State v. Willis

510 So. 2d 411
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 10, 1987
Docket18,694-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 510 So. 2d 411 (State v. Willis) 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. Willis, 510 So. 2d 411 (La. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

510 So.2d 411 (1987)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Jonathan WILLIS, Appellant.

No. 18,694-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 10, 1987.

*412 William Rick Warren, Indigent Defender Bd., Minden, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, Henry N. Brown, Jr., Dist. Atty., Charles McConnell, Asst. Dist. Atty., Minden, for appellee.

Before JASPER E. JONES, SEXTON and NORRIS, JJ.

JASPER E. JONES, Judge.

The defendant, Jonathan Willis, was convicted by a jury of the unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:62.3.[1] He was subsequently adjudicated a third felony offender under the authority of LSA-R.S. 15:529.1.[2] After *413 reviewing a presentence report the trial court sentenced the defendant to serve twelve years at hard labor with credit given for time served. The defendant appeals the conviction as well as the sentence imposed.

We affirm.

FACTS

On May 8, 1985, shortly after midnight, an individual gained unauthorized entrance to a private residence located in Springhill, Louisiana, by climbing through a kitchen window. This individual proceeded to a bedroom where Cynthia Rankin, age 14, was asleep in her bed. The intruder pulled the bed sheets down from around the girl and began to pull her night gown up when she awoke and started screaming for her 16 year old brother who was asleep in an adjoining room. The brother's response caused the intruder to bolt toward the front of the residence where an escape was made through the opened window in the kitchen.

The defendant was arrested shortly thereafter and charged by a bill of information with the unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.[3] The defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. The defendant was convicted by a jury and sentenced by the trial court as previously related.

The defendant's three assignments of error present the following issues:

(1) Did the court commit reversible error in denying the defendant's motion for a mistrial based upon the prosecution's reference to other crimes in its opening statement?
(2) Was the evidence presented at trial insufficient to support a verdict of guilty as charged?
(3) Is the sentence imposed unreasonable and excessive?

* * * * * *

Assignment of error # 1—The defendant's motion for a mistrial

LAW ON REFERENCE TO OTHER CRIMES AS A BASIS FOR A MISTRIAL

Upon motion by a defendant a mistrial shall be ordered when a remark or comment, made within hearing of the jury by the district attorney, refers directly or indirectly to another crime committed or alleged to have been committed by the defendant as to which evidence is not admissible. LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 770.[4] There are exceptions to the prohibition of reference to other crimes and included among these are offenses admissible as part of the res gestae and evidence admissible to establish a motive for the commission of the crime charged. State v. Brown, 398 So.2d 1381 (La.1981); LSA-R.S. 15:447, 448.[5]

Should the trial court have declared a mistrial?

The record shows that during opening arguments the prosecution asserted the following to the jury:

"... We intend to show you that this defendant, Jonathan Willis, did in truth and in fact, enter into that dwelling. He went in through the window and exited through a window and there went into *414 Cynthia Rankin's room, lifted up her gown, she screamed, he left...." [emphasis added]

The record also shows that the defendant was 25 years of age at the time of trial and that his counsel moved for a mistrial arguing the prosecutor's statement could possibly be a reference to other crimes. The trial court denied the motion.

The defendant asserts the remark concerning the lifting of the girl's gown refers to such other crimes as battery (LSA-R.S. 14:33), attempted sexual battery (LSA-R.S. 14:27, 43.1), attempted carnal knowledge of a juvenile (LSA-R.S. 14:27, 80),[6] or attempted rape (LSA-R.S. 14:27, 41). It is also asserted the remark is of such a nature that it tended to inflame and prejudice the jury against the defendant.

We determine that this assignment of error is meritless and that the trial court was correct in denying the motion for a mistrial. It is evident from the record that the asserted conduct, in proceeding to the bedroom and lifting the gown of the girl after illegally entering the dwelling, is so closely entwined in the conduct charged that it must be construed as a necessary incident of the criminal act. In addition, reference to this particular conduct is admissible to establish the defendant's movie to commit the crime charged as there is no evidence that anything in the dwelling was stolen. In either event, the prosecution's reference to the defendant's conduct qualifies as an exception to the general prohibition against reference to other crimes and it is not necessary to balance the probative value of the reference against its alleged prejudicial effect on the jury. State v. Brown, supra.

Assignment of Error # 2—Was there sufficient evidence to support the verdict?

LAW ON THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE NEEDED TO SUPPORT A CRIMINAL CONVICTION

The constitutional standard of review for the sufficiency of evidence to support a conviction is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found that the state proved the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The statutory rule as to circumstantial evidence is that assuming every fact to be proved that the evidence tends to prove, in order to convict, it must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The circumstantial evidence rule is not a stricter standard of review than the more general reasonable juror's reasonable doubt formula but a helpful methodology for its implementation by an appellate court in cases which hinge on the evaluation of circumstantial evidence. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Outlaw, 485 So.2d 217 (La.App. 2d Cir.1986); LSA-R.S. 15:438.[7] Stated another way, the test is the reasonableness of the ultimate conclusion on the facts and inferences drawn from the facts in a particular case. State v. Woods, 494 So.2d 1258 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1986).

Is the evidence sufficient to support the conviction?

The defendant argues the evidence presented does not justify a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In particular it is asserted there is no evidence placing the defendant inside the dwelling but there is evidence that the defendant was at his sister's apartment at the time the offense was alleged to have occurred.

The record shows that at trial Dorothy N. Rankin testified she was the lessee who lived in the dwelling at the time of the offense and the mother of Cynthia Rankin. This witness also related that she knew the defendant and had never given him permission to enter her home.

Cynthia Rankin testified that she was asleep in her bedroom and was awakened *415 by the bed cover being pulled off of her and her night gown being pulled up.

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Bluebook (online)
510 So. 2d 411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-willis-lactapp-1987.