State v. George, 37,492-KA.
| Decision Date | 24 September 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 37,492-KA.,37,492-KA. |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana, Appellee, v. Charles R. GEORGE, Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Kenota P. Johnson, Louisiana Appellate Project, for Appellant.
Jerry Jones, District Attorney, Stephen Sylvester Assistant District Attorney, for Appellee. Before BROWN, WILLIAMS, and DREW, JJ.
Defendant, Charles Richard George, was convicted by a unanimous jury of aggravated kidnaping on September 20, 2002, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit. Defendant appeals his conviction. Finding no error, however, we affirm.
On May 11, 2001, the West Monroe Police Department received a telephone call from the owner of a realty company who was concerned because one of his agents, Dondi Kay Copeland, was late for desk duty and had not been seen or heard from in several hours. Co-workers and Christopher Copeland, Dondi's husband, were at the realty office trying to determine where she might be.
When an investigating officer arrived at the realty company office, he learned that Chris had been able to find out from his father, who worked for CenturyTel, that Dondi's cell phone was being used in Chatham, which is in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana. The officer called the Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office and gave a description of the 29-year-old woman and her car, a white Toyota Solara with Alabama license plates. The Caldwell Parish deputy reported that their office was investigating the death of a woman meeting the description given by the West Monroe officer and noted that a white Toyota Solara was involved in the investigation.
The Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office had received a telephone call around 1:00 p.m. from a motorist who reported that she had seen an object that looked like a mannequin bounce on the highway as she drove past a white car traveling very close behind a log truck. As the motorist turned her vehicle around to go back to see what had happened, the white car turned down a side road. The object in the road turned out to be the body of a white female who was bleeding profusely from the head.
During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Mrs. Copeland had left the realty office earlier that morning with a client who said that he had $40,000 to spend on property. They left in Mrs. Copeland's car and several people reported seeing them together before noon looking at rural residences.
The Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office began to search for the suspect, who was described by an employee of the realty company as a slender white male, between 5'8" and 6'0" tall, with long sandy brown hair and bad teeth. The deputies searched the woods near the road where the victim's car had been found abandoned.
The next day, defendant, Charles Richard George, Sr., who had spent the night in the woods, turned himself in to an off-duty deputy. The state police were notified and defendant was questioned in a videotaped interview. Four officers were in the room during the interrogation that began by defendant being advised of and signing a written waiver of his Miranda rights.
During this interview, defendant related that he had parked his truck in the Glenwood Medical Center parking lot and walked to the realty office to meet Mrs. Copeland. She drove him to several locations to show him rural properties. When they were done, Mrs. Copeland took defendant back to his truck. Defendant said that he told Mrs. Copeland that he needed some money and she laughed, saying that she did not have any money.
Defendant stated that he then made Mrs. Copeland drive him out of town. He took her to a camp owned by his brother, ordered her into the house and told her to take off her clothes. Defendant attempted to rape Mrs. Copeland, but ejaculated prematurely on her leg. When they left, defendant made her get into the trunk of the car. While he was driving down the highway back toward Ouachita Parish, Mrs. Copeland opened the trunk and either fell or jumped out of the vehicle. She died as a result of injuries to her head caused when she hit the pavement.
After the video camera was turned off, the officers took an inventory of defendant's belongings and noticed that he had $200 in twenty dollar bills. Defendant told the officers that it was money that he had gotten from Mrs. Copeland. The videotape was turned back on and defendant related how he had asked the victim for the money and she had laughed, saying that she did not have any money. Defendant said that he then grabbed her wrist and told her that he was serious. Defendant stated that he scared her and told her to drive. Mrs. Copeland then asked him how much money he wanted and he replied $150-$200. She said that she would try to get him money out of a bank account but that she was unsure how much money she would be able to get. Defendant said that Mrs. Copeland then drove to an ATM and withdrew $200. Defendant held her by the wrist while she got out of the car to get the money from the ATM machine. Defendant reiterated how he then made her drive out of the parish and to the camp where he attempted to have sex with her.
Defendant was charged by a Ouachita Parish grand jury with aggravated kidnaping. Among the various motions filed by the defense were a motion to suppress the confession, a motion in limine and a motion to change venue. All of the motions were denied by the trial court. A 12-person jury found defendant guilty as charged on September 20, 2002, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit. Defendant has appealed his conviction.
Defendant contends that there is insufficient evidence to convict him of aggravated kidnaping because there is no proof that the victim was forced to be with him or that she was made to give up anything of value. Defendant's argument is based upon the statements of the three people who saw Mrs. Copeland and defendant together during the day while they were out looking at property, which testimony was that the victim did not appear to be afraid of defendant. Defendant further argues that it is unclear whether the victim voluntarily or involuntarily transferred money to him. Finally, defendant asserts that there is no evidence to show that the victim was deprived of anything in exchange for her release or promise of her release.
This court's first step in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence is to determine whether the accused is entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v. Louisiana, 450 U.S. 40, 101 S.Ct. 970, 67 L.Ed.2d 30 (1981). An acquittal should be granted if a rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in accord with Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), in the light most favorable to the prosecution, could not reasonably conclude that all of the elements of the offense have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29, 253 (La.App.2d Cir.04/02/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97-1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333.
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. La. Const. art. 5, § 10(B); State v. Withers, 36,001 (La.App.2d Cir.06/12/02), 821 So.2d 556; State v. Williams, 448 So.2d 753 (La. App. 2d Cir.1984). A reviewing court must defer to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Bosley, supra.
La. R.S. 14:44 provides in pertinent part:
To sustain a conviction for aggravated kidnapping the state had to prove: (1) forcible seizing; (2) carrying of any person from one place to another; (3) intent to force the victim, or some other person, to give up anything of apparent present or prospective value; (4) in order to secure the release of that person. State v. Arnold, 548 So.2d 920 (La.1989).
Defendant's own statement, corroborated by other evidence, supplies proof of the elements necessary to convict. The pertinent parts of defendant's confession, reproduced here as written and without references to grammatical and syntax errors to allow for easier reading, are:
This action described by defendant, his grabbing of Mrs. Copeland's wrist, constitutes the first element, a forcible seizing.
Continuing his description, defendant stated:
And uh ... she said what do you want me to do. And I said drive. You know. She said which way. I said down Jonesboro Highway.
By commanding the victim to drive, defendant forced her to be carried from one place to another at his direction, thus satisfying the proof requirement for element two, the carrying of a person from one place to another. At this point in time,...
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