State v. Young

902 So. 2d 461, 2005 WL 954887
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided April 26, 2005·No. 04-KA-1318·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

902 So.2d 461 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Dale YOUNG.

No. 04-KA-1318.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

April 26, 2005.

*463 John M. Crum, Jr., District Attorney, Fortieth Judicial District, Parish of St. John the Baptist, Rodney A. Brignac, Assistant District Attorney, Edgard, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Katherine M. Franks, Louisiana Appellate Project, Slidell, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant.

Panel composed of Judges JAMES L. CANNELLA, THOMAS F. DALEY and MARION F. EDWARDS.

MARION F. EDWARDS, Judge.

Defendant, Dale Young, appeals his conviction and sentence for violations of LSA-R.S. 40:967(A), LSA-R.S. 40:967(A), and 40:981.3. For the following reasons, defendant's conviction is affirmed, the defendant's sentence is vacated, and we remand to the trial court for re-sentencing.

Defendant, Dale Young, was indicted by a grand jury on August 7, 2002 and charged with two counts of distribution of cocaine in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967(A) and two counts of distribution of cocaine in a drug free zone in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967(A) and 40:981.3. The indictment was amended on January 30, 2003 to charge Young with three counts of distribution of cocaine in a drug free zone occurring on May 14 and 15, 2002 and June 5, 2002, and one count of distribution of cocaine occurring on April 23, 2002. Young pled not guilty to the original indictment and filed several pre-trial motions, including a motion to determine competency. A sanity commission was appointed and the trial court ultimately found Young competent to stand trial.

On May 11, 2004, count one, distribution of cocaine in a drug free zone occurring on May 14, 2002, was severed and Young proceeded to trial on counts two, three, and four. Young was arraigned on the amended charges of counts two, three, and four and pled not guilty. After a two-day trial, the jury found Young guilty as charged on all three counts by a count of eleven to one. He was sentenced to twenty-five years on count two, twenty-five years on count three, and ten years on count four, distribution of cocaine. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively.

In the spring of 2002, Agent Mamie Pellegrin was working undercover for the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office conducting drug buys throughout the parish. According to Sergeant Troy Hidalgo with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office, several confidential informants identified Young as being involved in trafficking crack cocaine in Laplace.

On April 23, 2002, Agent Pellegrin was working with a confidential informant who advised she had several people from whom they could purchase crack cocaine. Agent Pellegrin used a pay phone to call a pager number. She left her phone number with the number 100 behind it which indicated *464 she wanted $100 worth of crack cocaine. She received a call back from a male who told her to meet him on West 5th Street. Agent Pellegrin proceeded to the location where she met the man, whom she later identified as Young. Young, who was on a bicycle, insisted Agent Pellegrin exit her vehicle. Agent Pellegrin complied and then handed Young $100. Young spit five pieces of crack cocaine out of his mouth into Agent Pellegrin's hand. Agent Pellegrin returned to her vehicle and placed the pieces of crack cocaine in a bag which she later turned over to Sgt. Hidalgo. Sgt. Hidalgo conducted a field test of the pieces which was positive for cocaine. A subsequent lab test also confirmed the presence of cocaine.

On May 15, 2002, Agent Pellegrin repeated the process of paging Young and leaving her phone number followed by the number 100. Young returned her call and instructed her to meet him at a carwash on Elm St. Sgt. Hidalgo testified that this carwash was between 150 to 200 feet away from the St. Joan of Arc Catholic School. Agent Pellegrin proceeded to the carwash where she was met by Young, who arrived in a brown car which was later determined to belong to Young's girlfriend. Young made Agent Pellegrin exit her vehicle. Agent Pellegrin gave Young $100 and, in return, he gave her crack cocaine which was wrapped in a paper towel that he spit out of his mouth into her hand. Agent Pellegrin placed the cocaine in a bag once she got back into her vehicle. A field test on the matter was positive for cocaine and a subsequent lab result confirmed the presence of cocaine.

Agent Pellegrin conducted another drug transaction with Young on June 5, 2002. This time, Agent Pellegrin only requested $50 of crack cocaine when she paged Young. When Young returned Agent Pellegrin's page, he again instructed her to meet him at the carwash on Elm St. Agent Pellegrin gave Young the money and Young gave her crack cocaine. Again, a field test on the matter was positive for cocaine and a subsequent lab test confirmed the presence of cocaine.

All three of these transactions were recorded by audio and video surveillance mounted in Agent Pellegrin's vehicle. Additionally, Sgt. Hidalgo videotaped the June 5, 2002 transaction from another location.

In his first assignment of error, Young argues the evidence was insufficient to convict him of counts two and three, distribution of cocaine in a drug free zone.

Although Young admits the indictment is non-specific, he contends the State attempted but failed to prove the drug transactions occurred within 1,000 feet of a school, an essential element of LSA-R.S. 40:981.3(A)(1). He maintains Detective Hidalgo's estimation of the distance, without a survey, was insufficient to establish the element beyond a reasonable doubt. Young also asserts the State failed to prove the parking lot attached to the school was used for school purposes as opposed to church purposes. Alternatively, Young alleges the evidence was insufficient to prove the drug transactions occurred within 1,000 feet of a church or "religious building property" under LSA-R.S. 40:981.3(A)(3) because there were no signs marking the area as a drug free zone as required by statute.

In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, the reviewing court must decide 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 *465 the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.[1]

A reviewing court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh the evidence.[2] The trier of fact makes credibility determinations and may, within the bounds of rationality, accept or reject the testimony of any witness.[3] The trier of fact is presumed to have acted rationally.[4] In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with the physical evidence, one witness' testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient to support a requisite factual finding.[5]

Young was convicted of distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a drug free zone. As pointed out by Young in his appellant brief, although the indictment is non-specific as to which drug free zone the State attempted to prove under LSA-R.S. 40:981.3, the jury was charged with the applicability of LSA-R.S. 40:981.3(A)(1), which applies to school property. LSA-R.S. 40:981.3(A)(1) prohibits certain violations of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law within 1,000 feet of school property as follows:

A. (1) Any person who violates a felony provision of R.S.

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State v. Young, 902 So. 2d 461, 2005 WL 954887 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

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