State v. Stevenson

839 So. 2d 340, 2003 WL 183998
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided January 28, 2003·No. 02-KA-769·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

839 So.2d 340 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Daimeyahn C. STEVENSON.

No. 02-KA-769.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

January 28, 2003.

*341 Bruce G. Whittaker, Louisiana Appellate Project, New Orleans, LA, for Appellant.

Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry Boudreaux, Assistant District Attorney, Gretna, LA, for Appellee.

Panel composed of Judges JAMES L. CANNELLA, MARION F. EDWARDS and SUSAN M. CHEHARDY.

JAMES L. CANNELLA, Judge.

The Defendant, Daimeyahn Stevenson, appeals from his convictions of attempted armed robbery and armed robbery and respective sentences of imprisonment at hard labor for 47 years and, as a fourth *342 offender, to life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence, to run concurrently. For the reasons which follow, we affirm the conviction and sentences and remand.

The Defendant was originally charged in a bill of information with one count of attempted armed robbery, La. R.S. 14:27:64, one count of armed robbery, La. R.S. 14:64, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, La. R.S. 14:95.1. The Defendant proceeded to trial on counts one and two only.[1] His first trial ended in a mistrial. He was tried a second time.

At trial, the following evidence was adduced. At approximately 4:50 a.m. on August 23, 2001, Ashley Bulot (Bulot) and Donna Kay Billiot (Billiot) were working at Terrytown Café when the Defendant entered wearing a baseball cap. He pulled a gun, pointed the barrel of the gun at Bulot and demanded the "metal box." The metal box is a fire-safe box that is bolted under the counter and contains poker money and poker tickets. On the morning of the robbery, the box contained approximately $6,000 in cash and poker tickets. Bulot, in shock, turned and ran out the back door of the café.

The Defendant then came to Billiot's side of the counter and demanded the box. He tried to pick up the box but it was bolted to the counter. The Defendant demanded that Billiot open the box with her key. He took the money and tickets and stuffed them into his pockets. While the Defendant was crouched down behind the counter taking the contents of the box, Sergeant Brian Boudreaux on duty with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, entered the café. Billiot attempted to alert Sgt. Boudreaux to the situation but to no avail. The Defendant then stood up and pointed his gun at Sgt. Boudreaux, telling him not to move or he would kill him. Sgt. Boudreaux put his hands up and stepped away from the door to give the Defendant a clear path to leave. The Defendant jumped over the counter and ran out of the café. Sgt. Boudreaux ran after the Defendant with his weapon drawn.

Thereafter, Sgt. Boudreaux radioed headquarters. Approximately nine police units responded to the area and set up a perimeter around the block, sealing it off. A K-9 unit arrived at the scene and tracked the Defendant to a locked backyard shed. When the Defendant ignored several warnings to come out, the dog was sent in. The Defendant was apprehended and suffered several dog bites. Money and poker tickets were found on the floor of the shed.

The Defendant testified at trial. He admitted running from the police and hiding in a backyard shed. He claimed that he was walking along the road when the police pulled up beside him. The Defendant ran because of past bad experiences with the police. The Defendant denied robbing Terrytown Café and denied having been in the café that morning. Terrytown Café has several video surveillance cameras. The entire robbery was caught on tape and was played at trial. The jury found the Defendant guilty as charged on both counts.

The Defendant was sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor for 47 years on his attempted armed robbery conviction and 85 years on his armed robbery conviction. Both sentences were without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence and to run concurrently.

The State filed a habitual offender bill of information alleging that the Defendant was a fourth felony offender based on his *343 present armed robbery conviction, a 1991 conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, a 1992 conviction for possession of cocaine, and a 1994 conviction for possession of cocaine. A habitual offender hearing was held and the trial court took the matter under advisement. Thereafter, the trial court found the Defendant to be a fourth felony offender. The Defendant's original sentence on the armed robbery conviction was vacated and he was resentenced to life imprisonment, under La. R.S. 15:529.1, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence, to run concurrently with the other sentence. The Defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentence which was denied. It is from these convictions and sentences that the Defendant appeals, assigning one error and requesting review for any errors patent.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

By this assignment of error the Defendant claims that his enhanced sentence of life imprisonment is constitutionally excessive under State v. Dorthey, 623 So.2d 1276 (La.1993), which held that a punishment required by statute may nonetheless constitute excessive punishment if it is a purposeless imposition of pain and suffering and is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime. The Defendant argues that his non-violent history of drug offenses shows that he has a drug addiction and is not a hardened criminal who deserves a life sentence. He argues that a life sentence under the habitual offender law is not graduated and proportioned to his offense and is, therefore, excessive.

The Defendant, age 29, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found a fourth felony offender following the armed robbery conviction. His predicate convictions are for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and two convictions for possession of cocaine.

At the time the Defendant committed the instant offense, August 21, 2001, the provision applicable to his habitual offender sentence, La. R.S. 15:529.1(A)(1)(c) (i), provided that a fourth felony offender shall be sentenced "for a determinate term not less than the longest prescribed [sentence] for a first conviction but in no event less than twenty years and not more than his natural life."[2] Thus, in this case, because the maximum sentence for armed robbery is 99 years, the Defendant faced a sentencing range of 99 years to life without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The trial judge imposed a life sentence.

Both the United States and the Louisiana Constitutions prohibit the imposition of excessive or cruel punishment. U.S. Const. Amend. VIII; La. Const. of 1974, art. I, § 20. A sentence is constitutionally excessive, even if it is within the statutory limits, if it is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offense or is nothing more than the needless and purposeless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Wickem, 99-1261 (La.App. 5th Cir.4/12/00), 759 So.2d 961, 968, writ denied, 00-1371 (La.2/16/01), 785 So.2d 839. If the trial judge finds that an enhanced punishment mandated by the Habitual Offender Law, La. R.S. 15:529.1, makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment" or that the sentence amounts to nothing more than "the purposeful imposition of pain and suffering" *344 and is "grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime," the court has the option and duty to reduce such s

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State v. Stevenson, 839 So. 2d 340, 2003 WL 183998 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

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