State v. Cepriano
| Decision Date | 30 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | 21-KA-262 |
| Citation | 339 So.3d 32 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. George CEPRIANO, Jr. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, Honorable Paul D. Connick, Jr.,Metairie, Thomas J. Butler, Darren A. Allemand, Zachary P. Popovich, Rebecca Kehoe
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, GEORGE CEPRIANO, JR., Lieu T. Vo Clark
DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, GEORGE CEPRIANO, JR., In Proper Person
Panel composed of Judges Fredericka Homberg Wicker, Robert A. Chaisson, and Hans J. Liljeberg
Defendant appeals his convictions and sentences for simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and violation of a protective order. For the following reasons, we remand for resentencing on count two and for correction of the Uniform Commitment Order ("UCO"). In all other respects, we affirm.
Defendant, George Cepriano Jr., was charged by bill of information with simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, pursuant to La. R.S. 14:62.2 (count one), and violation of a protective order having been previously convicted of violating a protective order, pursuant to La. R.S. 14:79(B)(2) (count two).1 He pleaded not guilty. Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to quash count two, which the trial court denied after a hearing.
Trial began on November 16, 2020. On November 18, 2020, a twelve-person jury unanimously found defendant guilty as charged on both counts. Defendant filed a motion for new trial, which was denied on January 6, 2021. On that same date, the trial court sentenced defendant to eight years imprisonment at hard labor on count one and two years imprisonment at hard labor on count two, to run concurrently.2
The State filed a multiple offender bill of information as to count one, simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and on February 8, 2021, defendant stipulated to being a second-felony offender. The trial court then vacated defendant's sentence as to count one and resentenced him to eight years imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of probation or suspension of sentence, to be served concurrently with count two. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider his multiple offender sentence, which was denied. Defendant appeals.
At the beginning of trial, the parties stipulated that: on December 6, 2017, under case number 776-192 H, a protective order was issued in favor of Charlotte Hoppe and against defendant, and it was in effect until June 6, 2018; on December 13, 2017, a protective order was issued in case number 21724513 in favor of Ms. Hoppe and against defendant, and it was in effect until June 1, 2018; defendant was convicted in case number 10-5930 of the 24th Judicial District Court of violating a protective order under La. R.S. 14:79 ; defendant "was convicted again of violating a protective order with this time with previous convictions under case number 13-2872 H."
On November 9, 2017, Detective Benjamin Blevins and Deputy Robert Martin of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office ("JPSO") were dispatched to 716 Second Avenue in Harvey regarding a domestic disturbance. As they arrived, a white female, later identified as Charlotte Hoppe, flagged them down and was crying and screaming for help. They brought Ms. Hoppe back to her house at 716 Second Avenue and detained defendant who was at the residence. According to Detective Blevins, Ms. Hoppe told them that defendant "pulled her by the hair," and she ran away. Detective Blevins testified that they did not arrest defendant for battery because Ms. Hoppe and defendant were both intoxicated and there were no signs of physical abuse. After Deputy Martin advised him of his rights, defendant provided a written statement in which he indicated that he lived at 642 Bellanger Street. The officers took defendant to his residence and told him not to return to Ms. Hoppe's home. Defendant did not ask to get any belongings from the Second Avenue residence.
Deputy Damian Lafont of the JPSO testified that on November 10, 2017, he responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding a burglary at 716 Second Avenue. When he arrived, Ms. Hoppe informed him that the home belonged to her and that she believed defendant was responsible for the burglary. Ms. Hoppe indicated that she and defendant had been dating, but that he did not have permission to go into her house that day. She also informed Deputy Lafont of the incident the night before, indicating that defendant pulled her hair and pulled her to the ground. Deputy Lafont testified that he walked through the residence and did not notice any signs of forced entry. Ms. Hoppe gave him a list of items that had been removed, including personal items and surveillance cameras.
