State v. Barron
| Decision Date | 09 August 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 51,491–KA,51,491–KA |
| Citation | 243 So.3d 1178 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana, Appellee v. Keith BARRON, Appellant |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
LOUISIANA APPELLATE, PROJECT By: Douglas Lee Harville, Counsel for Appellant
ROBERT S. TEW, District Attorney, R. NICOLAS ANDERSON, Assistant District Attorney, Counsel for Appellee
Before DREW, GARRETT, and COX, JJ.
The defendant, Keith Barron, appeals his conviction for aggravated battery. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.
In December 2015, Barron had an altercation with the victim, Tonya Ard, at the apartment they shared in Monroe. Barron cut Ard's throat and stabbed her numerous times in the abdomen. Ard survived the attack and identified Barron as the assailant. An arrest warrant was issued for Barron. He was found in Shreveport and arrested pursuant to the warrant. He was charged with attempted second degree murder. Barron claimed that he acted in self-defense.1 Following a trial, the jury convicted Barron of the responsive verdict of aggravated battery. Motions for post verdict judgment of acquittal, arrest of judgment, and new trial were denied. Barron was sentenced to serve ten years at hard labor. He appealed, claiming there was insufficient evidence upon which to base the conviction and that the trial court gave an erroneous jury instruction on self-defense.
Barron claims there was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty of aggravated battery. This argument is without merit.
The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the 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. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979) ; State v. Tate , 2001-1658 (La. 5/20/03), 851 So.2d 921, cert. denied , 541 U.S. 905, 124 S.Ct. 1604, 158 L. Ed. 2d 248 (2004) ; State v. Carter , 42,894 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/9/08), 974 So.2d 181, writ denied , 2008-0499 (La. 11/14/08), 996 So.2d 1086. This standard, now legislatively embodied in La. C. Cr. P. art. 821, does not provide the appellate court with a vehicle to substitute its own appreciation of the evidence for that of the fact finder. State v. Pigford , 2005-0477 (La. 2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517 ; State v. Dotie , 43,819 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/14/09), 1 So.3d 833, writ denied , 2009-0310 (La. 11/6/09), 21 So.3d 297.
The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. An appellate court reviewing the sufficiency of evidence in such cases must resolve any conflict in the direct evidence by viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. When the direct evidence is thus viewed, the facts established by the direct evidence and inferred from the circumstances established by that evidence must be sufficient for a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of every essential element of the crime. State v. Sutton , 436 So.2d 471 (La. 1983) ; State v. Speed , 43,786 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/14/09), 2 So.3d 582, writ denied , 2009-0372 (La. 11/6/09), 21 So.3d 299 ; State v. Parker , 42,311 (La. App. 2 Cir. 8/15/07), 963 So.2d 497, writ denied , 2007-2053 (La. 3/7/08), 977 So.2d 896 ; State v. Robinson , 50,643 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/22/16), 197 So.3d 717, writ denied , 2016-1479 (La. 5/19/17), 221 So.3d 78, 2017 WL 2784240 ; State v. Sullivan , 51,180 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/15/17), 216 So.3d 175.
The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith , 1994-3116 (La. 10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442. A reviewing court accords great deference to the fact finder's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Eason , 43,788 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/25/09), 3 So.3d 685, writ denied , 2009-0725 (La. 12/11/09), 23 So.3d 913 ; State v. Hill , 42,025 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/9/07), 956 So.2d 758, writ denied , 2007-1209 (La. 12/14/07), 970 So.2d 529 ; State v. Randle , 49,952 (La. App. 2 Cir. 6/24/15), 166 So.3d 465 ; State v. Casaday , 49,679 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/27/15), 162 So.3d 578, writ denied , 2015-0607 (La. 2/5/16), 186 So.3d 1162.
