JUDE G. GRAVOIS, Judge.
The defendant, Cedric Lewis, has appealed his conviction of second degree murder. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant's conviction and sentence.
On the evening of July 3, 2005, Trellas Porter was shot and killed on the inside of his home in Harvey, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Defendant and his co-defendant, Renard Scott, were tried together for this murder. This appeal involves only defendant.
At trial, Ms. Alicia Porter, the mother of the victim, testified that on the evening of July 3, 2005, she was in her bedroom watching television when she heard her mother, Ms. Dorothy Eugene, screaming. Ms. Porter came out of her bedroom to see an intruder in her house, whom she described as a black male with shoulder-length dreadlocks, covering his face with a white T-shirt. Ms. Porter explained that she only saw this person for a second, then backed out of the room to call the police. While doing so, she heard two gunshots. After she got off the phone with the police, Ms. Porter entered her son's bedroom to find him lying on the floor with his eyes covered with blood. Although not mentioned in her statement to the police, Ms. Porter testified at trial that she heard her son say the name "Cedric" before he was killed. Ms. Porter's statement to the police was admitted into evidence.
Ms. Dorothy Eugene, the victim's grandmother, testified that on the day in question, she was watching television in her den when she heard the front door open followed by hollering. She ran to the living room where she saw two intruders, one with a gun. She could not see the intruders' faces because they were concealed with some type of cloth; from their hands, however, she could tell that they were black males. The gunman had dreadlocks. The gunman pointed the gun at the victim who was seated on the sofa. Although the intruders and the victim were talking, Ms. Eugene could not understand what they were saying until she heard the victim say, "Cedric, you don't have to do this." The victim then stood up from the sofa and proceeded to his bedroom with the gunman and his accomplice. The gunman tripped and fell over a toy box. She grabbed the gunman by the neck, scratched him, and pulled his hair. The gunman then pointed the gun in her face. She called her daughter, Ms. Porter, for help, then ran out of the front door yelling for help. While outside, she heard two gunshots. Ms. Eugene's statement to the police, as well as her deposition taken for perpetuation purposes, were admitted into evidence.
Christopher Lindsey was questioned by the police in connection with this murder. After Mr. Lindsey asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at the trial, his statement to the police was introduced into evidence. In his statement, Mr. Lindsey stated that on the night of the murder, he accompanied defendant to the victim's residence to buy marijuana. He stood near the front door, entering no further than the front room. When he heard gunshots, he ran from the house. He heard the victim say something along the lines of "Cedric, don't do this to me."
A droplet of blood was discovered on the living room floor of the victim's home. A swab of this blood was obtained for DNA analysis. Bonnie Dubourg, an expert in forensic DNA analysis, testified that this swab of blood contained DNA consistent with defendant's DNA. She explained that the DNA profile found in this blood droplet occurs with a frequency of approximately one in greater than a hundred billion persons of Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic populations.
In this assignment of error, defendant argues that the inconsistent testimony of eyewitnesses identifying defendant as the gunman rendered the evidence insufficient. In response, the State acknowledges the inconsistent testimony, but argues that the DNA evidence linking defendant to the scene, along with the statement of Christopher Lindsey which placed him at the scene, was sufficient to support the conviction.
In reviewing sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court must determine that the evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, or a mixture of both, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that all of the elements of the crime have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Mickel, 09-953, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/11/10), 41 So.3d 532, 534, writ denied, 10-1357 (La.1/7/11), 52 So.3d 885 (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); State v. Neal, 00-0674, p. 9 (La.6/29/01), 796 So.2d 649, 657, cert. denied, 535 U.S. 940, 122 S.Ct. 1323, 152 L.Ed.2d 231 (2002)). In addition to proving each statutory element of the crime charged, the State must also prove the identity of the perpetrator. State v. Williams, 08-272, p. 4 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/16/08), 3 So.3d 526, 529, writ denied, 09-0143 (La.10/16/09), 19 So.3d 470 (citation omitted). When the key issue is identification, the State is required to negate any reasonable probability of misidentification in order to carry its burden of proof. Id. Further, positive identification by only one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. Id.
A review of the record for sufficiency of the evidence does not require the court to ask whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Jones, 08-20, p. 6 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/15/08), 985 So.2d 234, 240. Rather, the reviewing court is required to consider the whole record and determine whether any rational trier of fact would have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id., 08-20 at 7, 985 So.2d at 240.
In his brief to this Court, defendant only contests sufficiency of the evidence on the issue of identity.
In the instant case, Christopher Lindsey identified defendant as the gunman in his statement and in photographic lineups. Mr. Lindsey stated that he accompanied defendant to the victim's residence on the night of the murder. The victim's grandmother, mother, and Mr. Lindsey all stated that they heard the victim say the name "Cedric" before he was killed. Defendant's DNA matched a droplet of blood that was found at the murder scene. Detective Donald Meunier, the lead investigator on this case, testified that the results of the DNA testing on the droplet of blood confirmed that defendant was at the murder scene. Detective Meunier further testified that he believed that there were three people involved in the murder, two of whom went into the house.
