State v. Valadez

251 So. 3d 1273
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 15, 2018
DocketNo. 52,162-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 251 So. 3d 1273 (State v. Valadez) 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. Valadez, 251 So. 3d 1273 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

GARRETT, J.

*1275The defendant, Ismael Valadez, was convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated ("DWI"), fourth offense. He was sentenced to serve 15 years at hard labor and to pay a fine of $5,000. Valadez appeals his sentence of incarceration as unconstitutionally excessive. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

In the early morning hours of December 25, 2016, Shreveport Police Detective De'Andre Belle was working off-duty, guarding the Walmart store near Pines Road in Shreveport, which was closed for Christmas. At approximately 12:30 a.m., he saw a pickup truck speed through the parking lot, hit a stop sign, and run into a ditch. Detective Belle made contact with Valadez, who was driving the vehicle. Valadez was alone in the truck and was woozy when he got out of it. As he exited the vehicle, beer cans fell off the driver's seat. Valadez had red eyes, his speech was slurred, and he was unsteady on his feet. Detective Belle called for a DWI unit.

Corporal Nathaniel James of the Shreveport Police Department responded to the call. He immediately noticed the strong smell of alcohol on Valadez's breath. He observed that Valadez had red, glassy eyes, slurred speech, and swayed when he stood up. He initially gave law enforcement officers an incorrect name. Valadez was informed of his rights and was administered field sobriety tests, which he performed poorly. Officer James determined that Valadez was moderately impaired. A tow truck had to be called to the scene to pull Valadez's truck out of the ditch.

Valadez was placed under arrest for DWI and transported to the police station. He agreed to give a sample for the Intoxilyzer breath test, which was collected at 2:11 a.m. Valadez's blood alcohol content ("BAC") was 0.118 percent.1 According to Officer James, this was a moderate level of intoxication.

In January 2017, Valadez was charged by bill of information with DWI, fourth offense. He was tried by a six-person jury on October 25, 2017.2 Both Detective Belle and Officer James testified at the trial. Officer James identified videos of Valadez at the scene and being administered the field sobriety tests. Officer James said that Valadez performed poorly on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. He did not remember how Valadez performed on the one-leg stand test. The video shows that Valadez was unsteady and did not perform well on that test. Videos were also identified of Valadez at the police station, where the walk-and-turn field sobriety test was administered, along with the Intoxilyzer breath test. Valadez also admitted that he had been drinking before driving his vehicle at the time of this offense. These videos were played for the jury.

Shreveport Police Sergeant Danny Duddy fingerprinted Valadez on the day of trial and testified that the fingerprints showed that Valadez was the same person *1276previously convicted of DWI, first offense, on March 11, 2008, in Bossier Parish; DWI, first offense, on June 1, 2010, in Shreveport City Court; and DWI, third offense, on January 27, 2014, in Caddo Parish.3 On October 25, 2017, the jury found Valadez guilty as charged of DWI, fourth offense.

Valadez filed a motion for post verdict judgment of acquittal, claiming there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. The motion was denied by the trial court. Sentence was imposed on November 13, 2017.

No presentence investigation was ordered by the trial court.4 The trial court noted that the penalty for DWI, fourth offense, is a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for no less than 10 years and no more than 30 years. Two years of the sentence are to be served without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.5 The court set forth on the record the factors under La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1 which it considered in imposing sentence in this matter. The court found that a sentence of imprisonment was required because there was an undue risk that, during a period of a suspended sentence or probation, Valadez would commit another crime, he was in need of correctional treatment or a custodial environment that could be provided most effectively by commitment to an institution, and a lesser sentence would deprecate the seriousness of the offense.

The court also considered aggravating and mitigating factors. The only aggravating factor it found applicable was that, by driving intoxicated, Valadez knowingly created a risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person. As mitigating factors, the court noted that Valadez's conduct did not actually cause serious harm, and he had completed substance abuse programs while incarcerated pending trial.

The court sentenced Valadez to serve 15 years at hard labor with credit for time served, and to pay a fine of $5,000. He was also ordered to pay $50 to the Indigent Defender's Office. The court recommended that Valadez participate in all alcohol abuse treatment programs available to him through the Department of Corrections.

On December 11, 2017, Valadez's attorney filed a motion to reconsider and vacate an unconstitutionally excessive sentence, *1277arguing that the trial court gave inadequate and improper aggravating factors to support the severity of the sentence imposed and failed to consider all mitigating circumstances. The trial court denied the motion in a judgment rendered on January 25, 2018.6 Valadez appealed.

EXCESSIVE SENTENCE

On appeal, Valadez argues that the 15-year hard labor sentence imposed in this case is unconstitutionally excessive. This argument is without merit.

Legal Principles

The test imposed by the reviewing court in determining the excessiveness of a sentence is two-pronged. First, the record must show that the trial court took cognizance of the criteria set forth in La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1. The trial judge is not required to list every aggravating or mitigating circumstance so long as the record reflects that he adequately considered the guidelines of the article. State v. Smith , 433 So.2d 688 (La.1983) ; State v. Meadows , 51,843 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/10/18), 246 So. 3d 639. The articulation of the factual basis for a sentence is the goal of La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1, not rigid or mechanical compliance with its provisions. State v. Lanclos , 419 So.2d 475 (La. 1982) ; State v. Egan , 44,879 (La. App. 2 Cir. 12/9/09), 26 So.3d 938. There is no requirement that specific matters be given any particular weight at sentencing. State v. Shumaker , 41,547 (La. App. 2 Cir. 12/13/06),

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Bluebook (online)
251 So. 3d 1273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-valadez-lactapp-2018.