State v. Richard

550 So. 2d 300, 1989 WL 112077
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 27, 1989
Docket20887-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 550 So. 2d 300 (State v. Richard) 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. Richard, 550 So. 2d 300, 1989 WL 112077 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

550 So.2d 300 (1989)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Clyde D. RICHARD, Appellant.

No. 20887-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 27, 1989.
Rehearing Denied October 26, 1989.

*301 Hunter, Scott, Blue, Johnson & Ross by Robert C. Johnson, Monroe, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., James A. Norris, Jr., Dist. Atty., Earl Cox, Asst. Dist. Atty., Monroe, for appellee.

Before MARVIN, FRED W. JONES, Jr., and LINDSAY, JJ.

FRED W. JONES, Jr., Judge.

After a jury trial, the defendant Richard was found guilty, as charged, of armed robbery (R.S. 14:64) and sentenced to prison for 33 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. He appealed, reserving seven assignments of error.

Factual Context

On March 23, 1988, Janice Woodard was employed at Charter Food Store on Winnsboro Road in Monroe, working the 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. shift. At approximately 6:50 p.m., a black male came into the store and asked Woodard if he could use the restroom. At this time, a car drove up to the gas pump. The black male went into the restroom. The customer at the gas pump came into the store, paid for her gas and left.

After the customer drove away, the black male approached the cash register, acting as if he were looking for something to purchase. The black male turned around and pointed a small black revolver at Woodard and told Woodard that he had placed a bomb in the back of the store. The black male cocked the revolver and told Woodard he would "blow her head off" if she did not give him the money out of the cash register. Woodard gave the black male the cash that was in the register and he ran out of the store. Woodard called the police.

She described the robber to the police as a 6 foot to 6 foot, 2 inch, 150-170 pound bright-skinned black male wearing a white thermal undershirt, brown khaki pants and a white baseball cap. At trial, a State witness testified that defendant owned few clothes and described defendant's wearing apparel in a manner that was similar to *302 Woodard's testimony regarding the clothing of the robber.

Several days after the robbery, Woodard identified defendant out of a photographic line-up as the perpetrator of the offense. Defendant was ultimately located in Cleveland, Ohio, and brought back to Monroe to face this charge.

It was shown that on the day of the robbery, defendant was assisting someone in working for Sparks Used Cars doing body work and painting. Sparks Used Cars was located on the corner of Winnsboro Road and South Fourth Street. The Charter Food Store was located on the corner of Winnsboro Road and South Sixth Street. One defense witness testified that he took defendant, on the night of the robbery, about 10 blocks away from the scene of the crime and dropped him off shortly before 7:00 p.m. The defendant denied any involvement in the robbery.

The jury rejected defendant's alibi testimony and found him guilty of armed robbery.

Assignment of Error No. 1

By this assignment of error defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to convict. Specifically, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he was the perpetrator of the offense.

Armed robbery is the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while armed with a dangerous weapon. La.R.S. 14:64.

The constitutional standard of review for the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier-of-fact could have found that the State proved 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). If the appellate court finds that no rational trier-of-fact, given all the evidence from a rational pro-prosecution standpoint could have found defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction cannot stand constitutionally. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305 (La. 1988).

This case essentially involved a credibility assessment by the trier-of-fact. Janice Woodard identified the defendant as the perpetrator of the offense and testified that he had been in the store on two previous occasions within 5 days of the offense. Woodard additionally testified regarding the taking of money from a cash register in her immediate control, and the use of a dangerous weapon, i.e., a loaded pistol. Additionally, Woodard testified that the gun was pointed at her and cocked when defendant told her to give him the money or he would "blow her head off", establishing the force or intimidation element of armed robbery.

The testimony of Woodard regarding the clothing worn by the perpetrator of the offense was to some extent corroborated by Angela Johnson. Johnson testified that defendant wore clothing that was similar to that worn by the perpetrator of the instant offense.

Defendant left the jurisdiction of Louisiana without the permission of his probation officer two days after the robbery and was working within a block of the robbery on the day in question.

A defense witness, Roosevelt Ballard, testified that defendant was with him at the approximate time of the robbery and that he took defendant about 10 blocks away a short time before 7:00 p.m.

Another defense witness, Virgil Sparks, testified that defendant had on the same type of clothing on the day of the robbery as the clothing described as being worn by the robbery suspect in a newspaper article about the robbery. This witness also testified that defendant was working for him on the day of the robbery and that he would not be in a position to know if defendant had left his business premises for 20 to 30 minutes.

Defendant also testified and denied any involvement in the robbery. The State attempted to rebut some of defendant's testimony by showing that defendant went to a pawn shop at a later period of time than his testimony indicated.

*303 Defendant asserts that the State did not present the weapon and other physical evidence linking defendant to the robbery. However, this evidence is not essential, provided that the State's witnesses can otherwise establish, by their observations at the crime scene, all elements of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt, including the fact that an alleged armed robber did have and make use of a dangerous weapon. See State v. Rash, 444 So.2d 1204 (La.1984); State v. Brown, 497 So.2d 29 (La.App. 5th Cir.1986).

It is not the function of an appellate court to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses and to overturn the trier-of-fact on its factual determination of guilt. State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983). However, it is only the trier-of-fact's rational credibility calls which may be preserved by an appellate court in applying the Jackson standard. State v. Mussall, supra.

In the case at bar, a rational trier-of-fact could reject the alibi testimony of the defendant and accept the testimony of the eye witness to the robbery identifying defendant as the robber. Additionally, the State established all of the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, this assignment of error has no merit.

Assignment of Error No. 2

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
550 So. 2d 300, 1989 WL 112077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-richard-lactapp-1989.