Unlike in Wiley, where this Court found that the State had proven the defendant was a principal to second degree murder based in large part only on DNA evidence, in the instant case, defendant's conviction was supported not only by DNA evidence, but also by the statement of Mr. Lindsey, who accompanied defendant to the scene, and by the testimony of the victim's mother and grandmother that they heard the victim call defendant by name before the shooting. A positive identification by only one witness is sufficient to support a conviction. Williams, 08-272 at 4, 3 So.3d at 529. 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 to support a requisite factual finding. State v. Caffrey, 08-717, p. 5 (La. App. 5 Cir. 5/12/09), 15 So.3d 198, 202, writ denied, 09-1305 (La.2/5/10), 27 So.3d 297 (citation omitted). Further, it is well-settled that the trier of fact can accept or reject, in whole or in part, the testimony of any witness. Caffrey, 08-717 at 5, 15 So.3d at 202 (citation omitted). It is not the appellate court's function to re-evaluate the credibility of witnesses or to reweigh the evidence. Id., 08-717 at 4, 15 So.3d at 202. Therefore, despite the inconsistent testimony as to whether one or two perpetrators were involved in the murder, the jury heard testimony from all the witnesses, reviewed all the evidence, and concluded that defendant participated in the murder of Trellas Porter.
Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State, the evidence was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that defendant was guilty of second degree murder.
In this assignment of error, defendant argues that a severance should have been granted because statements made by Karra Crayton, which defendant sought to have admitted, were not admitted due to the objection of his co-defendant, Renard Scott. Conversely, the State contends that defendant waived any motion to sever by proceeding to trial without raising the issue that the trial court had not ruled on the alleged motion to sever. The State also argues that a severance should not have been granted because defendant failed to show how he was prejudiced by the exclusion of Ms. Crayton's statements and the lack of a severance.
It is well established that motions pending at the commencement of trial are waived when the defendant proceeds to trial without raising as an issue the fact that there was no ruling on the motions. State v. Holmes, 06-2988, p. 80 (La.12/2/08), 5 So.3d 42, 94, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 70, 175 L.Ed.2d 233 (2009) (citations omitted).
Our review of the record indicates that no explicit motion to sever was made in the trial court. On the second day of trial, defendant's attorney sought to introduce statements of Ms. Crayton due to her unavailability, but co-defendant's attorney opposed their introduction. Then defendant's attorney stated: "And the only way I could see to resolve that quandary, is to split the cases and allow us to go to trial first, Mr. Lewis, and have us go to trial first." The court did not rule on this alleged motion to sever, but did rule that Ms. Crayton's statements were inadmissible hearsay. In addition to the lack of a ruling on the alleged motion to sever, there was also no objection to the lack of a ruling. Accordingly, pursuant to Holmes, any alleged error related to the alleged motion to sever was waived.
Moreover, we find that defendant is not entitled to relief even if the motion to sever was not waived.
LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 704 provides:
Whether justice requires a severance must be determined by the facts of each case. State v. Coe, 09-1012, p. 13 (La.App. 5 Cir. 5/11/10), 40 So.3d 293, 301, writ denied, 10-1245 (La.12/17/10), 51 So.3d 17 (citations omitted). A defendant is not entitled to a severance as a matter of right, but the decision is one resting within the sound discretion of the trial court. Id. A denial of a motion to sever will not be overturned absent a clear abuse of discretion. Id.
A severance is necessary if the defenses of the co-defendants are mutually antagonistic to the extent that one co-defendant attempts to blame the other, causing each defendant to defend against both his co-defendant and the State. Coe, 09-1012 at 13, 40 So.3d at 301. The defendant bears the burden of proof in a motion to sever. Id. The mere unsupported allegation that defenses will be antagonistic is not sufficient to require a severance. Id., 09-1012 at 13, 40 So.3d at 301-02. For defendants to be entitled to separate trials, prejudice must be shown. State v. Jackson, 03-883, p. 16 (La.App. 5 Cir. 4/27/04),
At trial in the present case, the only reference to conflicting interests between defendant and his co-defendant was made by defendant's attorney when he stated that he wanted Ms. Crayton's statements to come into evidence, while his co-defendant did not. Similar to Jackson, neither defendant blamed the other. The mere allegation of conflicting interests between co-defendants regarding the introduction of a witness's statements, without the defendants blaming the other, does not constitute mutually antagonistic defenses requiring severance.
Moreover, defendant has not shown how he was prejudiced by the lack of a severance. He contends that he was prejudiced because he was precluded from having Ms. Crayton's statements introduced into evidence. There were three statements of Ms. Crayton that defendant sought to have introduced and his co-defendant opposed.
This assignment of error is without merit.
