State v. Smith

58 So. 3d 964, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 830, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 166, 2011 WL 680151
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 9, 2011
DocketNo. KA 10-830
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 58 So. 3d 964 (State v. Smith) 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. Smith, 58 So. 3d 964, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 830, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 166, 2011 WL 680151 (La. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

EZELL, Judge.

hThe Defendant, Eric Joseph Smith, was charged in an indictment filed on April 23, 2009, with first degree murder, in violation of La.R.S. 14:30; attempted first de[966]*966gree murder, in violation of La.R.S. 14:30 and 14:27; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of La.R.S. 14:95.1. The Defendant entered a plea of not guilty on May 8, 2009.

Jury selection commenced on January 12, 2010, and the jury found the Defendant guilty as charged on January 15, 2010. The Defendant was sentenced on January 25, 2010, to serve life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence for first degree murder; to fifty years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence for attempted first degree murder; and to fifteen years at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence for attempted first degree murder was ordered to run consecutively to the sentence for first degree murder, and the sentence for possession of a firearm was to run concurrently to the other two sentences.

A motion for new trial was filed on January 28, 2010, and denied on February 1, 2010. A motion for appeal was also filed on January 28, 2010, and was subsequently granted.

The Defendant now appeals and asserts three assignments of error. The Defendant contends the evidence presented is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he shot Kenderick Cyriak and his companion, the trial court erred in allowing shoe-print comparisons to be presented as scientific evidence in this case; and, the trial court erred when it allowed selective information on the phone records to be presented in the form of a chart or summary.

|2FACTS

The Defendant was convicted of shooting Kendrick Cyriak and shooting and killing Telisha Rainey.

ERROR PATENT

In accordance with La. Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record, we find there is one error patent.

The trial court failed to impose a mandatory fine for the Defendant’s conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to imprisonment, La. R.S. 14:95.1 requires the imposition of a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. The trial court’s failure to impose a mandatory fine renders the Defendant’s sentence illegally lenient. However, because the issue was not raised, this court will not address it.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

In his first assignment of error, the Defendant contends the evidence presented is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he shot drug dealer Kenderick Cyriak and his companion the night that he bought crack cocaine from Cyriak. The Defendant contends the sole evidence submitted by the State was the statement of a witness who suffered brain damage and memory loss in the shooting and there was no corroborating evidence except that Cyriak merely recalled him because he had sold him drugs. Further, Cyriak suffered from a scrambled memory, and there was no physical evidence, motive, or other testimony connecting him to the shootings.

In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, a reviewing court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any ration[967]*967al trier of fact could have found proof beyond a reasonable doubt of each of the essential elements of the crime charged. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 807, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984). Additionally, where circumstantial evidence forms the basis of the conviction, the evidence must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence, “assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove.” La. R.S. 15:438; see State v. Neal, 2000-0674 p. 9 (La.6/29/01), 796 So.2d 649, 657, cert. denied, 535 U.S. 940, 122 S.Ct. 1323, 152 L.Ed.2d 231 (2002). The statutory requirement of La.R.S. 15:438 “works with the Jackson constitutional sufficiency test to evaluate whether all evidence, direct and circumstantial, is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a rational jury.” Neal, 2000-0674 p. 9, 796 So.2d at 657.

State v. Draughn, 05-1825, p. 7 (La.1/17/07), 950 So.2d 583, 592, cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1012, 128 S.Ct. 537, 169 L.Ed.2d 377 (2007). “When the key issue is not whether a crime occurred, but rather, the identity of the perpetrator, the state is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification. State v. Hughes, 05-992 (La.11/29/06), 943 So.2d 1047.” State v. George, 09-143, p. 5 (La. App. 3 Cir. 10/7/09), 19 So.3d 614, 618.

Alex Granville was given immunity for his testimony. At the time of trial, he had pending drug charges. Additionally, he had prior convictions for simple robbery and drugs.

Granville testified that he was a drug addict and he went by the nicknames Saint, B.R., and Tank. He knew Kenderick Cyriak, whose nickname was Black. He also knew the Defendant, who was known as Jersey. Granville testified that the Defendant called him on December 26, 2008, asking for crack cocaine. Granville indicated he did not have any and told the Defendant he would call someone who could get it to him. Granville then called Cyriak, who agreed to sell drugs to the Defendant. Granville then gave the Defendant Cyriak’s cell phone number.

Granville testified that he received a phone call from the Defendant on December 26 at 12:49 a.m. He then received phone calls from the Defendant at 2:08, 2:12, 2:13, 2:14, and 2:23 a.m.

LKenderick Cyriak testified that he had previously been convicted of aggravated battery, criminal damage, and “CDS 2.” He admitted that he had been a drug dealer, and there were charges pending against him at the time of trial. Further, he had been granted immunity for his testimony.

Cyriak testified that he sold crack cocaine five to seven times a day. He had known Granville a month-and-a-half in December 2008, and sold drugs to him about twelve times during that period. On cross-examination, Cyriak indicated he had known Granville for three or four months.

Cyriak testified that he had known Teli-sha Rainey for approximately two to three months before her death. He was not romantically involved with her.

Cyriak testified that before noon on Christmas Day, he was home with his family. He went to the home of Rainey’s sister around noon. He and Rainey subsequently left and eventually went to the Red River Inn. Cyriak had a room there because he and his cousin had been living together and were on bad terms.

Cyriak testified that he and Rainey watched television for approximately an hour-and-a-half. Cyriak then took Rainey to see her family in Lafayette. The two eventually returned to Alexandria and went to Roy’s Barbeque Stand and hung [968]*968out. While there, Granville called Cyriak and told Cyriak that he had a friend that needed fifty dollars worth of crack cocaine. Cyriak told Granville to give the friend his phone number.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Louisiana v. Trivual A. Charles
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2021
State v. Guidry
271 So. 3d 275 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State of Louisiana v. Miles J. Guidry
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
State v. Young
270 So. 3d 770 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019)
State of Louisiana v. Kenny Roy Young
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2019
State v. Daugherty
175 So. 3d 1164 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State of Louisiana v. Dionte Eugene Daugherty
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015
State of Louisiana v. Armonta Dquon Hadnot
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015
State v. Kelly
153 So. 3d 1257 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
State of Louisiana v. Ashaki Okung Kelly
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 So. 3d 964, 10 La.App. 3 Cir. 830, 2011 La. App. LEXIS 166, 2011 WL 680151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-smith-lactapp-2011.