State v. WilliamsState v. Williams
The defendant, Robert Earl Williams, was convicted as charged of armed robbery with the use of a firearm. He was then adjudicated a second felony offender. The defendant was sentenced to serve 60 years at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, plus an additional mandatory consecutive term of five years at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, because the offense was committed with a firearm.
FACTS
The defendant was convicted of robbing Tony Greer while armed with a pistol. Mr. Greer is the owner-operator of a car repair shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. On November 15, 1999, at approximately 7:30 p.m., he was in front of his establishment putting water into the radiator of his personal car. He had closed his business for the day. Although it was dark, Mr. Greer described the area as well-lit. Joanna Anderson drove up and parked her car. She dated a friend of Mr. Greer, and Mr. Greer worked on their cars from time to time. She exited her car, went up to Mr. Greer, and began a discussion with him. According to Mr. Greer, the discussion was about a problem with her car. Ms. Anderson said that they were discussing her boyfriend.
While they were talking, someone walked up behind Mr. Greer, placed a gun to his head, and demanded money. When Mr. Greer turned around, he was confronted by a man whom he identified at trial as the defendant. Mr. Greer noticed another man nearby who was also armed. Mr. Greer described the defendant as the taller of the two—about 6’ 1” or 6’ 2“. He estimated that the accomplice was about 5’ 9“.
The defendant demanded money. When Mr. Greer asked “What money?” the defendant pointed a semi-automatic chrome nickle-plated pistol at Mr. Greer and threatened: “If you—I‘m going to shoot you. I‘ll burn you,” and repeated his demand for money. Mr. Greer did not know the defendant and, to the best of his knowledge, he had never seen the defendant before that evening. In response to the defendant‘s second demand, Mr. Greer removed approximately $85.00 from his shirt pocket and gave the money to the defendant. The defendant then demanded Mr. Greer‘s wallet, which he surrendered. The wallet contained about $1,300.00. Mr. Greer had this large amount of cash in his wallet because he had just closed his business for the day. In response to the defendant‘s demand for more money, Mr. Greer disclosed there was a money bag in the car trunk. The defendant obtained the car keys and the accomplice opened the trunk. They took the money bag which contained about $40.00. The defendant and his accomplice then departed. As the defendant began to leave, he attempted to grab a chain from Mr. Greer‘s neck. Mr. Greer estimated the robbery lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.
Ms. Anderson confirmed the height difference between the robbers who were both armed with pistols. According to her, the taller one was armed with a silver pistol and had a long, freshly done curl in his hair. In response to her pleas, the robbers allowed her to leave and she hid behind another vehicle near the street until the robbery was completed.
A crime scene investigation failed to secure any identifiable prints from the trunk of Mr. Greer‘s car. Mr. Greer‘s money, money bag, and wallet were never recovered.
Based upon an anonymous tip that the defendant was one of the robbers, the defendant‘s photograph was included in a photo lineup. On November 23, 1999, the photo lineup was shown to Mr. Greer. According to Detective Rod Johnson, Mr. Greer immediately picked the defendant‘s photo as the main perpetrator. On December
The defendant was already under arrest for another offense. He was placed under arrest for the present offense. The defendant was charged by bill of information with armed robbery committed with a firearm and proceeded to trial before a judge alone on March 21, 2000. The defendant was found guilty as charged.
Procedural History
On March 23, 2000, a multiple offender bill of information was filed charging the defendant with being a second felony offender. The defendant had previously entered a guilty plea to possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance (cocaine) and had been sentenced to serve eighteen months. A hearing was held on the multiple offender charge on April 20, 2000. The defendant was adjudicated a second felony offender. The defendant appeared before the court for sentencing on April 25, 2000. He was ordered to serve 60 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence, plus a consecutive sentence of five years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence for using a firearm in the armed robbery. The sentence was ordered to be served consecutively with an unrelated sentence for armed robbery with a firearm in No. 34,370-KA pronounced the same day. A motion to reconsider sentence was filed, alleging that the sentence was excessive and that, because the defendant was only 20 years old and had a limited education, he was unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. The minutes reflect that the motion was denied by the trial court on July 13, 2000. The defendant appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict him, that the court erred in adjudicating him a second felony offender, that the court imposed an excessive sentence, and that the court failed to adequately comply with the requirements of
SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE
On appeal, the defendant attacks his conviction, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict of guilty of armed robbery with a firearm. The defendant does not deny that the armed robbery occurred. Rather, he argues that there was not sufficient evidence to identify him as the assailant. This argument is without merit.
