State v. Scoby

536 So. 2d 615, 1988 WL 126180
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 22, 1988
DocketKA 88 0424
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 536 So. 2d 615 (State v. Scoby) 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. Scoby, 536 So. 2d 615, 1988 WL 126180 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

536 So.2d 615 (1988)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Willie James SCOBY.

No. KA 88 0424.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 22, 1988.
Writ Denied March 30, 1989.

*617 Mark Rhodes, Asst. Dist. Atty., Houma, for appellee—State of La.

Anthony Champagne, Indigent Defender, Houma, for appellant—Willie James Scoby.

Before CARTER, LANIER and LeBLANC, JJ.

LeBLANC, Judge.

Willie James Scoby was charged by bill of information with attempted second degree murder, a violation of La.R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1.[1] He was tried by a jury, which convicted him as charged. The trial court imposed a sentence of twelve years at hard labor. Defendant appealed, urging six assignments of error, as follows:

1. The trial court erred by overruling defendant's objection to the state's request that the victim show his scar to the jury.

2. The trial court erred by denying defendant's motion to suppress an inculpatory statement.

3. The trial court erred by overruling defendant's objection to the introduction of an additional oral inculpatory statement of which defendant had not received notice.

4. The verdict is contrary to the law and evidence.

5. The court erred by denying defendant's motion for a new trial.

6. The sentence imposed is excessive.

FACTS

Defendant was charged with the attempted murder of Joseph Wheaton.[2] The incident occurred in the street outside the Houma, Louisiana, home of Joyce Johnson, the victim's girlfriend. Defendant and Ms. Johnson had been romantically involved in the past.

Ms. Johnson testified that defendant came to her mother's home and unsuccessfully attempted to entice the victim outside. A short time later, as the victim, Ms. Johnson, and other members of her family returned from a short visit to a neighbor's house, defendant, accompanied by a group of his friends, again accosted the victim. In the ensuing altercation, defendant attacked the victim with a large butcher knife. The victim tripped as he tried to flee; and, thereafter, defendant stabbed him four times with the butcher knife. Defendant pursued the victim as the victim fled to safety.

The victim sustained extensive injuries and was transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Several hours later, defendant turned himself in to the Houma City Police. He gave a statement in which he claimed that one of his friends, Leonard Williams, produced the knife during the fray. Defendant claimed that Williams first "cut" the victim with the knife before he gave the knife to defendant. Defendant thereafter admitted that he stabbed the victim until the victim got up and ran away.

*618 GRUESOME EXHIBIT

By assignment of error number one, defendant contends the trial court erred by permitting the victim to exhibit his scar to the jury. Defendant objected to the exhibition, claiming that the scar had no probative value. Defendant claimed that it was unnecessary and inflammatory for the jury to see the scar and that seeing it would unduly prejudice the jury. The trial court overruled the objection.

In considering whether or not demonstrative evidence is admissible over objection that it is unduly inflammatory, the test to be applied is whether or not the proffered evidence is relevant to any material issue in dispute and, if so, whether or not its probative value exceeds its probable prejudicial effect. State v. Hawthorne, 345 So.2d 1170, 1171 (La.1977). Contrary to defendant's claim that the scar had no probative value, it confirmed the victim's testimony regarding the incident. Further, the scar was evidence of the extent of the victim's injuries, which was relevant to establish that defendant stabbed the victim with the specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm and, therefore, committed the offense of attempted second degree murder, rather than a lesser offense. Although the prejudicial effect of the exhibit is difficult to determine from the record before this Court, we find no indication that the victim's scar was so gruesome that it would outweigh its probative value. Accordingly, this assignment of error has no merit.

DENIAL OF MOTION TO SUPPRESS

By assignment of error number two, defendant submits the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the inculpatory statement that he made at the Houma City Police department several hours after the incident. He contends the statement was involuntary because he was intoxicated at the time he made it.

Before a confession or inculpatory statement can be introduced into evidence, the state has the burden of affirmatively proving that it was free and voluntary and not made under the influence of fear, duress, intimidation, menaces, threats, inducements or promises. La.R.S. 15:451. Where the free and voluntary nature of a confession is challenged on the ground that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the confession, it will be rendered involuntary only when the intoxication is of such a degree as to negate defendant's comprehension and to render him unconscious of the consequences of what he is saying. State v. Meredith, 400 So.2d 580, 585 (La.1981). Whether or not the intoxication exists and is of a degree sufficient to vitiate the voluntariness of the confession are questions of fact, and a trial judge's conclusions on this issue will not be disturbed unless unsupported by the evidence. State v. Rankin, 357 So.2d 803, 804-805 (La.1978).

The trial court conducted a hearing on defendant's motion to suppress during the trial, out of the presence of the jury. Officer Eugene Callahan testified that, after he advised defendant of his constitutional rights and obtained defendant's acknowledgement that he understood those rights, defendant gave him an oral statement concerning the incident. Officer Callahan further testified that he transcribed defendant's statement and that defendant thereafter signed the written copy. Officer Callahan specifically related that defendant appeared to be coherent when he made the statement. He further testified that defendant appeared to make the statement knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily. He further related that he did not detect the odor of alcohol from defendant's breath and that defendant did not slur his words when he spoke or stagger when he walked.

Defendant testified that he and Leonard Williams began to drink alcoholic beverages at 11:30 a.m. on the date the incident occurred. Defendant claimed that he drank five or six fifths of Thunderbird wine. He further claimed that he drank twelve cans of beer in approximately twenty minutes before he began to drink the wine. Defendant related that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time he *619 made the statement, that he had trouble walking at that time, and that he did not fully understand all of the rights that were read to him by the officer. Although defendant admitted that he understood a portion of the advice of rights he received, he testified that he did not fully understand the consequences of signing the waiver of rights form and that he would not have given the statement if he had not consumed such a large amount of alcohol.

Leonard Williams also testified on defendant's behalf. Williams initially testified that he was with defendant the entire day and that the only alcohol consumed by defendant was a twelve pack of beer. Thereafter, despite an order sequestering the witnesses, Williams remained in the courtroom during defendant's testimony.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
536 So. 2d 615, 1988 WL 126180, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scoby-lactapp-1988.