State v. Robertson

988 So. 2d 294, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 167, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 1035, 2008 WL 2744279
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 16, 2008
DocketNo. 2006-167
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 988 So. 2d 294 (State v. Robertson) 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. Robertson, 988 So. 2d 294, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 167, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 1035, 2008 WL 2744279 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge.

liOur original opinion1 was affirmed in part and reversed in part by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The supreme court affirmed our decision to reverse the Defendant’s conviction for “Creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of CDS II, in violation of La.R.S. 40:983(A)(3); second offender, in violation of La.R.S. 40:982” because it constituted a non-crime. Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:982 is a post-conviction enhancement statute. It reversed our decision to invalidate the entire conviction and not merely the erroneous portion. The supreme court further concluded that the trial error of placing prior crimes in a bill of information was subject to a harmless error analysis and, in this case, the error was harmless. The supreme court later granted a rehearing for the “limited purpose of transferring this case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeal for their consideration of the assignments of error previously assigned by defendant to the court of appeal and pretermitted by the court of appeal.” State v. Robertson, 06-1537 (La.1/16/08), 988 So.2d 166, 2008 WL 343131, (reh’g granted 3/14/08).

For the following reasons, we affirm the Defendant’s conviction for the lesser-included offense of Creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of CDS II, to-wit, Methamphetamine and remand to the trial court for sentencing.

I.

ISSUES

Consistent with our Louisiana Supreme Court’s remand instruction, we shall consider whether:

|2(1) the evidence presented at trial is insufficient to sustain a conviction for Creation or operation of a clandestine [297]*297laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of CDS II, to-wit, Methamphetamine;
(2) the trial court erroneously denied Defendant’s Motion to Suppress;
(3) the trial court erroneously allowed the introduction of “other crimes” evidence; and,
(4) the trial court erroneously allowed the State to introduce the transcript of Defendant’s previous guilty plea ' after the State had closed its case in chief.

II.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Insufficiency of the Evidence

Defendant contends the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction in that there was no proof of intent. Specifically, he notes some components needed for the production of methamphetamine, namely, anhydrous ammonia, muriatic acid, and denatured alcohol, were not present at the residence. Additionally, Defendant points out that his fingerprints were not found on the seized items. Finally, Defendant argues there was no evidence proving he was in constructive possession of these items. A ruling that the evidence is insufficient would necessitate an acquittal; thus, we have addressed this assignment of error first pursuant to State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992).

In State v. Kennerson, 96-1518, p. 5 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 695 So.2d 1367, 1371, this court set forth the standard of review to be used by appellate courts in addressing a sufficiency review:

When the issue of sufficiency of evidence is raised on appeal, the critical inquiry of the reviewing court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most 1 afavorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, rehearing denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed.2d 126 (1979); State ex rel. Graffagnino v. King, 436 So.2d 559 (La.1983); State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105 (La.1982); State v. Moody, 393 So.2d 1212 (La.1981). It is the role of the fact finder to weigh the respective credibility of the witnesses, and therefore, the appellate court should not second guess the credibility determinations of the triers of fact beyond the sufficiency evaluations under the Jackson standard of review. See State ex rel. Graffagnino, 436 So.2d 559 (citing State v. Richardson, 425 So.2d 1228 (La.1983)). In order for this Court to affirm a conviction, however, the record must reflect that the state has satisfied its burden of proving the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:983 provides in pertinent part:

A. Creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance is any of the following:
(1) The purchase, sale, distribution, or possession of any material, compound, mixture, preparation, supplies, equipment, or structure with the intent that it be used for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance.
(2) The transportation or arranging for the transportation of any material, compound, mixture, preparation, supplies, or equipment with the intent that such material, compound, mixture, preparation, supplies, or equipment be used for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance.
(3) The distribution of any material, compound, mixture, preparation, equip[298]*298ment, supplies, or products, which material, compound, mixture, preparation, equipment, supplies, or products have been used in, or produced by, the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance.
(4) The disposal of any material, compound, mixture, preparation, equipment, supplies, products, or byproducts, which material, compound, mixture, preparation, equipment, supplies, products, or byproducts have been |4used in, or produced by, the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally create or operate a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance.

In our view, the State presented sufficient evidence to prove Defendant’s guilt of the charge of creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory beyond a reasonable doubt. At trial, Defendant’s probation and parole agent, Cole Gralap, testified that on June 29, 2004, he went to the residence of Nova Young, where Defendant was residing, for the purpose of administering a urine test. Officer Gralap asked Detective Todd Durham of the Grant Parish Sheriffs Department to accompany him for safety reasons. Officer Gralap testified he became suspicious on a prior visit to the home when he saw a padlock on Defendant’s bedroom door and a fan blowing air out of the bedroom window.

While Officer Gralap was administering the urine test, he asked Detective Durham to check Defendant’s room for weapons and contraband. In Defendant’s bedroom, Durham located a coffee grinder, salt, a section of black hose, pipefittings with a brass valve, filters, a cook stove, a spoon, boxes of “labeled off pseudoephedrine boxes,” Pyrex bowls, a couple of two liter plastic jugs, and a couple of pint jars, one containing eight lithium batteries soaking in a solution, and the other containing a brown substance thought to be drain cleaner.

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Bluebook (online)
988 So. 2d 294, 6 La.App. 3 Cir. 167, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 1035, 2008 WL 2744279, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-robertson-lactapp-2008.