Under Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), the proper standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hunter, 33,066 (La.App.2d Cir.9/27/00), 768 So.2d 687.
This court‘s authority to review questions of fact in a criminal case is limited to the sufficiency-of-the-evidence evaluation under Jackson v. Virginia, supra, and does not extend to credibility determinations made by the trier of fact.
In cases involving a defendant‘s claim that he was not the person who committed the crime, under Jackson v. Virginia, supra, the state is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. State v. Brady, 414 So.2d 364 (La.1982); State v. Baker, 28,152 (La. App.2d Cir.5/8/96), 674 So.2d 1108, writ denied, 96-1090 (La.12/6/96), 684 So.2d 925. Positive identification by only one witness may be sufficient to support a defendant‘s conviction. State v. Davis, 27,961 (La.App.2d Cir.4/8/96), 672 So.2d 428, writ denied, 97-0383 (La.10/31/97), 703 So.2d 12. The trier of fact has great discretion in assessing the credibility of witnesses. State v. Ervin, 32-430 (La. App. 2 Cir.9/22/99), 747 So.2d 109, writ denied, XXXX-XXXX (La.4/20/00), 769 So.2d 342. Absent internal contradictions or irreconcilable conflict with the physical evidence, the testimony of an eyewitness that he or she observed all the elements of the offense, coupled with the identification of the defendant as the culprit, is generally sufficient to support a conviction. State v. Ervin, supra.
Armed robbery is defined in
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.
Discussion
The defendant argues that the state did not carry its burden of proving that the defendant was the person who committed the armed robbery of Mr. Greer. He contends that Mr. Greer and Ms. Anderson gave inconsistent testimony regarding what they were discussing prior to the robbery. He also points out that Ms. Anderson was not able to positively identify the defendant at trial as the assailant. The defendant further notes that both Mr. Greer and Ms. Anderson testified about a blue Lincoln seen in the area just prior to the robbery. According to Ms. Anderson, the car passed by again just after the robbery, with the assailants in the back seat. The defendant notes that there was no physical evidence to connect him with this offense. He contends that “the only evidence was the testimony of Tony Greer” which he claims contained numerous inconsistencies. The defendant‘s arguments are not supported by the record.
Mr. Greer testified at trial that he was approached by two men, armed with guns, demanding money. The taller of the two men was the one in charge. Mr. Greer quickly and unequivocally identified the defendant as the tall assailant from a photo line-up several days after the robbery. Mr. Greer also stated at trial that he was absolutely positive that the defendant was the one who robbed him at gunpoint.
Ms. Anderson also stated that the robbery was committed by two men, with the taller of the two being the one in charge. She identified the defendant as the main assailant from a photo line-up approximately one month after the robbery. She was not able to positively identify the defendant at trial because he had significantly changed his hairstyle. She testified that after the offense, she saw the two
Detective Rod Johnson of the Shreveport Police Department testified that he investigated the offense. He got a description of the assailants from Mr. Greer and Ms. Anderson. He then got a tip that “Murk,” the defendant‘s street name, committed the robbery. The tip contained specific information about the gun and the amount of money taken. A photo line-up was assembled and was shown to Mr. Greer, who quickly identified the defendant as the offender, with no hesitation. Detective Johnson stated that Ms. Anderson also identified the defendant from the line-up. Although she was slower to do so, Detective Johnson noted that she viewed the line-up almost one month after the robbery.
Mr. Greer‘s firm and certain testimony under direct and cross examination leaves no doubt that the defendant as the main perpetrator who robbed him on November 15, 1999. For about 15 to 20 minutes Mr. Greer‘s attention was narrowly focused on the defendant. Such a narrow focus was strongly encouraged by having a pistol pointed at him. His trial testimony is buttressed by his identification of the defendant at a photo lineup. Even though Mr. Greer had never seen the defendant before that evening, he was able to immediately pick out the defendant in a photo lineup several days after the robbery. Rather than being inconsistent, as contended by the defendant, Mr. Greer‘s testimony was unequivocal. That Mr. Greer and Ms. Anderson differed over the subject of their conversation prior to the robbery was a minor discrepancy that had no bearing on the issue of the identification of the assailant. They did not differ over the facts concerning the robbery.
