State v. Stepp

686 So. 2d 76, 1996 WL 717486
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 11, 1996
Docket28868-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 686 So. 2d 76 (State v. Stepp) 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. Stepp, 686 So. 2d 76, 1996 WL 717486 (La. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

686 So.2d 76 (1996)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Shawn David STEPP, Appellant.

No. 28868-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

December 11, 1996.
Rehearing Denied January 16, 1997.

*78 Carso & Noel by Robert S. Noel, II, for Appellant.

Richard Ieyoub, Attorney General, Jerry L. Jones, District Attorney, Jimmy D. White, Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee.

Before MARVIN, STEWART and CARAWAY, JJ.

CARAWAY, Judge.

Defendant, Shawn David Stepp, was charged by bill of information with armed robbery in violation of La. R.S. 14:64. A unanimous jury found defendant guilty as charged and the trial court sentenced defendant as an habitual offender to 99 years at hard labor, without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The trial court denied an oral motion to reconsider sentence and this appeal ensued. Because defendant's assignments of error regarding the admission of other crimes evidence at trial, the sufficiency of evidence at the habitual offender hearing, and his sentence lack merit, we affirm.

Facts

On February 13, 1994, defendant and his girlfriend, Misty Dawn Falcon, drove to Monroe to visit his brother and sister. Although defendant admitted lying about his intended destination, he claimed that his mother let him borrow her car. Ms. Stepp, however, testified that defendant took her car without permission. Prior to leaving the Stepp home, Falcon furtively stole Ms. Stepp's .38 snub-nosed revolver. Defendant asserted that he was unaware of Falcon's theft of the gun and Falcon corroborated defendant's testimony on this issue. After discovering that his brother and sister were not home, defendant drove Falcon past several of his former residences prior to stopping at the Pinehills Grocery at the corner of Britton Road and Highway 80.

After defendant parked on the side of the store, Falcon entered the store and walked to the candy aisle. After a second customer, Cedric Hotard, came in and went to the restroom, Falcon approached the counter with a candy bar. The cashier, Johnny D. McGough, attempted to enter the transaction on the cash register. When McGough turned to tell Falcon how much she owed, Falcon pointed a gun at him and ordered him to give her the money from the register.

After taking the money that McGough had placed into a bag, Falcon turned to leave as another customer was about to enter the store. While standing at the front door, Falcon turned back towards McGough with the raised gun. McGough, who had retrieved his .357 magnum, fired, striking Falcon in the shoulder. Falcon then went out the front door and around the corner of the store.[1]

When defendant, who was waiting in the car, realized McGough was pursuing Falcon with a gun, he backed out of the parking space and attempted to drive between Falcon and McGough. As Falcon ran for the car, McGough fired again and hit her in the hand. Defendant opened the passenger door, Falcon got into the car, and they drove off.

Contrary to defendant's testimony, McGough testified he heard tires screeching and saw a car with an open passenger door approaching the store's parking lot at high speed. When Falcon began running towards the car, McGough claimed that he shot at the car in an attempt to disable it. He hit the the windshield and the passenger window.

After the suspects drove away, McGough entered the store and told Hotard to call the police. He then went out the front door to check on the customer who had approached *79 the door as Falcon was exiting. While in the front parking lot, he recovered the bag and money and waited for the police to arrive.

Defendant drove to I-20 and was proceeding to a Ruston hospital. After receiving a bulletin describing the car involved in the robbery, Officer Jimmy Richardson spotted the car and began following it; however, he never turned on his emergency lights. Defendant pulled over and surrendered to police. While tending to Falcon, Richardson noticed a brown holster on the front seat of the car. The police later recovered a .38 caliber revolver from the side of the interstate.

Defendant testified that he parked near the side door and Falcon entered the store. Since he was parked on the side of the store, he could not see what occurred at the front entrance. Defendant asserted he did not realize anything was wrong until McGough came out of the side door with a gun and fired at the car and at Falcon. Defendant denied any knowledge of Falcon's plan to rob the store and denied any intent to participate in such a caper. Falcon testified on behalf of defendant and claimed that he did not know she possessed the gun nor did he plan or participate in the robbery. Contrary to Falcon's testimony, the private security guard on watch during her hospitalization testified that Falcon stated that the defendant dared her to rob the store.

After trial, a jury found defendant guilty as charged. Subsequently, the trial court found defendant to be a second felony offender and sentenced him to 99 years at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Assignment of Error No. 1: Other Crimes Evidence

In its case in chief, the state introduced evidence of an armed robbery of a convenience store in Gibsland, Louisiana. The store clerk, Gloria Brackens, testified that in January of 1994, approximately two weeks before the subject robbery, a man entered the store and asked if he could use the restroom. She pointed him in the direction of the restrooms and he went down the candy aisle, got a pack of gum and laid it on the counter. Brackens rang up the sale, and when the cash drawer opened, the man pulled out a gun and told her to give him the money. She gave the man the money; however, as he was leaving the store, his gun went off and Brackens fell to the floor in fear so she did not see how the man left.

Brackens identified the defendant, both in court and in a previous photographic line-up, as the man who held her at gunpoint and demanded money. She also testified that the gun used by Falcon in the Pinehills Grocery robbery appeared to be similar to the one used by the man who robbed her.

Defendant complains that this crime is not a "signature" type crime and thus should not have been admitted as evidence to prove intent. Defendant also argues that the state did not use this other crimes evidence to prove intent, but rather to prejudice the jury by presenting defendant as a "bad man."

La. C.E. art. 404B(1) provides that evidence of other crimes or acts may be admissible as proof of motive, intent, knowledge, identity and absence of mistake or accident. The rationale behind excluding other crimes evidence is to ensure that the defendant will not be presumed guilty of the instant charge because he committed the past offenses or because he is of a general criminal character. State v. Sturdivant, 27,680 (La.App.2d Cir. 2/28/96), 669 So.2d 654.

For evidence of other crimes to be admissible, the state must comply with the notice requirements and limiting instructions set out in State v. Prieur, 277 So.2d 126 (La.1973), prove with clear and convincing evidence that the other acts or crimes occurred and were committed by the defendant, demonstrate that the other acts satisfy one of the requirements listed in Art. 404B(1), and show that the probative value of the evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect. State v. Jackson, 625 So.2d 146 (La.1993). A trial court's ruling on the admissibility of such evidence will not be overturned absent an abuse of discretion. State v. Lee, 25,917 (La.App.2d Cir.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
686 So. 2d 76, 1996 WL 717486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stepp-lactapp-1996.