In re State in Interest of S.C
| Citation | 332 So.3d 169 |
| Decision Date | 29 November 2021 |
| Docket Number | 2021-CA-0468 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana IN the INTEREST OF S.C. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US) |
G. Benjamin Cohen, Assistant District Attorney, Jason Rogers Williams, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ORLEANS PARISH, 619 S. White Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE/STATE OF LOUISIANA
Katherine M. Franks, LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, P.O. Box 220, Madisonville, LA 70447, COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT/S.C.
(Court composed of Judge Joy Cossich Lobrano, Judge Regina Bartholomew-Woods, Judge Dale N. Atkins )
In this juvenile delinquency matter, S.C.1 seeks appellate review of his delinquency adjudication and his disposition imposed for committing the offense of armed robbery with the use of a firearm, in violation of La. R.S. 14:64.3. For the reasons that follow, we find the evidence sufficient to adjudicate S.C. delinquent. Therefore, we affirm the juvenile court's adjudication and corresponding disposition.
On January 6, 2021, at approximately 10:30 p.m., the victim, A.L., was returning home from work when she drove her red 2015 Nissan Altima into the parking lot of her apartment complex on Crowder Boulevard. In the car with her was her three and one-half month old daughter. Upon entering the complex, she observed two males walk past her. After she exited her vehicle, she went to the back seat to retrieve her diaper bag, and the two males she observed earlier walked up behind her. She testified that she heard a gun cock and slowly turned around to face the two males, one of whom was holding a handgun. A.L. observed the taller perpetrator, who was holding the handgun, wearing a dark green sweater with a hood. He had a surgical mask on and had a darker complexion. A.L. described the perpetrator's sweater as an "army-colored green," and the weapon he was holding was a black or dark gray "regular" handgun. The two males demanded A.L.’s money and keys, and A.L. complied. The two males allowed A.L. to remove her child from the car seat before driving away in A.L.’s car. A.L. then went to her apartment and called the police.
Officer Jacob Mitchell ("Officer Mitchell") of the New Orleans Police Department ("NOPD") testified that he was dispatched to investigate a carjacking on January 6, 2021. He interviewed A.L. and relayed the information he obtained to dispatch. Officer Mitchell stated that he did not see anyone when he arrived at the crime scene; in particular, he neither saw a red Nissan Altima fleeing the scene, nor anyone at the crime scene in a dark hoodie or with a firearm. He also did not see S.C. at the crime scene.
Detective Jameson Diesburg ("Detective Diesburg") testified that he was part of an investigation of an armed robbery on Crowder Boulevard on the night of January 6, 2021, and the early morning hours of the following day. He explained that initially he was investigating another armed robbery when the armed robbery on Crowder Boulevard was broadcast over the radio. Approximately an hour after the initial radio broadcast, Detective Diesburg observed a red Nissan Altima travel past him on Morrison Road. Detective Diesburg heard what he believed to be a tire popping on the Altima. He found it odd that the Altima continued to travel on the flat tire. Consequently, Detective Diesburg decided to follow the Altima and found the car on a side street with two subjects trying to change the tire. Detective Diesburg called for backup. When additional police units arrived, the Altima had moved further down the street. As the police units approached the Altima, the two subjects Detective Diesburg witnessed changing the tire, fled from the vehicle. The police set up a perimeter and the subjects were subsequently apprehended.
Detective Sasha Tousant ("Detective Tousant") testified that she investigated the incident that led to S.C.’s arrest. Following the report of an armed robbery with a firearm, Detective Tousant relocated to A.L.’s apartment to obtain general information. About an hour after the incident, Detective Tousant learned that police units spotted A.L.’s vehicle and observed subjects run from the vehicle. Detective Tousant went to the area where the subjects and vehicle were seen. She arrived after the subjects were apprehended. Detective Tousant testified that at the time of the apprehension, S.C. wore a camouflage green hoodie, a white colored belt, and a light blue "Corona" mask. Detective Tousant recognized the hoodie at trial as the one S.C. was wearing when he was apprehended. She also stated that she noticed during her investigation a black small caliber firearm with blue tape on the driver's seat floor inside the Altima. Detective Tousant identified the gun—a black Beretta—as the gun that was found inside A.L.’s red Nissan Altima.