In this assignment of error, defendant argues that a Tanfoglio gun box recovered from his residence, which was admitted for impeachment purposes, was admitted erroneously because it was irrelevant. Defendant asserts that the evidence was more prejudicial than probative. In response, the State contends that because this evidence was used for impeachment purposes, it was more probative than prejudicial. In any event, the State claims that even if this evidence was erroneously admitted, the error was harmless since the jury was aware that the murder weapon was not a Tanfoglio gun.
Pursuant to a search warrant obtained for defendant's residence, a Tanfoglio .45 caliber green gun box was seized. When the State sought to introduce the gun box at trial, the defense objected and the following discussion took place:
Relevant evidence is evidence which tends to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. LSA-C.E. art. 401. Although relevant, evidence may nonetheless be excluded if the probative value is substantially outweighed by its prejudicial effect. LSA-C.E. art. 403.
A trial judge, in deciding the issue of relevancy, must determine whether the evidence bears a rational connection to the
In State v. Manieri, 378 So.2d 931 (La. 1979), the defendants were found guilty of murdering an 11-year-old boy by stabbing and strangulation. Three knives were among the items admitted as evidence at trial. Id. at 933. None of the knives had blood stains on them, and a State's witness testified that none of the knives was the murder weapon. Id. The Supreme Court held that the trial court erred in admitting the knives, but that it was not reversible error, noting that no effort was made during the trial to connect the knives with the crime, thus little possibility existed that the jurors would prejudicially associate the defendants with the knives. Id.
In State v. Burbank, 01-0831, p. 14 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2/27/02), 811 So.2d 1112, 1121, writ granted in part, judgment rev'd in part, 02-1407 (La.4/23/04), 872 So.2d 1049, the Fourth Circuit found that a firearm recovered from the defendant's home pursuant to a search warrant was relevant evidence, and thus admissible at the defendant's trial for first degree murder, although the firearm was not the murder weapon. The court reasoned that the weapon was relevant and admissible because it was introduced as part of all the evidence recovered during the execution of the search warrant at the defendant's residence, the weapon provided evidence that the defendant was familiar with and used guns, and the weapon impeached the testimony of the defendant's mother that she had never seen defendant with a weapon. Id., 01-0831 at 14-15, 811 So.2d at 1121-22.
The instant case shares similar facts as those in Burbank. Just as in Burbank, the gun box was recovered during the execution of a search warrant at defendant's residence, it tended to indicate that defendant was familiar with guns, and it tended to impeach defendant's statement that he had never carried or possessed a gun. In his first statement to the police, defendant denied participation in and knowledge of the murder and disclaimed carrying or possessing a gun. Therefore, the gun box was relevant to attack defendant's credibility.
Further, no effort was made during the trial to connect the Tanfoglio weapon with the murder. In fact, Detective Meunier's testimony made the jury explicitly aware that the Tanfoglio firearm was not the murder weapon. Thus, there was little possibility that the jury was confused or mislead by the admission of the gun box into evidence.
Having found the gun box relevant and more probative than prejudicial, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the gun box into evidence.
Further, any error in the admission of evidence is subject to a harmless error analysis. State v. Hotard, 07-498, p. 7 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/27/07), 975 So.2d 16, 20. The test for determining harmless error is whether the verdict actually rendered in the case was surely unattributable to the error. Id.
In this case, Mr. Lindsey identified defendant as the gunman in his statement to the police and from photographic lineups. Mr. Lindsey stated that he accompanied defendant to the victim's residence on the night of the murder. The victim's grandmother, mother, and Mr. Lindsey all stated that they heard the victim say the name "Cedric" before he was killed. Additionally, a droplet of blood containing defendant's DNA was discovered
This assignment of error is without merit.
The record was reviewed for errors patent in accordance with LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 920; State v. Oliveaux, 312 So.2d 337 (La. 1975); and State v. Weiland, 556 So.2d 175 (La.App. 5 Cir.1990).
The record reveals that the trial judge did not observe the mandatory 24-hour delay between the denial of defendant's motion for a new trial and sentencing, as required by LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 873. The trial judge denied defendant's motion for a new trial on September 16, 2011, and imposed sentence on defendant that same day.
In State v. White, 404 So.2d 1202 (La. 1981), the Louisiana Supreme Court stated:
White, 404 So.2d at 1204 (citation omitted).
Citing White, supra, this Court has found that when a defendant does not waive the 24-hour delay afforded by LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 873, and does not challenge the penalty imposed, the error may be harmless. State v. Jones, 07-271, pp. 10-11 (La.App. 5 Cir. 10/30/07), 970 So.2d 1143, 1149-50.
Although defendant in this case did not waive the delay for sentencing, he did not object to the sentence in the trial court, nor raise any issue regarding his sentence on appeal. Accordingly, we find that no corrective action is necessary concerning this issue.
For the foregoing reasons, defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.