State v. Richardson

• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana
• Writing for the Court: Before PEATROSS, MOORE & LOLLEY, JJ.
• Citation: State v. Richardson, 71 So.3d 492 (La. App. 2011)
• Decision Date: 22 June 2011
• Docket Number: No. 46,360–KA.,46,360–KA.
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana, Appelleev.Harry Lee RICHARDSON, Appellant.

71 So.3d 492

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee

v.Harry Lee RICHARDSON, Appellant.

No. 46,360–KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 22, 2011.

Louisiana Appellate Project, Monroe, LA, by Peggy J. Sullivan, for Appellant.Charles Rex Scott, District Attorney, William J. Edwards, Tommy J. Johnson, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.Before PEATROSS, MOORE & LOLLEY, JJ.PEATROSS, J.

[2 Cir. 1] After a bench trial, Harry Lee Richardson, Defendant, was convicted of aggravated rape, a violation of La. R.S. 14:42. Defendant was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Defendant now appeals. For the reasons stated herein, Defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.

FACTS

During the late night or early morning hours of May 11, 1994, in Shreveport, Louisiana, 83–year–old C.T.¹ was at home alone, asleep in her bedroom, when two black males broke into her home and attacked her. C.T. was unable to recall exactly what time the attack occurred or how long it lasted. She reported that, at some point during the attack, she was rendered unconscious or fell asleep and when she awoke, the men were gone. After she regained consciousness, C.T. found that her telephone was not working and went outside her home seeking help.

Ms. Vivian Patterson, C.T.'s longtime next-door neighbor, heard her cries for help around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. Ms. Patterson went outside and found C.T. wandering in her yard, crying hysterically and dressed in pajamas and a robe with bloodstains on it. C.T. saw Ms. Patterson and told her about the attack. Other neighbors heard the commotion and came outside their houses. Shortly thereafter, the police were called. Officers responding to the scene found the point of entry on the southwest side of the victim's house where a window screen and window panes had been [2 Cir. 2] removed. Following the initial investigation, no suspects were developed and the file ultimately became a “cold case.” ²

Thirteen years later, in 2007, DNA samples from the case were tested and a match was found utilizing CODIS.³ The DNA of a black male named Rodney Washington matched the DNA found on samples taken from C.T. as part of her physical examination and rape kit which were administered after the attack. Detective Jeff Allday of the Shreveport Police Department (SPD) then began his “cold case” investigation into C.T.'s rape and found that a similar attack had occurred four blocks from C.T.'s home on July 15, 1994.

In the July 1994 attack, Washington and Defendant were arrested and, four months later, pled guilty to aggravated burglary. Det. Allday requested a fingerprint analysis for the evidence collected in C.T.'s case, i.e., the fingerprint collected from the removed window screen on the southwest side of C.T.'s home, to known fingerprints of Washington and Defendant. After the analysis, it was determined that Defendant's fingerprints matched those recovered from the removed window screen at the southwest side of C.T.'s home.

Defendant was interviewed by police and, after initial denials, ultimately admitted to breaking into C.T.'s home with Washington. Defendant also initially denied participating in the rape and attack of C.T.; [2 Cir. 3] but, during the latter half of the interview, Defendant claimed that Washington forced him to attack C.T., so he only simulated acts of intercourse with her. When pressed to explain further, however, Defendant admitted that it was possible that he could have penetrated C.T. while he was simulating the act of intercourse with her, but he was unsure because he was under the influence of drugs at that time.

As previously mentioned, Defendant was arrested and charged ⁴ with aggravated rape in violation of La. R.S. 14:42. A bench trial was held in June 2010, wherein Defendant was convicted as charged and sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION

Assignment of Error Number Three (verbatim): The evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to convict Harry Lee Richardson of aggravated rape.

