State v. Sampson

656 So. 2d 1085, 1995 WL 320160
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 30, 1995
Docket95-KA-58
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 656 So. 2d 1085 (State v. Sampson) 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. Sampson, 656 So. 2d 1085, 1995 WL 320160 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

656 So.2d 1085 (1995)

STATE of Louisiana,
v.
Gary SAMPSON.

No. 95-KA-58.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

May 30, 1995.

*1086 Harry J. Morel, Jr., Emile St. Pierre, Dist. Atty.'s Office, Parish of St. Charles, Hahnville, for plaintiff/appellee, State.

Mark A. Marino, Destrehan, for defendant/appellant, Gary Sampson.

Before BOWES, GAUDIN and WICKER, JJ.

BOWES, Judge.

Defendant, Gary Sampson, appeals his conviction for extortion. We affirm as follows.

In 1992, the defendant, Gary Sampson, was charged along with co-defendant, Michael Liker, with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and nine counts of extortion, violations of La.R.S. 14:26 and 14:66, respectively. When arraigned on October 22, 1992, the defendant entered a plea of not guilty to all counts.

On April 18, 1994, the trial court quashed three counts of extortion and denied the defendant's motion to suppress a statement he gave to the police. The defendant proceeded to trial before a jury on April 19, 1994 on the remaining seven counts of extortion. On the second day of trial, on motion of the defendant on the basis that no evidence of extortion against one victim was presented, the court dismissed one of the remaining counts of extortion. Subsequently, the jury returned a verdict finding the defendant guilty of one count of extortion and not guilty on all other counts. On July 6, 1994, the trial court denied the defendant's motions for judgment of acquittal and motion for new trial; and after the defendant waived sentencing delays, the trial court sentenced the defendant to 27 months at hard labor. From this conviction defendant appeals.

FACTS

The sheriff's office for the Parish of St. Charles received a number of complaints regarding the defendant from several motorists in that parish. The incidents complained of took place between November, 1991 and April, 1992, and involved extortion of money by a black police officer who was stopping vehicles occupied by Asians as they traveled on Highway 90 in St. Charles Parish. On every occasion, except one, the black officer was assisted by a white police officer.

The only incidents which are before us involve the detention by the officers of Tuc Van Vo, who was stopped for speeding on two separate occasions by the same two officers. In the first week of January, 1992, the black officer stopped a vehicle occupied by Tuc Van Vo and informed him that he was speeding. The officer told Tuc Van Vo that he would have to pay $150.00 for the ticket. When Tuc Van Vo refused to pay, the officer stated that he would be taken to the "office." Because he didn't know where the "office" was located and because he was afraid, Tuc Van Vo paid the officer $150.00, presumably for the ticket. Tuc Van Vo subsequently signed the ticket as instructed, and although one of the officers indicated that it would be mailed to him in a couple of weeks, he never received it. This incident formed the basis of Count III against defendant. While the victim positively identified Michael Liker as the white officer at a pre-trial identification, he could not positively identify the defendant, at either the pre-trial identification or at the trial, as the black officer.

The second incident occurred on April 9, 1992 and formed the basis of Count V. While heading to New Orleans on Highway 90 in his white Dodge van, Tuc Van Vo was stopped again at approximately 10:00 a.m. by *1087 a black officer in a marked police unit. The stop occurred near the Sheriff's Office Third District Headquarters. He testified that after being ordered out of his van, Tuc Van Vo approached the patrol unit and the officers advised him that he was speeding. Shortly thereafter, a white officer arrived on the scene and that policeman talked to the black officer.

Tuc Van Vo recognized both officers as the same ones who had stopped him in January of 1992. As in January, the black officer was wearing blue jeans and a black tee shirt and the white officer was wearing his uniform.

Tuc Van Vo handed his driver's license to the black officer, but the officer returned it to him. The white officer stated that a ticket would be written and one of the officers indicated that the ticket "must be paid." Tuc Van Vo replied that he had $60.00, but the white officer didn't believe him. Subsequently, the white officer determined that the ticket would cost $101.00 and the black officer checked the victim's pocket and removed $101.00 from the cash therein. Tuc Van Vo then signed the ticket, but it was not given to him.

During the stop, Tuc Van Vo asked the black officer for his name and the officer stated that his name was "Charles." At trial he was unable to positively identify the defendant as the black officer. On cross-examination was the following exchange:

Q. Was it him?
A. I don't know. I don't remember.
Q. What's that?
A. No.
Q. You would remember that? Would you?
A. I don't remember.
Q. You don't know if this man stopped you in April or January?
A. No.
Q. Do you remember if that was the same man?
A. No. Because two years [is a] long time ago, you know, I don't remember that.

Officer Robert Dale testified that at a pre-trial identification Tuc Van Vo positively identified Officer Michael Liker as the white officer and he tentatively identified Officer Charles Smothers as the black officer.

In a taped statement, which was played for the jury, the defendant related the following: On April 9, 1992 he was at home on vacation when he received a telephone call from Michael Liker, who was on duty and therefore in uniform that day. Officer Liker indicated that he was in the area of Highway 90 near the Sheriff's Office Third District Headquarters conducting traffic stops and that he wanted the defendant to assist him. The defendant, who was wearing blue pants, a black shirt and a cap headed to that area in his marked unit and met Officer Liker that morning.

While the defendant was on the scene, Officer Liker stopped two or three vehicles. The defendant specifically remembered the stopping of a van which was occupied by an oriental male. The defendant stated that during this particular stop, he sat in his unit "most of the time."

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal when there existed a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt.

ANALYSIS

The defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal in that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of one count of extortion, that the verdicts were inconsistent and that the victim failed to positively identify the defendant.

In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, an appellate court in Louisiana is controlled by the often-quoted standard enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)—that the appellate court must determine that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. *1088 State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676 (La.1984).

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Bluebook (online)
656 So. 2d 1085, 1995 WL 320160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sampson-lactapp-1995.