State v. Ray

115 So. 3d 17, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2013 WL 1442566, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 715
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 10, 2013
DocketNo. 12-KA-684
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 115 So. 3d 17 (State v. Ray) 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. Ray, 115 So. 3d 17, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2013 WL 1442566, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 715 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROBERT A. CHAISSON, Judge.

|2In this appeal, defendant, Richard Ray, challenges his second degree murder conviction on the basis that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 23, 2011, the Jefferson Parish Grand Jury returned an indictment charging defendant with second degree murder, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:30.1. At his arraignment on June 24, 2011, defendant pled not guilty. The matter proceeded to trial before a twelve-person jury on December 6-9, 2011. After considering the evidence presented, the jury found defendant guilty as charged. On January 5, 2012, the trial court sentenced defendant to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant now appeals.

| ¿FACTS

This case stems from a shooting that occurred at approximately 8:00 p.m. on February 24, 2011, on the west bank of Jefferson Parish. On that day, in the early evening hours, there was apparently a gathering of people in the 1500 block of Abbey Road in Harvey. These people, many of whom knew or at least recognized each other, were “hanging around,” talking, drinking, and having a good time.

Eddie Wilkinson and Terrance Neal, who were both drinking, engaged in a heated discussion. At some point, Neal’s female cousin, Tion Franklin, came over to the men and joined in their conversation. Wilkinson seemingly said something that Franklin did not like, and the two of them exchanged words. Shortly thereafter, defendant, Franklin’s boyfriend, approached, and a verbal argument ensued between defendant and Wilkinson. Defendant told Wilkinson he would be back, and then left with Franklin in his white four-door car with big rims. Within thirty minutes, defendant returned with a gun in his hand. He approached the group of people, pointed the gun at Wilkinson, fired one shot, and fled the scene.

Deputy Donna Madere responded to the 911 call about a shooting. When she arrived at the scene, she observed an unre[19]*19sponsive black male lying in the driveway of the apartment. As medical personnel were attending to Wilkinson, Deputy Mad-ere observed that the man had a gunshot wound to his lower left abdomen. Wilkinson was transported to the hospital where he died.1

Detective Rhonda Goff of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, the lead detective on this case, arrived at the scene and began her investigation. From her conversations with witnesses, Detective Goff learned that the possible perpetrator’s name was “Rich,” that the car being driven by the perpetrator was an older model, |4white, American car with rims, and that Tion Franklin was there that night with “Rich.” Through her investigation, Detective Goff discovered that “Rich” was Richard Ray and that he owned a 1997 white Lincoln, four-door car with rims and a license plate number TTC007. Once the license plate for defendant’s vehicle was obtained, Detective David Spera researched the camera system surrounding that neighborhood and discovered that the camera captured defendant’s car going into the neighborhood on the day of the murder.

Based on this information, Detective Goff compiled a six person photographic lineup containing defendant’s photograph. In addition, she composed a photographic lineup containing Tion Franklin’s picture. Based on witness statements and positive identifications of defendant and Franklin, Detective Goff obtained an arrest warrant for defendant and a search warrant for his last known address, which was his mother’s residence. However, defendant’s mother advised the detective that he had not lived there for months. The detective subsequently received information that defendant was in Tallulah, Louisiana. By the time the police got there, defendant was gone; however, the detective located and searched the suspect vehicle, recovering only a cell phone with no battery or SIM card. Defendant later turned himself in to police. The gun used in this homicide was never located.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

In his sole assigned error on appeal, defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him of second degree murder.

The constitutional standard for testing the sufficiency of the evidence 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 beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Under the Jackson standard, a review of a criminal conviction record for sufficiency of the evidence does not require the court to ask whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, the reviewing court is required to consider the whole record and determine whether any rational trier of fact would have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jones, 08-20 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/15/08), 985 So.2d 234, 240.

Second degree murder is defined in LSA-R.S. 14:30.1, in pertinent part, as the killing of a human being when the offender has specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm. Specific criminal intent is that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed [20]*20criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. Specific criminal intent, as a state of mind, need not be proven as fact but may be inferred from the circumstances and the actions of the accused. State v. Martinez, 09-740 (La.App. 5 Cir. 3/23/10), 38 So.3d 926, 932. Specific intent to kill may be inferred from a defendant’s act of pointing a gun and firing it at a person. State v. Jackson, 03-883 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/27/04), 880 So.2d 841, 850, writ denied, 04-1399 (La.11/8/04), 885 So.2d 1118.

Encompassed in proving the elements of an offense is the necessity of proving the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator. See State v. Draughn, 05-1825 (La.1/17/07), 950 So.2d 583, 593, cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1012, 128 S.Ct. 537, 169 L.Ed.2d 377 (2007). Where the key issue is identification, the State is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Ingram, 04-551 (La.App. 5 Cir. 10/26/04), 888 So.2d 923, 926. Positive identification by one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. State v. Harris, 07-124 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/25/07), 968 So.2d 187, 193.

| (¡Defendant does not appear to argue that the State failed to establish any of the essential statutory elements of his conviction, but rather contends the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt his identity as the shooter. To support this argument, defendant points to numerous inconsistencies in the testimony regarding the description of the perpetrator and the description of his car. In addition, he points to variances in the testimony regarding whether one or two shots were fired and whether defendant carried the gun in his right or left hand. Defendant further asserts that the testimony of defendant’s mother, Willie Ray, provided a reasonable hypothesis that defendant was not the perpetrator. Defendant points to her testimony that defendant was in Tallu-lah for a family member’s funeral.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
115 So. 3d 17, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 684, 2013 WL 1442566, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 715, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ray-lactapp-2013.