State v. Pike

273 So. 3d 488
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 8, 2019
DocketNO. 18-KA-538
StatusPublished

This text of 273 So. 3d 488 (State v. Pike) 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. Pike, 273 So. 3d 488 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

WICKER, J.

Defendant, Brandon Pike, appeals his convictions and sentences for aggravated burglary in violation of La. R.S. 14:60 and second degree battery in violation of La. R.S. 14:31.1. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant's convictions and sentences.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On February 17, 2017, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Brandon L. Pike, with aggravated burglary of a residence belonging to Shirley Fazande, in violation of La. R.S. 14:60 (count one), and second degree battery of Ms. Fazande, in violation of La. R.S. 14:34.1 (count two). Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment on February 22, 2017.1 On February 24, 2018, defendant filed a "Motion to Declare La. C.Cr.P. art. 782(A) and La. Const. Art. I, § 17 Unconstitutional because they Allow for a Nonunanimous Verdict in this Second-Class Case," which the trial court denied on the morning of trial. A one-day trial commenced before a twelve-person jury on February 27, 2018.

*492The jury found defendant guilty as charged.

On March 15, 2018, defendant filed a motion for new trial and for post-verdict judgment of acquittal. The following day, March 16, 2018, the trial court denied defendant's post-verdict motions and, after a waiver of delays, sentenced defendant to thirty years imprisonment at hard labor on count one and eight years imprisonment at hard labor on count two. The trial judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. Defendant's motion to reconsider sentence was denied by the trial court following sentencing. This timely appeal followed.

FACTS

The victim, eighty-four-year-old Shirley Fazande, testified at trial that defendant, Brandon Pike, broke into her home on December 31, 2016, and confronted her in her hallway. She recalled that defendant broke through the front door of her home and was approximately three to four feet away from her when he demanded her money. When she informed defendant that she did not have any money, he pushed her into her bedroom and started "beating [her] in the head," rendering her unconscious. Once she regained consciousness, she was able to call her daughter-in-law for help. When her son and daughter-in-law arrived at her home, she told them that defendant, who lived around the corner, attacked her. The victim explained that she knew defendant from the neighborhood commodity store and testified that she would see him three to four times a week when he would pass in front of her house. The victim further testified that the only item missing from her home was her television. On cross-examination the victim stated that she did not know how long she was "out" but that she recalled the attack happened at night.

Detective Carl Koppeis of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office testified that on December 31, 2016, he reported to 6605 16th Street in Marrero, Louisiana, to investigate an aggravated burglary. Upon his arrival, it appeared that the front door had been kicked open. Based on conversations with the victim, her son (Ronald Fazande), and other individuals at the scene, defendant was developed as a suspect. Detective Koppeis testified that he went to the hospital to speak with the victim, and observed substantial swelling to her face, including her left eye which was swollen shut, and dried blood behind her left ear. He further explained that the victim identified defendant from a photographic lineup.2 Ms. Fazande also told Detective Koppeis that she knew defendant from the neighborhood commodity store and the neighborhood. A warrant was prepared for defendant's arrest, and upon his arrest, scratches were observed on his hands.

Deborah Fazande, the victim's daughter-in-law, testified that she and her husband, Ronald, were shopping when they received a phone call from the victim asking for help. Because she and Ronald were not home at the time, a neighbor, Russell Goff, was sent to check on the victim until they could get there. Deborah identified several photographs depicting the condition of the victim's home upon their arrival, including damage sustained to the front door frame, kitchen door, and several rooms of the house which had been ransacked. Deborah also noted that the victim's television was missing.

*493Deborah testified that prior to the incident, the victim was very active, exercising at the fitness center three days a week, volunteering at Ochsner Westbank two days a week, traveling with a ladies social group, and participating in various social activities in the community. However, since the incident, she explained that the victim has been unable to do any of these activities. Deborah also testified that she now helps the victim with her cooking and drives her to therapy as she is no longer able to do so herself.

Russell Goff testified that at around noon on December 31, 2016, he received a phone call to go check on his neighbor, the victim.3 Upon his arrival, he saw that the front door had been kicked in, the house was in disarray, the television was missing from the bedroom, and the victim was lying on the floor in the den. Russell testified that he gave the victim some juice because she was a diabetic and that once she started drinking the juice, she started to remember what had happened.4 Russell recalled that at first the victim thought she might have fallen but then when she began to "come through," she told him that she had been attacked and that her assailant was a guy from the neighborhood-a heavy-set, light-skinned African-American man, who worked at the neighborhood commodity store and whom Russell's mother knew.

Russell's mother, Sabrina Knapper, testified that she was on the phone with her son when he went to the victim's house to check on her. Through FaceTime, Sabrina observed that the victim's face was swollen and testified that she was able to hear the victim's description of the perpetrator. Based on the description the victim provided, Sabrina testified that she knew the victim's assailant was defendant, a neighbor "from around the corner," whom she had known for years.

Ronald Fazande, the victim's son, testified that he accompanied his wife Deborah to his mother's house shortly after they received her phone call. He recalled that she was seated in a chair in the den and that her eye was swollen shut with cuts on the back of her neck and ear. He observed that the front door of the house had been kicked in, his mother's room had been torn apart, and her television was missing. Ronald also testified that he heard his mother's description of the perpetrator but did not initially know who she was talking about until Sabrina informed him that it was defendant, whom he recalled seeing in the neighborhood.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, defendant assigns the following errors: (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in sentencing defendant for aggravated battery rather than aggravated burglary; (3) the consecutive sentences imposed are constitutionally excessive; (4) the convictions for both aggravated burglary and second degree battery constitute double jeopardy; (5) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a double jeopardy claim; and (6) the non-unanimous jury verdict violates the Equal Protection Clause and is unconstitutional.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
273 So. 3d 488, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-pike-lactapp-2019.