Deputy Lafont testified that he called defendant and spoke to him on the phone and then went to his home at 642 Bellanger. He described the house as "a lived in residence" where somebody stayed on a consistent basis. Defendant denied going to Ms. Hoppe's house that day. Deputy Lafont testified that he did not have enough evidence to apply for a search warrant, so he did not conduct a search of defendant's house. Deputy Lafont testified that he did not make an arrest, noting that he did not have any video surveillance at that time.
Detective Keith Dowling of the JPSO testified that on November 10, 2017, he was assigned to do a follow-up investigation of a burglary at 716 Second Avenue. He learned that Ms. Hoppe reported that her residence was burglarized that day, that she believed defendant committed the crime, and that some of the items taken included "[f]emale clothing, female toiletries, some remote controls for TV, I believe maybe for a DVR, maybe a cable box, set of video surveillance system cameras," and chargers for a phone and iPad.
Detective Dowling testified that Ms. Hoppe told him about the domestic disturbance involving defendant the night before the burglary, and she provided a video of the aftermath of the burglary. Ms. Hoppe told him defendant was not "authorized to make entry." Detective Dowling provided that he reviewed surveillance video clips provided to him by Ms. Hoppe, which were taken from a neighbor's house across the street, depicting portions of the domestic disturbance and the burglary. Ms. Hoppe described the events as depicted in the video surveillance. The first video clip, stamped around 11:00 p.m. on November 9, 2017, shows the incident between the parties in Ms. Hoppe's front yard. The second video clip, stamped as November 10, 2017, shows a man exit a house with a bag and leave on a bicycle. Ms. Hoppe identified the man in the video as defendant. Detective Dowling stated that it appeared to him that defendant was carrying two full, white, garbage bags in the video.
Detective Dowling testified that Ms. Hoppe never told him that defendant lived at her house, but she indicated that he stayed there often. Defendant was arrested on December 12, 2017. Detective Dowling obtained a search warrant for defendant's home, and defendant consented to a search of his vehicle. He stated that he did not find any of the items reported missing from Ms. Hoppe's house, but this was the first search of defendant's house and it was over a month after the burglary. Detective Dowling testified that it would be normal for a perpetrator of a burglary to get rid of stolen items within a few days. He testified that the bicycle seen in the video was located at defendant's house. He also found bills in defendant's name and a lease for 642 Bellanger Street signed by defendant on October 17, 2017. The detective identified a picture of defendant at the time of his arrest, in which defendant wore a blue sweatshirt that appeared to be the same sweatshirt in the video after the burglary.
Charlotte Hoppe testified that she is the owner of the residence at 716 Second Avenue in Harvey, where she lives with her daughter. Ms. Hoppe provided that she is a "master teacher" and that in late 2017 and early 2018, she worked at Westbank Community School ("WCS") as the dean of students. She testified that her work also brought her to the Jefferson Parish School Board building at 501 Manhattan Boulevard ("the school board building"). She stated that she often went there to get help as she learned to be a testing coordinator and for disciplinary issues regarding students.
Ms. Hoppe stated that she started seeing defendant in October of 2016, and during their entire relationship, he rented a house on Bellanger Street, which is a few blocks from her home. She stated that she and defendant would often spend the night together, but defendant never lived at her house or kept personal items there, and he was never given a key to her house. She provided that during their relationship, he always had her permission before he came over and never went to her house without her permission.
Ms. Hoppe testified that on November 9, 2017, she and defendant went to a couple of bars and had "quite a bit to drink." She indicated that they got into an argument because he accused her of sleeping with her boss and being an alcoholic, and he was also unhappy about an upcoming work conference she was planning to attend in Las Vegas. When they arrived at her house, they both got out of his car and walked toward the house, but she did not want to go inside because he was angry and she did not want to be "stuck inside" with him. She turned around and went down her front steps, and defendant followed her. When they got to the grass, he pulled her to the ground by her hair and yelled at her.
Ms. Hoppe stated that a few days after the incident, she located video surveillance from a neighbor that showed part of the incident, and she recorded the video on her phone to give to the police. She viewed the surveillance in court and identified herself and defendant in the video. She stated that the video showed defendant pulling her down by her ponytail and then, once she started screaming, defendant backed away, and she was able to get up and run...
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