determine the identity of the person on the surveillance video and, after talking to people in the neighborhood, they learned of a man named Michael who lived at 3935 Miles Street with his girlfriend, Daphne Griffin. She stated that they contacted Ms. Griffin at her place of work and Ms. Griffin gave them permission to search her residence at 3935 Miles Street. She further stated that she and the other officers went to 3935 Miles Street, took Defendant into custody, performed a protective sweep and then | ^conducted a search of the residence. Det. Wilhite explained that they found cigarettes, lighters and alcohol in the residence that matched the description of the items taken from H & S Grocery. She also testified that they found a sledgehammer with paint on it that matched the paint color on the exterior of H & S Grocery, along with marijuana and flavored blunt rollers, inside the residence.

Cpl. Brian Lauzon of the Shreveport Police Department testified that he also responded to 3935 Miles Street on December 20, 2012. He explained that he performed the initial protective sweep of the house and that, while not involved in the search of the house, he did observe marijuana on a table in the back bedroom. Lt. Carl Townley of the Caddo Parish Sheriffs Office testified as an expert in the investigation of narcotics and possession with intent to distribute narcotics. Lt. Townley testified that the substance collected from 3935 Miles Street was marijuana that appeared to be packaged for resale purposes. ,

A unanimous jury convicted Defendant of the responsive verdict of unauthorized entry of a place of business, in violation of La. R.S. 14:62.4, and acquitted him of the drug charge.

The trial court sentenced Defendant to the maximum sentence of six years at hard labor and fined him $1,000, in default of which he would serve 60 days in jail.

Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence.

\ ¿DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first assignment of error, Defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to prove that he committed unauthorized entry of a place of business. Defendant contends that the photographs used to identify him were cell phone photographs taken of the surveillance video and were of poor quality. He argues that there was no evidence linking the sledgehammer with white paint on it found at 3935 Miles Street to the paint on the wall of H & S Grocery. He also alleges that the testimony of Mr. Raman that the wall of H & S Grocery was “probably” six feet in height is -not sufficient to prove that the wall was at least that height, a requirement contained in La. R.S. 14:62.4.

The state argues that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction of unauthorized entry of a place of business. The state contends that Mr. Raman’s testimony regard[187]*187ing the height of the walls of H & S Grocery was sufficient to prove that the business presented a barrier of at least six feet. The state also contends that Mr. Raman’s testimony that the person on the surveillance tape was a regular customer of H & S Grocery, his in-court identification of Defendant and Ofc. Lee’s testimony that Defendant was the person in the surveillance video were all sufficient to identify Defendant as the person who intentionally entered H & S Grocery during closed hours without authority.

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 |selements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Smith, 47,983 (La.App.2d Cir.5/15/13), 116 So.3d 884. See also La. C. Cr. P. art. 821. This standard does not provide an appellate court with a vehicle for substituting its appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford, 05-0477 (La.2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517; State v. Robertson, 96-1048 (La.10/4/96), 680 So.2d 1165.

The trier of fact makes credibility determinations and may accept or reject the testimony of any witness. State v. Casey, 99-0023 (La.1/26/00), 775 So.2d 1022, cert, denied, 531 U.S. 840, 121 S.Ct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
137 So. 3d 184, 2014 WL 1386358, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 987, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-percy-lactapp-2014.