State v. Scott

97 So. 3d 1046, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 999, 2012 WL 1957711, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 773
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 31, 2012
DocketNo. 11-KA-999
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 97 So. 3d 1046 (State v. Scott) 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. Scott, 97 So. 3d 1046, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 999, 2012 WL 1957711, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 773 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

JUDE G. GRAVOIS, Judge.

|2The defendant, Renard Scott, has appealed his conviction of second degree murder. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant’s conviction and sentence.

FACTS

On the evening of July 3, 2005, Trellas Porter was shot and killed on the inside of his home in Harvey, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Defendant and his co-defendant, Cedric Lewis, were tried together for this murder. This appeal involves only defendant.

At trial, Ms. Alicia Porter, the mother of the victim, testified that on the evening of July 3, 2005, she was in her bedroom watching television when she heard her mother, Ms. Dorothy Eugene, screaming. Ms. Porter came out of her bedroom to see an intruder in her house, whom she described as a black male with [ssh oulder-length dreadlocks, covering his face with a white tee shirt.1 Ms. Porter explained that she only saw this person for a second, then backed out of the room to call the police. While doing so, she heard two gunshots. After she got off the phone with the police, Ms. Porter entered her son’s bedroom to find him lying on the floor with his eyes covered with blood. Although not mentioned in her statement to the police, at trial Ms. Porter testified that she heard her son say the name “Cedric” before he was killed.

Ms. Dorothy Eugene, the victim’s grandmother, testified that on the day in question, she was watching television in her den when she heard the front door open followed by hollering. Ms. Eugene ran to the living room where she saw two intruders, one with a gun. She could not see the intruders’ faces because they were concealed with some type of cloth; from their hands, however, she could tell that they were black males. The gunman had dreadlocks. The gunman pointed the gun at the victim who was seated on the sofa. Although the intruders and the victim were talking, Ms. Eugene could not understand what they were saying until she heard the victim say, “Cedric, you don’t have to do this.” The victim then stood up from the sofa and proceeded to his bedroom with the gunman and his accomplice. The gunman tripped and fell over a toy [1050]*1050box. She grabbed the gunman by the neck, scratched him, and pulled his hair. The gunman then pointed the gun in her face. Ms. Eugene called her daughter, Ms. Porter, for help, then ran out of the front door yelling for help. While outside, she heard two gunshots.

Christopher Lindsey was questioned by the police in connection with this murder. Mr. Lindsey asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at the trial. However, his statement to the police was introduced into evidence at the 14trial. In his statement, Mr. Lindsey stated that on the night of the murder, he accompanied Cedric Lewis to the victim’s residence to buy marijuana. He stood near the front door, entering no further than the front room. When he heard gunshots, he ran from the house. He heard the victim say something along the lines of “Cedric, don’t do this to me.”

Based on Ms. Eugene’s statement that she scratched the gunman, fingernail scrapings were taken from her for DNA analysis. DNA analysis of these scrapings revealed a match to defendant. This DNA material did not match Mr. Lindsey, Cedric Lewis, or the victim. Bonnie Du-bourg, an expert in forensic DNA analysis, testified that the amount of DNA obtained from underneath Ms. Eugene’s fingernails would not be expected to occur from casual contact. When she was shown a photograph of defendant, Ms. Eugene stated that she was not familiar with him. After extensive questioning, there was no indication that Ms. Eugene had come into contact with defendant other than on the night of the murder. At the time of the offense, Ms. Eugene was 84 years old. She testified that she left her home only to go to church and the grocery store.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER TWO2

The evidence was insufficient to support the verdict of murder since identity was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

[1,2] In this assignment of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of second degree murder, specifically arguing that “no rational trier of fact could have found that the state bore its burden of proving | identity [of the perpetrator] beyond a reasonable doubt.” He argues that the testimony reflected that only two men were present at the scene of the crime, namely, Cedric Lewis and Christopher Lindsey. He asserts that the presence of his DNA underneath the fingernails of Ms. Dorothy Eugene is not enough to identify him as a perpetrator. Conversely, the State argues that the evidence was indeed sufficient to convict defendant of second degree murder.

In reviewing sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court must determine that the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, or a mixture of both, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Mickel, 09-953, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/11/10), 41 So.3d 582, 534, writ denied, 10-1357 (La.1/7/11), 52 So.3d 885 (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Neal, 00-0674, p. 9 (La.6/29/01), [1051]*1051796 So.2d 649, 657, cert. denied, 535 U.S. 940, 122 S.Ct. 1328, 152 L.Ed.2d 231 (2002)). In addition to proving each statutory element of the crime charged, the State must also prove the identity of the perpetrator. State v. Williams, 08-272, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/16/08), 3 So.3d 526, 529, writ denied, 09-0143 (La.10/16/09), 19 So.3d 470 (citation omitted). When the key issue is identification, the State is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentifieation in order to carry its burden of proof. Id. Further, positive identification by only one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. Id.

A review of the record for sufficiency of the evidence does not require the court to ask whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jones, 08-20, p. 6 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/15/08), 985 So.2d 234, 240. Rather, the reviewing court is required to consider the whole 1 firecord and determine whether any rational trier of fact would have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id., 08-20 at 7, 985 So.2d at 240.

In his brief to this Court, defendant only contests sufficiency of the evidence on the issue of identity. Accordingly, we will only address that issue.

In State v. Wiley, 10-811, p. 13 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/26/11), 68 So.3d 583, 591, this Court found the evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant as a principal to second degree murder when the most important piece of evidence was a piece of chewing gum which contained the defendant’s fingerprints and DNA. The conviction stemmed from a shooting which occurred during a burglary perpetrated by several individuals. Id., 10-811 at 2-3, 68 So.3d at 585-86.

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Bluebook (online)
97 So. 3d 1046, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 999, 2012 WL 1957711, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 773, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scott-lactapp-2012.