State v. Wickem

759 So. 2d 961, 2000 WL 374593
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 12, 2000
Docket99-KA-1261
StatusPublished
Cited by108 cases

This text of 759 So. 2d 961 (State v. Wickem) 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. Wickem, 759 So. 2d 961, 2000 WL 374593 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

759 So.2d 961 (2000)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Shawn WICKEM.

No. 99-KA-1261.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

April 12, 2000.

*963 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Thomas J. Butler, Terry M. Boudreaux, Gregory M. Kennedy, Assistant District Attorneys, Gretna, Louisiana, Counsel for appellee State of Louisiana.

Carey J. Ellis, III, Rayville, Louisiana, Counsel for defendant-appellant.

Court Composed of Judges MARION F. EDWARDS, SUSAN M. CHEHARDY and CLARENCE E. McMANUS.

McMANUS, Judge.

In this criminal appeal, defendant Shawn Wickem appeals his conviction and sentence for armed robbery. LSA-R.S. 14:64. Because we find one complained of error harmless, and because no other assignment of error merits reversal, we affirm both defendant's conviction and sentence, and remand solely for the correction of one error patent.

Procedural History

On April 9, 1998, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Shawn Wickem, and Carlton Francis with one count of armed robbery in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:64. At his arraignment on April 16, 1998, defendant pled not guilty.

Defendant filed a motion to suppress confession, identification, and physical evidence, and on May 29, 1998, defendant filed a motion to appoint a sanity commission to determine his competency to stand trial, which was granted on June 1, 1998.

On November 5, 1998, a sanity hearing was held, and at the conclusion of the hearing, defendant was found competent to stand trial. On March 1, 1999, a hearing was held on defendant's motion to suppress. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court took the matter under advisement pending the filing of a memorandum from each party. On April 8, 1999, the trial court denied defendant's motion to suppress the evidence seized from his person and the identification, but suppressed defendant's statements to the police. After the judge ruled on the motion, trial was commenced against defendant alone. Defendant indicated that he wished to be tried by a judge, and the trial court questioned defendant concerning his right to trial by jury. After questioning defendant, the trial court found *964 that he had intelligently, knowingly, and freely waived his right to a jury trial. After defendant was informed of his right to trial by jury, opening statements were given.

On April 9, 1999, trial continued. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court found defendant guilty as charged. On May 20, 1999, defendant filed a motion for new trial. On the same date, a hearing was held on defendant's motion, and the trial court denied the motion. Defendant waived sentencing delays and was sentenced to serve 25 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. Defendant objected to the sentence and made an oral motion for appeal. Defendant filed a written motion for appeal on May 21, 1999.

In his appeal, defendant raises the following assignments of error:

1. the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support the verdict of conviction of armed robbery;
2. the trial court erred by failing to suppress evidence seized from the defendant;
3. the trial court failed to comply with article 894.1 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure;
4. the trial court imposed an excessive sentence on this offender.

FACTS

This case involves the armed robbery of a Circle K store on Lafayette Street in Gretna, Louisiana, at 4:00 A.M. on February 13, 1998. At trial, the State called Lawrencia Cennett, who had been working at the Circle K on the morning in question. She testified that at around 4:00 A.M., a man entered the store, pulled a gun, and asked for money. She testified that he took around forty dollars and some change. As soon as the man left, she called 911. During her testimony, the State played a store security system video tape of the robbery, with Cennett adding a verbal description of the tape's contents.

Within five to ten minutes after Cennett called 911, the police arrived with two suspects for Cennett to identify. She testified that at that time she identified the man who robbed the store. On cross-examination, however, Cennett stated that she could not identify defendant as of the court date because of changes in his appearance.

The State also called Herbert Este of the Gretna Police Department. He testified that on the morning of February 13, 1998, he had been on K-9 patrol in the immediate vicinity of the robbery. While on patrol at 4:10 A.M., he received a radio call that an armed robbery had just taken place on Lafayette Street. Within minutes of having received the call, he noticed a red car traveling with no lights on and at a high rate of speed within blocks of where the robbery had taken place. The officer chased the car, stopped it, and ordered the occupants out of the car. The officer immediately conducted a safety pat-down of the defendants, and at this time, removed the sum of forty-one (paper) dollars from defendant's pocket. After he had done this, Este checked to see whether anyone else might be in the car and noticed a jacket matching the description of the jacket the robber wore and a handgun in the back seat. The officer positively identified defendant as the passenger of the car he had stopped on the night in question.

The State called Officer G. Joseph Istre, who had participated in the investigation of the robbery at the Circle K. He testified that he had brought the two suspects to the Circle K so that the cashier could identify them. He testified that the cashier had identified defendant as the robber who had actually come into the store.

The State also called Officer James Price of the Gretna Police Department who confirmed that he had retrieved the video tape of the robbery from the Circle K store after the robbery and logged it into evidence.

The defense did not call any witnesses.

*965 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

As his first assignment of error, defendant argues that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support the verdict, a conviction of armed robbery. Defendant argues that his conviction should be overturned because the State failed to produce sufficient evidence to support a finding that defendant obtained the money through the use of force or intimidation. The State responds that the evidence presented at trial that defendant pointed a gun at the clerk was sufficient to show defendant used force or intimidation.

The appropriate standard of review for determining the sufficiency of the evidence was set forth in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). In Jackson, the Supreme Court explained that when assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, the reviewing court must determine whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson, 443 U.S. at 324, 99 S.Ct. at 2792. See also State v. Abercrombie, 375 So.2d 1170, 1178 (La.1979). It is not the function of an appellate court to assess credibility or reweigh the evidence. Appellate review for minimal constitutional sufficiency of evidence is a limited one restricted by the [Jackson v. Virginia] standard. State v. Rosiere, 488 So.2d 965, 968 (La.1986) (citations omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
759 So. 2d 961, 2000 WL 374593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wickem-lactapp-2000.