The trier of fact is charged to make a credibility determination and may, within the bounds of rationality, accept or reject the testimony of any witness; thus, a reviewing court may impinge on the fact finder's discretion only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental due process of law. State v. Casey , 1999-0023 (La. 1/26/00), 775 So.2d 1022, cert. denied , 531 U.S. 840, 121 S.Ct. 104, 148 L.Ed.2d 62 (2000) ; State v. Green , 49,741 (La. App. 2 Cir. 4/15/15), 164 So.3d 331.
Where there is conflicting testimony about factual matters, the resolution of which depends upon a determination of the credibility of the witnesses, the matter is one of the weight of the evidence, not its sufficiency. State v. Speed, supra ; State v. Allen , 36,180 (La. App. 2 Cir. 9/18/02), 828 So.2d 622, writs denied , 2002-2595 (La. 3/28/03), 840 So.2d 566, 2002-2997 (La. 6/27/03), 847 So. 2d 1255,cert. denied , 540 U.S. 1185, 124 S.Ct. 1404, 158 L. Ed. 2d 90 (2004). In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's testimony, if believed by the trier of fact, is sufficient support for a requisite factual conclusion. State v. Randle, supra ; State v. Francis , 51,048 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1/11/17), 213 So.3d 1213.
A battery is the intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another. See La. R.S. 14:33. An aggravated battery is a battery committed with a dangerous weapon. See La. R.S. 14:34. "Dangerous weapon" includes any instrumentality, which, in the manner used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm. See La. R.S. 14:2. Aggravated battery is a responsive verdict to attempted second degree murder. La. C. Cr. P. art. 814(4).
La. R.S. 14:18 provides, in part:
In a non-homicide situation, a claim of self-defense requires a dual inquiry: first, an objective inquiry into whether the force used was reasonable under the circumstances; and, second, a subjective inquiry into whether the force used was apparently necessary. State v. Robinson , 37,043 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/14/03), 848 So.2d 642 ; State v. Williams , 50,004 (La. App. 2 Cir. 9/30/15), 178 So.3d 1051 ; State v. Glover , 47,311 (La. App. 2 Cir. 10/10/12), 106 So.3d 129, writ denied , 2012-2667 (La. 5/24/13), 116 So.3d 659.
The evidence adduced at trial revealed the following. Ard admitted that she had a recent felony conviction for possession of PCP and was on probation. She was 40 years old and had three children. Her children were not living with her at the time of the incident at issue here because she had no furniture or electricity in her apartment. She met Barron through a childhood friend named Carlos.2 In December 2015, Jefferson told her that Barron did not have a place to live and suggested that he move into the apartment with her. Ard agreed to the arrangement. She claimed that Barron did not help pay rent or other bills.
Ard stated that Barron had a lock-blade knife that he always carried in his back pocket. She had seen him use the knife to shave his head. According to Ard, on December 13 or early December 14, 2015, Barron knocked on the door of the apartment. Ard had never given him a key. They walked to a convenience store and purchased beer. After drinking some of the beer at the apartment, Barron asked her for sex, but she refused. He became angry and she told him to get his things and leave. Barron came out with a suitcase and asked Ard to help him find some of his belongings. At that point, he grabbed her by the hair, cut her throat, and stabbed her in the abdomen. She said he told her was not going to kill her, but was going to hurt her "real bad" to make her shut up. A knife was found at the scene and Ard identified it at trial as the weapon Barron used in the attack.
Ard saw Barron wash the knife off in the sink. She said that someone knocked on the door and she was able to get out and crawl to a neighbor's apartment. When police were summoned, Ard said she thought she told them that Barron attacked her, and she also mentioned that he sometimes stayed with Jefferson. Ard was taken to the hospital where her neck wound was sutured and she had surgery for her abdominal wounds. She was hospitalized for three days.
Officer Demetrice Underwood of the Monroe Police Department was dispatched to the scene at 2:56 a.m. regarding the attack. Clarence Reed, one of the neighbors, identified Ard for Underwood. He said Ard came to his apartment knocking and screaming for help. Reed called 911. When Underwood arrived, Ard was lying in the doorway of a neighboring apartment with a bloody towel covering her throat. She had lost a lot of blood. Underwood could see her vocal...
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