State v. Robinson

549 So. 2d 1282, 1989 WL 116275
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided October 4, 1989·No. CR88-1295·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

549 So.2d 1282 (1989)

STATE of Louisiana, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Billy Lane ROBINSON a/k/a Billy Van Robinson, Defendant-Appellant.

No. CR88-1295.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

October 4, 1989.

*1283 David J. Williams, Lake Charles, for defendant-appellant.

Patricia Head and Beth Conrad, Asst. Dist. Attys., Lake Charles, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before GUIDRY, LABORDE and KNOLL, JJ.

KNOLL, Judge.

Defendant, Billy Lane Robinson a/k/a Billy Van Robinson, was charged by bill of information on April 7, 1986, with aggravated battery, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:34. On September 11, 1986, a six person jury found defendant guilty of second-degree battery, a lesser included offense. On September 25, 1986, the State filed a bill of information seeking defendant's adjudication as a third habitual offender under LSA-R.S. 15:529.1. The trial court found the defendant to be a third felony offender and sentenced him to seven years at hard labor.

Defendant appeals his conviction for second-degree battery, his adjudication as a third felony offender, and attacks his sentence as a third felony offender, relying on six assignments of error. Three assignments of error were neither briefed nor argued. Thus, they are considered abandoned. State v. Dewey, 408 So.2d 1255 (La.1982).

FACTS

On February 26, 1986, defendant telephoned Carolyn Ann Beason at her mother's house to arrange an afternoon visit with their son. Carolyn informed the defendant to come by the house around 11 a.m. The defendant stopped at the house at approximately 11:30 a.m., and informed Carolyn that something had come up and that he would stop again around 2 p.m. Approximately, 2:30 p.m., Carolyn returned home from a girl friend's house.

Upon her arrival the defendant began cursing her because of the son's dirty face. Carolyn walked to the house and returned with a washcloth. Defendant then snatched the washcloth from her hands and wiped their son's face. When defendant began to curse Carolyn again, Carolyn returned to her mother's house with defendant following, but she did not allow defendant to enter her mother's home.

After a short time of shouting on the porch, defendant entered the home. Once in the home, defendant demanded that Carolyn return the pair of shorts she was wearing because he had supposedly bought *1284 them for her. In response, Carolyn left the room to change pants and returned, throwing the pair of shorts at him. Defendant opened a folding pocket knife, cut the pair of shorts into pieces, threw the shredded material at Carolyn, and advanced toward her. Defendant repeatedly refused to leave the house. As Carolyn attempted to exit through the back door, defendant grabbed her and pushed her into an area between the cabinets and the stove. As Carolyn lowered her head and raised her arm to avoid being struck in the face, defendant stabbed her twice in the back of the head. Defendant left the house and proceeded to his automobile. Carolyn exited the house and shouted to her neighbors that defendant had just stabbed her. A short time later, defendant was arrested.

BILL OF INFORMATION

Defendant contends that the bill of information which charged him with aggravated battery was defective because it defined battery as an "unauthorized touching" as oppossed to the "intentional use of force or violence" upon another.

A defendant cannot complain of the technical insufficiency of a bill of information after conviction where the accused has been fairly informed of the criminal charge against him, and has not been prejudiced by surprise or lack of notice, and he will not be truly subject to any jeopardy of further prosecution. State v. James, 305 So.2d 514 (La.1974).

In the case sub judice, the bill of information alleged that defendant "committed an unauthorized touching of Carolyn Beason with a dangerous weapon, to wit: A knife, in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:34."

LSA-R.S. 14:33 defines battery as "the intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another." The jurisprudence has further stated that a battery "includes every touching or laying hold, however trifling, of another person ... in an angry, revengeful, rude, insolent, or hostile manner." State v. Robertson, 48 La.Ann. 1067, 20 So. 296 (1896); State v. Foster, 156 La. 891, 101 So. 255 (1924).

The record shows that defendant failed to object to the alleged technical defects in the bill of information before conviction. Defendant has not claimed that he was prejudiced or surprised. Accordingly, our inquiry is limited to whether the bill of information fairly informed the defendant of the charge against him.

Defendant was billed for "aggravated battery" which requires a battery with a dangerous weapon. In this respect, the bill of information more than adequately informed him of the crime charged. By this wording, we do not find defendant was prejudiced or surprised.

Defendant's assignment of error is without merit.

SECOND-DEGREE BATTERY

Defendant next contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed all the essential elements of the crime of second-degree battery. He argues that the State failed to prove that the victim suffered extreme physical pain and consequently, the requisite of serious bodily injury specified in the definition of second-degree battery was not met.

LSA-R.S. 14:34.1 defines the crime of second-degree battery as:

"Second degree battery is a battery committed without the consent of the victim when the offender intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury.
For purposes of this article, serious bodily injury means bodily injury which involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, or a substantial risk of death."

To convict a person of second-degree battery, the State must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) the intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another; (2) without the consent of the victim; and, (3) when the offender has specific intent to inflict serious bodily injury. State v. Fuller, *1285 414 So.2d 306 (La.1982). Specific criminal intent is that state of mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act. LSA-R.S. 14:10(1). Moreover, specific intent is a state of mind which need not be proven as a fact, but may be inferred from the circumstances of the transaction and actions of the defendant. State v. Fuller, supra.

The only element which defendant contests in the case sub judice is that the State failed to prove the defendant inflicted serious bodily injury upon the victim. We disagree.

In the present case, when Carolyn attempted to flee, defendant pursued her and threw her into a corner. Defendant then stabbed Carolyn twice in the head with a large folding knife as she was crouched in a defensive position. From these facts we find that any rational trier of fact could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant specifically intended to inflict extreme physical pain or a substantial risk of death upon Carolyn. Therefore we find that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction.

Defendant's assignment of error is without merit.

INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF

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