After the victim's car was found, A.L. was asked to do a show-up identification to identify the perpetrators. Detective Tousant supervised the show-up identification, which Detective Tousant testified took place around 1:00 a.m. on January 7, 2021. Handcuffs were removed from the apprehended subjects and two marked NOPD police units turned on their overhead lights. Additionally, Detective Tousant directed the officers flanking the subjects to shine their flashlights on the subjects’ bodies. Detective Tousant testified that she was not in the police unit with A.L. during the show-up identification process.
A.L. stated that the officer explained the procedure to her and that if she did not recognize the subjects to "be honest." A.L. testified that she was 90 percent sure that the "first one with the green jacket" was the person who robbed her. A.L. placed her positive identification level at 90 percent because she did not see the perpetrator's pants and shoes at the time of the robbery. A.L. identified the person who wore the green jacket as the one who robbed her of her vehicle at gunpoint. A.L. recalled that the identification of the person, later determined to be S.C., took place around 12:00 a.m. She verified that she never gave S.C. permission to operate her vehicle. She further indicated that the parking lot of the apartment complex where the robbery took place was poorly lit. A.L. said she could not see the hair of the male in the green sweater because his hoodie was pulled up. A.L. stated that she did not see his face, only his eyes, and that she did not observe any markings or tattoos.
For the identification, A.L. sat in the front passenger seat of the police car as it slowly drove past the two males. She testified that the two males wore masks and were not handcuffed. A.L. acknowledged that although the colors were the same, she did not identify the green sweater as camouflage or see that the sweater had lettering on the front until the show-up identification.
Ariana Sparacino ("Ms. Sparacino"), a police technical specialist who works in the crime lab, took photographs at the crime scene in the early morning hours of January 7, 2021, and processed the physical evidence for DNA. Ms. Sparacino identified photographs, which were admitted into evidence, including photographs of the red Nissan Altima, the gun located on the interior front driver's side, the subjects who were apprehended, and street signs that verified their locale. Ms. Sparacino stated the photographs depicted the license plate of the Nissan Altima, as well as identified the gun the State showed her in court as the same gun depicted in her photographs. She additionally confirmed that the serial number shown in court matched the serial number of the gun she photographed. Ms. Sparacino testified that her photographs of S.C. showed him wearing a camouflage sweater, jeans, and black shoes and that close-ups of his face revealed he had tattoos on his face and a nose ring.
On January 11, 2021, the State filed a delinquency petition against S.C. and another juvenile2 for armed robbery with a firearm relative to the taking of a Nissan Altima belonging to A.L. S.C. entered a general denial to the allegations raised in the petition. An adjudication hearing took place on May 26, 2021, at the conclusion of which the juvenile court adjudicated S.C. delinquent. On July 6, 2021, the juvenile court imposed a disposition of one year, granting S.C. credit for six months already served. S.C. timely filed the present appeal.
"[A] juvenile delinquency adjudication warrants an errors patent review." State in Interest of A.P ., 20-0623, p. 6 (La. App. 4 Cir. 4/21/21), 317 So.3d 887, 890 (). A review of the record reveals no errors patent.
Louisiana Revised Statute 14:64(A) provides that "[a]rmed 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." S.C. does not contest that the elements of the offense of armed robbery were met. Rather, S.C. avers that A.L.’s identification of him was insufficient evidence to prove his identity beyond a reasonable doubt. S.C. contends that the show-up identification procedure was unduly suggestive, and A.L.’s identification was unreliable.
The standard of review in a juvenile delinquency case was explained in State in the Interest of S.J. , 13-1025, p. 3-4 (La. App. 4 Cir. 11/6/13), 129 So.3d 676, 678-79, as follows:
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