State v. Thomas

54 So. 3d 678, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 220, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1549, 2010 WL 4486339
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided November 9, 2010·No. No. 10-KA-220·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinion

MARC E. JOHNSON, Judge.

^Defendant, Joshua Thomas, appeals his conviction from the 24th Judicial District Court by contesting the constitutionality of LSA-C.Cr.P. 782 and by alleging trial court error regarding the jury instructions. For the following reasons, we affirm defendant’s convictions and sentences.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant was charged by bill of information with two counts of armed robbery (LSA-R.S. 14:64), one count of attempted armed robbery (LSA-R.S. 14:27:64), and one count of aggravated battery (LSA-R.S. 14:34). Michael Jacobs and Shawn Martin were charged as co-defendants on all counts with the exception of the aggravated battery.1 Defendant pled not guilty at arraignment.

Defense counsel filed a motion to quash the bill of information, arguing that LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 782 A, which allows for a non-unanimous jury verdict for hard | ^.felonies, is unconstitutional. On August 24, 2009, the trial court heard arguments on the motion and denied it.2

Defendant was tried individually by a 12-person jury on August 25-26, 2009.3 The jury returned verdicts of guilty as charged on all four counts. Defendant filed timely motions for new trial and post-verdict judgment of acquittal. The trial court denied both motions on September 10, 2009. Defendant waived statutory delays. The court sentenced him that day to 40 years at hard labor on each count of armed robbery (counts 1 and 2), 20 years at hard labor on the attempted armed robbery (count 3), and 10 years at hard labor on the aggravated battery (count 4). The court directed that all of the sentences run concurrently with each other, and that they all be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

[681] Defendant timely made an oral motion for appeal. He also filed a written appeal motion, which the trial court granted on September 10, 2009. The State filed a habitual offender bill of information, seeking to enhance defendant’s sentence on count 1, armed robbery. The habitual offender proceedings are part of a separate appeal in companion case 10-KA-221.

Defendant noticed his intention to file a pro se supplemental brief in his appeal. In an Order dated May 19, 2010, this Court granted him until June 17, 2010 to file a pro se brief. Defendant failed to file a supplemental brief.

Count 1

Herman Melerine, age 82, testified that on February 26, 2008, he went to Boom-town Casino. He parked his car about ten parking spaces from the casino’s entrance. He later left the casino with $1,800 he had won playing craps. While |4Mr. Melerine was walking back to his car, a man approached him and demanded his money. The man had a large pistol in a holster attached to his belt. Mr. Melerine gave the man his wallet, which contained seven $100 bills; his driver’s license, and an old credit card he had never activated or used. The man then demanded Mr. Melerine’s cellular telephone. Mr. Melerine told him he did not have his phone with him. The man told Mr. Melerine to give him his car keys, and the victim complied. The perpetrator left the scene, and Mr. Melerine did not see where he went.

Mr. Melerine testified that he told some passersby about the robbery, and they called casino security. A security guard, in turn, called police. Mr. Melerine described the robber as a light complected African-American man, a bit taller than his own height of 5' 6". Aside from those details, Mr. Melerine did not recall what the perpetrator looked like. Although police showed him photographic lineups, he was unable to identify anyone.

Mr. Melerine stated that sometime after the robbery, Chase, the issuer of his stolen credit card, notified him that someone had attempted to use the card at a Foot Locker store. He did not give anyone permission to use the card.

Kishon Fernandez testified she works as a cashier at Foot Locker on Canal Street in New Orleans. There is a Kids Foot Locker next door. On February 26, 2008, three men came into the store and asked for Rebekah Simon, a store manager. Ms. Simon was not working that day, so Ms. Fernandez waited on the men. They attempted to buy five pairs of shoes with a credit card.

Police later showed Ms. Fernandez surveillance videotape from the store, and she was able to point out the man who attempted to use the credit card. Police also showed her a still photograph taken from the surveillance tape. She testified that the man in the photograph wearing a striped shirt was the one who asked for |Rthe store manager. Police also showed Ms. Simon a photographic lineup, from which she was able to identify one of the three men who came into the store. Ms. Simon testified she did not recognize defendant as one of the men.

Rebekah Simon testified she was once employed as an assistant manager at Kids Foot Locker on Canal Street. She did not work on February 26, 2008, but Kishon Fernandez told her someone came into the store and asked for her that day. Police asked Ms. Fernandez to view surveillance videotape that showed three men who were in Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker. She also looked at the still photograph taken from the videotape. She identified one of the men as Michael Jacobs, a friend she had known since childhood. She identified a second man as Mr. Jacobs’ friend, [682] Shawn. She testified that Mr. Jacobs was the one in the striped shirt, and Shawn was pictured wearing a green shirt and a hat. Ms. Simon did not recognize the third man. Ms. Simon identified Mr. Jacobs from a photographic lineup on March 4, 2008. At the request of investigating officers, Ms. Simon attempted to locate Mr. Jacobs. She told his mother about the police investigation, and his mother then put Mr. Jacobs in touch with detectives.

Count 2

Amin Joudeh testified he played slot machines at Boomtown Casino on February 29, 2008. He won about $3,200.00. He collected his winnings and walked to his car, which was parked in the parking space closest to the casino’s side entrance. When he got to his car, a man he had never seen before jumped from behind him and asked him for a cigarette. Mr. Jou-deh told the man he did not smoke. He then got into his car and headed to his home in Gretna. It was just before midnight.

As he neared his house, Mr. Joudeh noticed there was a car following closely behind him. Since it was dark he could not see who was inside the car, but |fihe suspected the occupants were up to no good. Mr. Joudeh pulled his car to the side of the street one and one-half blocks from his house. The car that was following Mr. Joudeh rode past him and pulled into a driveway two doors down from his house. Mr. Joudeh pulled into his driveway and walked toward the front door of his residence. A man immediately approached him with a gun and said, “Give me your money.” Mr. Joudeh recognized him as the man who approached him in the Boomtown parking lot. Mr. Joudeh said, “What the hell you doing; is you crazy or something?” The man responded by cocking his gun.

Mr. Joudeh gave the gunman $520 in $20 bills from his pants pocket. He did not hand over several $100 bills that were in his jacket. The perpetrator’s car pulled up in front of Mr. Joudeh’s house. Mr. Joudeh could not see the occupants. The gunman ordered Mr. Joudeh to give him his car keys. The victim complied, and the perpetrators rode away.

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State v. Thomas, 54 So. 3d 678, 10 La.App. 5 Cir. 220, 2010 La. App. LEXIS 1549, 2010 WL 4486339 (La. Ct. App. 2010).

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