State v. Restrepo, 89-KA-16
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US) |
| Writing for the Court | DUFRESNE |
| Citation | 544 So.2d 512 |
| Parties | STATE of Louisiana v. Pedro RESTREPO. |
| Docket Number | No. 89-KA-16,89-KA-16 |
| Decision Date | 10 May 1989 |
Page 512
v.
Pedro RESTREPO.
Fifth Circuit.
Page 513
John M. Mamoulides, Dist. Atty., Dorothy A. Pendergast, Asst. Dist. Atty., Gretna, for plaintiff-appellee.
Martha E. Sassone, Indigent Defender Bd., Gretna, for defendant-appellant.
Before BOWES, GAUDIN and DUFRESNE, JJ.
DUFRESNE, Judge.
The defendant, Pedro Restrepo, and two co-defendants were charged by bill of information with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (LSA-R.S. 40:979/967), one count of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance (LSA-R.S. 40:967), and one count of possession of a controlled dangerous substance in an amount over 400 grams (LSA-R.S. 40:967). The defendant was arraigned and pled not guilty. He went to trial on counts two and three and a jury found him guilty as charged. Count one was dismissed by the state. On October 14, 1988 the defendant was sentenced to thirty years at hard labor, to be served consecutively to any other sentence the defendant was then serving. The defendant's motion for new trial was denied. This appeal followed and he urges three assignments of error.
FACTS
While incarcerated at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, Gary Fank was approached by Ray Lavigne who asked Fank if he wanted to purchase cocaine. When Fank replied in the affirmative, Lavigne gave him the defendant's telephone number.
On October 9, 1987, Fank and undercover agent JoLynn Cummings went to the defendant's
Page 514
body repair shop, located in a storage unit on the Westbank Expressway. Cummings had a bag with $27,000 to be used to purchase one kilogram of cocaine. The defendant was present with two other men, identified as Mervyn Williams and Juan Gomez. Fank went into the unit and spoke with the defendant. Because Cummings refused to enter the unit, Williams went to his truck and looked through the bag with the money. When Williams came back, the defendant showed Fank the cocaine, packed in kleenex boxes. After placing a small amount on Fank's tongue, so he could "test" it, the defendant gave the cocaine to Williams. Williams went to Cummings' truck and delivered the cocaine while Fank left the scene.When Williams gave Cummings the cocaine, she pressed the brake light in her truck, a pre-arranged signal to Agent Kenneth Soutullo, who had her under surveillance. Cummings then left the scene with the cocaine, which she delivered to the Jefferson Parish Narcotics Office.
After notifying other agents to move in, Soutullo approached the unit and arrested Williams. The defendant and Gomez fled, but were arrested approximately twenty minutes later in another storage unit.
At trial, Milton Dureau was stipulated to be an expert in forensic chemistry. He analyzed the packages delivered by Cummings and found that they contained 1,015.3 grams of cocaine.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE
The evidence presented at trial was not sufficient to justify the verdict rendered.
The defendant was convicted of one count of distrubution of cocaine and one count of possession of over four hundred grams of cocaine, both crimes in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967.
The testimony of Gary Fank and Agent Cummings showed that the...
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State v. Dawson, CR-89-0184-PR
...error raised in the state's answering brief to defendant's appeal and remanded to the trial court for resentencing. State v. Restrepo, 544 So.2d 512 (La.App.1989). The Restrepo court distinguished Fraser II as follows: "An illegally lenient sentence may not be corrected by the appellate cou......
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State v. Williams, 2018 KA 1082
...under Article 883. The record herein provides an adequate factual basis to support consecutive sentences. See State v. Restrepo, 544 So.2d 512, 515 (La.App. 5 Cir. 1989). See also State v. Granger, 08-1480 (La.App. 3 Cir. 6/3/09), 11 So.3d 658, 663.CONCLUSIONFor the foregoing reasons, defen......
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Restrepo v. Fortunato, 89-CA-609
...and convicted of those offenses. The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction but remanded the case for resentencing. State v. Restrepo, 544 So.2d 512 (La.App. 5th The civil suit before us concerns the arrest on or about October 9, 1987 by Jefferson Parish officers. The petition alleges that t......
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State v. Brown, 90-KA-80
...the defendant is illegally lenient; and the State's request for a remand to correct the sentence is well founded. See State v. Restrepo, 544 So.2d 512 (La.App. 5th Cir.1989), State v. Rogers, 519 So.2d 246 (La.App. 5th Cir.1988), State v. Hardan, 501 So.2d 848 (La.App. 5th Accordingly, the ......