State v. Spain

757 So. 2d 879, 2000 WL 328221
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 15, 2000
Docket99-KA-1956
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 757 So. 2d 879 (State v. Spain) 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. Spain, 757 So. 2d 879, 2000 WL 328221 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

757 So.2d 879 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
David SPAIN.

No. 99-KA-1956.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 15, 2000.

*880 Laura Pavy, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, Counsel for Defendant-Appellant.

Harry F. Connick, District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Nicole Barron, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellee.

*881 Court composed of Chief Judge ROBERT J. KLEES, Judge STEVEN R. PLOTKIN, Judge MICHAEL E. KIRBY.

PLOTKIN, Judge.

This case presents the question of what constitutes an unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.

Defendant David A. Spain was charged by bill of information on January 29, 1999, with one count each of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, a violation of La. R.S. 14:62.3, and aggravated battery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:34. Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment on February 3, 1999, but was found guilty of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling and second degree battery on February 25, 1999, following trial by a six-person jury. The trial court sentenced defendant on May 17, 1999, to five years at hard labor on each count, with credit for time served and with the sentences to run concurrently. The trial court also granted defendant's motion for appeal on that date. On May 27, 1999, defendant pled guilty to a habitual offender bill of information. The trial court then adjudicated defendant a second-felony habitual offender, vacated the original sentence imposed in count one, and resentenced defendant to five years at hard labor, with credit for time served and with the sentence to run concurrently with the sentence in count two.

STATEMENT OF FACTS :

Brandie Schmock testified that, on November 8, 1998, at approximately 7:00 p.m., she was putting food away in her kitchen after a barbecue when someone suddenly knocked a plate out of her hands. She then saw defendant, who pushed her back against a refrigerator and caused her to fall down. Defendant ordered her to stay down and hit her on the arm with a hammer, causing a severe bruise. He then began striking a motorcycle parked in the kitchen with the hammer; the motorcycle belonged to Ms. Schmock's boyfriend, Mike Woods. Ms. Schmock ran out the back door and climbed over a fence to escape, while defendant ran out the front door and got on his bicycle. Defendant was later apprehended.

Ms. Schmock stated that she and defendant had had a five-year relationship, which had ended two years before the date of the attack. Defendant was the father of her five-year old daughter, whom he usually visited every weekend. Ms. Schmock said she lived in the residence, located at 330 N. Patrick Street, with her daughter and Mr. Woods. On the day in question, she and Mr. Woods were there, as were two other individuals. She stated that defendant did not have permission to be in her home that day and that she did not know he was there until he hit her. However, she admitted that defendant had been inside of the residence before that day. She did not observe anyone else give defendant permission to enter the residence, noting that everyone else had been in the front room. Ms. Schmock stated that she had no animosity toward defendant. She identified photographs of her table and her twenty-seven gallon fish tank, both of which had apparently been broken by defendant that day.

Ms. Schmock testified on cross-examination that she had stayed with defendant one time, some nine months before the attack, when she was experiencing a relationship problem. She admitted that she and defendant had remained friends after their relationship had ended. She said that she would usually take her daughter to defendant, but sometimes he would come to the N. St. Patrick Street residence to pick up his daughter. She also admitted that defendant had been invited to "a couple of barbecues" there. She said he would usually knock on the front door, unless it was already open. She admitted that she would not be surprised if he walked in her front door and admitted that she would not telephone police if he did so. Ms. Schmock also admitted that, if defendant had walked in her open back door on the day in question while acting reasonably, she would not have telephoned the *882 police. She conceded that, in essence, defendant had her permission to enter her residence when he was acting reasonably. Ms. Schmock recalled defendant saying something as he ran through the residence about her not letting him see his daughter.

Mike Woods testified that he had lived on N. St. Patrick Street for thirteen months. He said that, on the evening in question, he was in the living room with friends when defendant's daughter began screaming and yelling unintelligibly. Mr. Woods said defendant came "flying" out of the back swinging a hammer, or what he described as a two-pound maul. Defendant screamed at Mr. Woods that he was sitting in defendant's chair, and attempted to hit him in the head with the maul. Mr. Woods further testified that defendant broke the fish tank, causing twenty-seven gallons of water and fish to spill onto the floor, and cracked a coffee table. He added that defendant caused over eleven hundred dollars ($1,100.00) of damage to his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

ERRORS PATENT :

Defendant cites as an error patent the trial court's apparent failure to advise him of the prescriptive period for filing an application for post conviction relief, as required by La.C.Cr.P. art. 930.8(C). However, this court does not recognize such an error patent. State v. Jones, 97-2217, p. 3, n. 1 (La.App. 4 Cir. 2/24/99), 731 So.2d 389, 392, n. 1, writ denied, 99-1702 (La.11/5/99), 751 So.2d 234. A review of the record reveals no other errors patent.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1 :

In this assignment of error, defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling. Specifically, defendant contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his entry was unauthorized, given his history of access to the victim's residence.

In State v. Ash, 97-2061 (La.App. 4 Cir. 2/10/99), 729 So.2d 664, writ denied, 99-0721 (La.7/2/99), 747 So.2d 15, this court summarized the standard of review that applies when a defendant claims that the evidence produced to convict him was constitutionally insufficient:

In evaluating whether evidence is constitutionally sufficient to support a conviction, an appellate court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The reviewing court is to consider the record as a whole and not just the evidence most favorable to the prosecution; and, if rational triers of fact could disagree as to the interpretation of the evidence, the rational decision to convict should be upheld. State v. Mussall, 523 So.2d 1305 (La.1988). Additionally, the reviewing court is not called upon to decide whether it believes the witnesses or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence. Id. The trier of fact's determination of credibility is not to be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Cashen, 544 So.2d 1268 (La.App. 4 Cir.1989).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
757 So. 2d 879, 2000 WL 328221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-spain-lactapp-2000.