State v. Woodberry

171 So. 3d 1082, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0476, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1133, 2015 WL 3791277
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 3, 2015
DocketNo. 2014-KA-0476
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 171 So. 3d 1082 (State v. Woodberry) 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. Woodberry, 171 So. 3d 1082, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0476, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1133, 2015 WL 3791277 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

ROLAND L. BELSOME, Judge.

|¶ The defendant, Derrick Woodberry, appeals his four convictions and two life sentences that he received for offenses he committed as a juvenile. Finding that the district court erred in part by sentencing the defendant to two life sentences without the possibility of parole on the aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping convictions, we amend these sentences to delete the parole restriction. In all other respects, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On August 20, 2012, the State charged the defendant by bill of indictment with the April 7, 1992, aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping of V.M.1 (Counts I and II), and the July 1, 1992, aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping of E.V., (counts III and IV)-2 The defendant pled [1085]*1085not guilty to all charges. The trial court denied the defendant’s motions to sever the offenses, quash the | ¿indictment, and suppress the statement. However, it granted the State’s motions to introduce evidence of other crimes and to exclude a witness due to incompetency.3

Following a four day trial, the jury found the defendant guilty of the lesser included offenses of forcible rape and second degree kidnapping on Counts I and II, and guilty as charged on Counts III and IV. The trial court subsequently sentenced the defendant to forty years at hard labor without benefits on Counts I and II and to life without benefits on Counts III and IV, all four sentences to be served concurrently. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion for new trial,4 and this appeal followed.

FACTS

On April 7, 1992, V.M. was raped and beaten in an old mail area at Oak Brook Village apartment complex, located at 700 Magnolia Street, in New Orleans. An officer arriving on the scene observed two black males running from the apartment complex.

In early July of the same year, E.V. was abducted, beaten and raped at gunpoint while on a date with her boyfriend at the lakefront. There were also two perpetrators involved.

1-jWhen the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) identified the defendant as a DNA match for these crimes, in 2010 and 2012 respectively, the defendant was developed as a suspect, and charged with aggravated rapes and kidnappings of V.M. and E.V.

DISCUSSION

The defendant asserts five assignments of error relative to 1) sufficiency of the evidence; 2) his motion to sever and admission of other crimes evidence; 3) his motion to suppress statement; 4) his right to present a defense; and 5) excessive sentence. First, the defendant argues the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions 5 for the rapes and kidnappings of either V.M. or E.V.6 He argues that the State failed to prove his identity as the perpetrator of the offenses. He also argues that the State failed to prove penetration and lack of consent as to the forcible rape, and the taking from place to [1086]*1086place element of second degree kidnapping, both relative to V.M.

When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, this Court is controlled by the standard set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), which dictates that to affirm a conviction “the appellate court must determine that the |4evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La.1984).

In addition, when circumstantial evidence forms the basis of the conviction, such evidence must consist of “proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience.” State v. Shapiro, 431 So.2d 372, 378 (La.1982) (citation omitted). The elements must be proven such that every reasonable hypothesis of innocence is excluded. La. R.S. 15:438. This is not a separate test from Jackson v. Virginia, supra, but rather an evidentiary guideline to facilitate appellate review of whether a rational juror could have found a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198, 1201 (La.1984). All evidence, direct and circumstantial, must meet the Jackson reasonable doubt standard. State v. Jacobs, 504 So.2d 817, 821 (La.1987).

In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with the physical evidence, one witness’s testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient to support a factual conclusion. State v. Robinson, 02-1869, p. 16 (La.4/14/04), 874 So.2d 66, 79 (citation omitted). Under the Jackson standard, the rational credibility determinations of the trier of fact are not to be second guessed by a reviewing court.

State v. Juluke, 98-341 (La.1/8/99), 725 So.2d 1291, 1293 (citation omitted). “[A] reviewing court is not called upon to decide whether it 15believes the witnesses or whether the conviction is contrary to the weight of the evidence.” State v. Smith, 600 So.2d 1319, 1324 (La.1992) (citation omitted).

A fact finder’s discretion will be impinged upon only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental protection of due process of law. Where rational triers of fact could disagree as to the interpretation of the evidence, the rational trier’s view of all evidence most favorable to the prosecution must be adopted on review. Only irrational decisions to convict by the trier of fact will be overturned.

State v. Winston, 11-1342, p. 8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/12/12), 100 So.3d 332, 337 (citations omitted).

In addition to proving the statutory elements of the charged offense at trial, the state is required to prove defendant’s identity as the perpetrator. State v. Draughn, 05-1825, p. 8 (La.1/17/07), 950 So.2d 583, 593. When the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator is disputed, the State must negate any reasonable probability of misidentifieation in order to satisfy its burden under Jackson v. Virginia, supra. Id., State v. Galle, 11-930, p. 31 (La.App. 4 Cir. 2/13/13), 107 So.3d 916, 935 (citation omitted).

V.M.

On Counts I and II, the defendant was convicted of the responsive verdicts of forcible rape and second degree kidnapping of V.M. At the time of the offense, forcible rape, a lesser included offense of aggravated rape, was defined by La. R.S. 14:42.1 as follows:

Forcible rape is a rape committed where the anal or vaginal sexual intercourse is [1087]*1087deemed to be without the lawful consent of the victim because the victim is prevented from resisting the act by force or threats of physical violence under circumstances where the victim reasonably believes that such resistance would not prevent the rape.

IrAIso at the time of the offense, second degree kidnapping was the imprisoning or forcible secreting of any person wherein the victim is physically injured or sexually abused. La. R.S. 14:44.1(A)(3) and (B)(3). To sustain a conviction for second degree kidnapping, La. R.S.

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Bluebook (online)
171 So. 3d 1082, 2014 La.App. 4 Cir. 0476, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1133, 2015 WL 3791277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-woodberry-lactapp-2015.