In his third assignment of error, Defendant contends that the State failed to present sufficient evidence at trial to support his conviction of aggravated rape. According to Defendant, the only evidence presented by the State connecting him to the crime was the fingerprint found on the removed window screen located on the southwest side of C.T.'s house. Defendant argues that he entered the home with Washington with only the intention of stealing money and food. Defendant claims that he had no intention of raping C.T. and was unaware that Washington planned to rape C.T. Defendant further claims that the scientific evidence in this case tends [2 Cir. 4] to exonerate him of the charge of rape because he was excluded as a possible donor of the DNA found on C.T. Defendant also asserts that the State failed to show that he was a principal to the rape since it was not proven that he aided or abetted in the rape in any way. We disagree.

La. R.S. 14:41 defines “rape” as the act of anal, oral or vaginal sexual intercourse with a male or female person without the person's lawful consent. Emission is not necessary and any sexual penetration, when the rape involves vaginal or anal intercourse, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime. La. R.S. 14:41. At the time of the commission of the crime, La. R.S. 14:42 provided as follows:

A. Aggravated rape is a rape committed upon a person sixty-five years of age or older or where the anal or vaginal sexual intercourse is deemed to be without lawful consent of the victim because it is committed under any one or more of the following circumstances:

(1) When the victim resists the act to the utmost, but whose resistance is overcome by force.

(2) When the victim is prevented from resisting the act by threats of great and immediate bodily harm, accompanied by apparent power of execution.

(3) When the victim is prevented from resisting the act because the offender is armed with a dangerous weapon.

(4) When the victim is under the age of twelve years. Lack of knowledge of the victim's age shall not be a defense.

(5) When two or more offenders participated in the act.

B. For purposes of Paragraph (5), “participate” shall mean:

(1) Commit the act of rape.

(2) Physically assist in the commission of such act.

C. Whoever commits the crime of aggravated rape shall be [2 Cir. 5] punished by life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Regarding principals, La. R.S. 14:24 provides:

All persons concerned in the commission of a crime, whether present or absent, and whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense, aid and abet in its commission, or directly or indirectly counsel or procure another to commit the crime, are principals.

When issues are raised on appeal as to both the sufficiency of the evidence and one or more trial errors, the reviewing court should first determine the sufficiency of the evidence. The reason for reviewing sufficiency first is that the accused may be entitled to an acquittal under Hudson v. Louisiana, 450 U.S. 40, 101 S.Ct. 970, 67 L.Ed.2d 30 (1981), 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 proven beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La.1992); State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La.App.2d Cir.4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97–1203 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1333.

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, 05–0477 (La.2/22/06), 922 So.2d 517. 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. State v. Casey, 99–0023 (La.1/26/00), 775 So.2d 1022, cert. denied, [2 Cir. 6] 531 U.S. 840, 121 S.Ct. 104, 148 L.Ed.2d 62 (2000). The reviewing court may impinge on that discretion only to the extent necessary to guarantee the fundamental due process of law. Id.

The appellate court does not assess the credibility of witnesses or reweigh evidence. State v. Smith, 94–3116 (La.10/16/95), 661 So.2d 442. A reviewing court accords great deference to a jury's decision to accept or reject the testimony of a witness in whole or in part. State v. Eason, 43,788 (La.App.2d Cir.2/25/09), 3 So.3d 685, writ denied, 09–0725 (La.12/11/09), 23 So.3d 913; State v. Hill, 42,025 (La.App.2d Cir.5/9/07), 956 So.2d 758, writ denied, 07–1209 (La.12/14/07), 970 So.2d 529.

The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. State v. Sutton, 436 So.2d 471 (La.1983). 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. State v. Sutton, supra. 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, supra; State v. Speed, 43,786 (La.App.2d Cir.1/14/09), 2 So.3d 582, writ denied, 09–0372 (La.11/6/09), 21 So.3d 299; State v. Parker, 42,311 (La.App.2d Cir.8/15/07), 963 So.2d 497, writ denied, 07–2053 (La.3/7/08), 977 So.2d 896.

[2 Cir. 7] In the absence of internal contradiction or irreconcilable conflict with physical evidence, one witness's...