State v. Washington

788 So. 2d 596, 0 La.App. 5 Cir. 1312, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 1139
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided May 16, 2001·No. No. 00-KA-1312·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

li>CANNELLA, Judge.

Defendant, Cedrick Washington, appeals from his conviction of armed robbery and his sentence, as a second felony offender, to 75 years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.1 For the reasons which follow, we affirm the conviction and enhanced sentence.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. on November 17, 1999, Sandra Sumlin (Sumlin) was working at the Subway Sandwich Shop (Subway) on Loyola Avenue in Kenner. Sumlin was cleaning the store and stocking bread when she noticed a man in front of the Players Sports Bar (Players), which is across the parking lot from Subway. The man was pacing up and down the sidewalk and walking in and out of the bar. He then squatted down, looked at the store and then looked around, as if to see if anyone was looking. The man, later identified as the Defendant, entered the store where Sumlin was working and jumped over lathe counter. Sumlin attempted to walk out of the door. However, the Defendant had a gun and ordered her to get back in the store. He demanded money and told her to put the money in a white plastic bag that he had. The Defendant pointed the gun at her and repeatedly told her to hurry up. Sumlin estimated that she put in the white plastic bag $180, consisting of $10, $5 and $1 bills and coins including quarters, nickels and pennies. The Defendant then put a towel or shirt over his head and ran out of the store. The entire incident lasted approximately ten minutes.

After the Defendant left, Sumlin called the police. Upon their arrival, she described the perpetrator as wearing a white t-shirt, dark denim black jeans and tennis shoes. The police gathered evidence including a videotape from the Subway’s surveillance camera and a videotape from the Players’ outside surveillance camera. The police reviewed the videotapes and interviewed a person seen on the Players’ videotape which led them to consider the Defendant as a suspect. Fingerprints were taken from the scene, but no matches were made.

Later that night, at approximately 9:30 p.m., the police went to the Defendant’s home where they found him sitting on the living room floor wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue jogging pants. The Defendant’s mother consented to a search of the home, during which the police seized a gym bag with coins and coin paper wrappers similar to the ones used at Subway. The Defendant was not arrested at that time.

The next day, the police showed a photographic lineup to Sumlin, who identified the Defendant as the person who robbed her the previous night. The Defendant was then arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant.

|4On January 21, 2000 the Defendant was charged in a bill of information with armed robbery in violation of La. R.S. 14:64.2 After pleading not guilty, the Defendant filed motions to suppress his iden[600]*600tification by photographic lineup and video surveillance, his confession, and evidence seized during a search of his residence. These motions were denied by the trial court after a hearing on March 14, 2000.

Following a two-day trial on May 8 and 4, 2000, the Defendant was unanimously found guilty as charged by a 12-person jury. On May 26, 2000, the Defendant’s Motion for New Trial was denied and he was sentenced to 75 years imprisonment at hard labor. The Sate thereafter filed a habitual offender bill of information against the Defendant. Following a hearing, the Defendant was found to be a second felony offender. His original sentence was vacated and he was re-sentenced to 75 years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. It is from this conviction and sentence that Defendant appeals. On appeal, defense counsel assigns five errors and Defendant filed a pro se brief assigning another four errors.3

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

By this assignment of error, defense counsel argues that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction of armed robbery. More particularly, Defendant asserts that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he possessed a dangerous weapon during the robbery and, thus, his conviction for armed robbery must be reversed. The Defendant points out that Sumlin was the Lonly witness who testified that he had a gun. He maintains that she was unable to identify the type of gun allegedly used and did not even know if it was real or plastic. He contends that Sumlin’s emotional state was such that she could have been mistaken about the presence of a gun. Furthermore, he argues that the surveillance tape that captured the robbery did not show him with a gun, and no weapon was found in his home.'

The constitutional standard of review for determining the sufficiency of evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could conclude the State proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

The Defendant was convicted of armed robbery, which is defined in La. R.S. 14:64(A) as:

Armed robbery is the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while armed with a dangerous weapon.

Thus, the State was required to prove: (1) a taking, (2) of anything of value, (3) from the person or in the immediate control of another, (4) by the use of force or intimidation, (5) while armed with a dangerous weapon. State v. Wickem, 99-1261 (La. App. 5th Cir.4/12/00), 759 So.2d 961. The Defendant only complains that the State failed to prove the last element of the crime, that he was armed with a dangerous weapon.

The term dangerous weapon “includes any gas, liquid or other substance or instrumentality which, in the manner used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm.” La. R.S. 14:2(3). An instrumentality may be con[601]*601sidered a dangerous weapon not only because of the inherent danger it 1 ^possesses, but because it is used in a manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. State v. Cotton, 94-384 (La.App. 5th Cir.11/16/94), 646 So.2d 1144. The actual production of a weapon at trial is not necessary in an armed robbery prosecution “where the state’s witnesses can establish, through their observations at the crime scene, all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, including the existence and use of a dangerous weapon.” Id., at 1146.

Sumlin testified that the Defendant had a gun and pointed it at her while he demanded money. She stated several times that the Defendant put the gun in her face. She described the gun as silver with a black handle, but was unable to identify the kind of gun. On cross-examination, defense counsel brought up Sumlin’s prior testimony that she was not sure whether the gun was real or plastic. No gun was found at the Defendant’s residence and no gun was ever introduced into evidence.

The Defendant argues that Sumlin did not even know if the gun was real or plastic. However, this distinction is immaterial.

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State v. Washington, 788 So. 2d 596, 0 La.App. 5 Cir. 1312, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 1139 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

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