Ms. Anderson‘s generalized description of the defendant and his accomplice tracked Mr. Greer‘s. Moreover, Ms. Anderson did not exclude the defendant, but she simply said the defendant looked like one of the robbers. Further, Ms. Anderson‘s testimony does not omit the conclusion that she saw the defendant in the blue Lincoln after the robbery, rather than some unknown person. Under the facts of this case, a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, established that the defendant committed an armed robbery of Mr. Greer and that the defendant employed a firearm in the commission of the robbery.
HABITUAL OFFENDER ADJUDICATION
The defendant argues that the record does not contain sufficient evidence to support his adjudication as a second felony offender. Specifically, the defendant claims that exhibits filed into evidence by the state at the multiple offender hearing are not included in the record. Therefore, he argues that the record does not demonstrate that he was fully advised of his rights and that he knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights before pleading guilty to the predicate offense. These arguments are without merit.
The bill of information and the minutes from the defendant‘s guilty plea are included in the record on appeal. Further, the minutes demonstrate that the defendant‘s plea of guilty to possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance was, in fact, knowing and voluntary. However, the issue of whether the guilty plea to the predicate offense was knowing or voluntary is not properly before this court for review.
Regarding habitual offender hearings,
Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, the district attorney shall have the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on any issue of fact. The presumption of regularity of judgment shall be sufficient to meet the original burden of proof. If the person claims that any conviction or adjudication of delinquency alleged is invalid, he shall file a written response to the information. A copy of the response shall be served upon the prosecutor. A person claiming that a conviction or adjudication of delinquency alleged in the information was obtained in violation of the Constitutions of Louisiana or of the United States shall set forth his claim, and the factual basis therefor, with particularity in his response to the information. The person shall have the burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, on any issue of fact raised by the response. Any challenge to a previous conviction or adjudication of delinquency which is not made before sentence is imposed may not thereafter be raised to attack the sentence. [Emphasis added.]
At the habitual offender adjudication, the state offered into evidence an authenticated copy of a bill of information charging the defendant with one count of wrongful possession of cocaine in violation of
EXCESSIVE SENTENCE
The defendant contends that the sentence imposed is excessive. He further maintains that the trial court erred in failing to comply with the requirements of
The test imposed by the reviewing court in determining the excessiveness of sentence is two-pronged. First, the record must show that the trial court took cognizance of the criteria set forth in
A sentence which falls within the statutory limits may be excessive under certain circumstances. To constitute an excessive sentence, the court must find that the penalty is so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our sense of justice or that the sentence makes no reasonable contribution to acceptable penal goals and therefore, is nothing more than the needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Guzman, 99-1528, 99-1753 (La.5/16/2000), 769 So.2d 1158. The trial judge has broad discretion and a reviewing court may not set sentences aside absent a manifest abuse of discretion.
The defendant argues that the trial court failed to consider the factors in
Mr. Williams was convicted of two counts of armed robbery. Has other files pending. These armed robberies occurred out of separate events.... The defendant has several other files pending, which indicates to the Court that he is a serious danger to the community and that he would commit crimes if he was allowed on the street with a lighter sentence than what the Court would impose with connection with this matter.
The trial court did consider the guidelines found in
Further, we do not find that the sentence imposed was excessive. Under the habitual offender adjudication, the defendant faced a minimum sentence of 49½ years and a maximum sentence of 198 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. The trial judge imposed a sentence of 60 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Since a firearm was used in the commission of the robbery, there was a mandatory addition of five years to be served consecutively and without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
The defendant displayed a propensity for violence accompanied by a disregard for human life. When one considers that the defendant robbed and shot another victim the day before Mr. Greer was robbed, the real danger the defendant
ERROR PATENT
The record fails to show that the defendant was adequately advised of the prescriptive period for seeking post-conviction relief as required by
This defect has no bearing on the sentence and is not grounds to reverse the sentence or remand the case for re-sentencing. The district court is instructed to send appropriate written notice to the defendant within 30 days of the rendition of its opinion and to file proof of the defendant‘s receipt of such notice in the record of the proceedings.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, we affirm the conviction and sentence of the defendant, Robert Earl Williams.
AFFIRMED.