ROSEMARY LEDET, Judge.
In this criminal appeal, the defendant, Juan Canales, Sr., seeks review of his conviction and sentence for attempted manslaughter. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
On June 20, 2012, Mr. Canales was charged by bill of information with attempted second degree murder of Marvin Tran, in violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:30.1. On July 12, 2012, Mr. Canales entered a plea of not guilty. On August 16, 2012, at a preliminary hearing, the trial court found probable cause for the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter.
On May 8, 2013, at the conclusion of a two-day trial, a twelve-person jury found Mr. Canales guilty of attempted manslaughter, in violation of La. R.S. 14:27 and 14:31. On May 24, 2013, the trial court sentenced Mr. Canales to fifteen years with credit for time served.
On May 26, 2012, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Mr. Tran and his brother, David Tran, went to the Shamrock Bar on Carrolton Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana to meet a few of David's friends. Mr. Tran and David were celebrating David's graduation; and they had gone to dinner and a movie before going to the Shamrock. Approximately five hundred to six hundred people were at the Shamrock that night. Mr. Tran testified that this was his first time visiting the Shamrock
Jimmy Whitehead, a friend of Mr. Canales' from work, testified that he also went to the Shamrock that night to meet Mr. Canales and a few other friends. Mr. Whitehead testified that while he and Mr. Canales were sitting at a booth drinking beers, Mr. Canales pointed out Mr. Tran and said that he was afraid Mr. Tran would do something.
Jonathan Pennington, who went to high school with both Mr. Tran and Mr. Canales, was bartending the side bar next to the men's restroom at the Shamrock that night. He testified that early in the night Mr. Tran came up to him and ordered a drink and said hello. Later that night he also saw Mr. Canales. He testified that Mr. Canales ordered a Red Bull.
Mr. Pennington testified that when he was cleaning up that night, a customer came up to him and told him that someone was being stabbed in the bathroom. He told the door man who was working security, Andrew Armstrong, and a bartender standing next to him, Melissa Trahan. He also found the general manager, Eric Bornholdt, and called 911. He and Mr. Bornholdt realized that a police officer was already downstairs investigating a separate incident in the parking lot. They ran to get the officer.
Meanwhile, Mr. Armstrong ran into the bathroom to assess the situation. He testified that when he first entered, he saw Mr. Tran hunched over on the ground with Mr. Canales on top of him. Mr. Armstrong noticed that Mr. Canales had a knife in his hand. He secured Mr. Canales' hand that was holding the knife and instructed him to let go of it. Mr. Canales complied and informed Mr. Armstrong that he was defending himself. Mr. Armstrong described Mr. Canales as calm and cooperative.
After hearing about the stabbing, Ms. Trahan looked for her boss and then ran to
Officer Duzmal testified that when he entered the bathroom, he saw a very bloody floor and Mr. Tran, who had stab wounds.
Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Bornholdt, and Ms. Trahan testified that Mr. Tran was going in and out of consciousness and that he kept muttering that Mr. Canales did this out of revenge because Mr. Tran testified (or was going to testify) against him in a molestation case. Several people placed pressure on Mr. Tran's wound to try to stop the bleeding and to make sure he stayed awake until the Emergency Medical Services (the "EMS") arrived to take him to the emergency room.
Dr. Lance Stuke
The day after the stabbing, Officer Duzmal went to the hospital and took a statement from Mr. Tran, which was transcribed by his brother David (the "Written Statement"). Mr. Tran was unable to write because of his injuries. Mr. Tran barely recalled giving the Written Statement, as he said he was on a great deal of medication. Further, David only vaguely remembered transcribing the statement.
A couple days later, Detective Kristie Harper was assigned to investigate the case.
Mr. Tran testified — both in the Recorded Statement and at trial — that Mr. Canales' motive for the stabbing was revenge, because Mr. Tran was testifying against Mr. Canales in a molestation case.
Mr. Tran testified that he got into an argument with Mr. Canales in 2010. During the argument, he called Mr. Canales a pedophile and told him that he believed his wife and his step-daughter. Mr. Tran testified that Mr. Canales later sent him several threatening text messages and made several harassing phone calls to him. Following these incidents, Mr. Tran and Mr. Canales were involved in a physical altercation in a lingerie shop in Monroe. Mr. Tran testified that Mr. Canales jumped in front of his face and pushed him. Mr. Tran then tried to swing at him, but he missed. Mr. Canales threw him to the ground and started hitting him. Mr. Tran was arrested as the aggressor; however, the charges were later dropped. Mr. Tran
Mr. Tran testified that he still suffers from medical problems as a result of the stabbing incident, such as digestion problems and emotional problems. He also testified that he moved to Texas after the stabbing incident because it was emotionally too hard for him to stay in Louisiana.
A review of the record for errors patent reveals one. According to La.C.Cr.P. art. 873, "[i]f a motion for a new trial, or in arrest of judgment, is filed, sentence shall not be imposed until at least twenty-four hours after the motion is overruled. If the defendant expressly waives a delay provided for in this article or pleads guilty, sentence may be imposed immediately."
In the instant case, the trial court denied Mr. Canales' motion for new trial; the trial court then stated "[w]aive delays in sentencing?" Mr. Canales' counsel responded "[y]our honor, I believe some of the family wishes to present testimony before sentencing." Defense counsel then proceeded to present testimony from two witnesses attesting to Mr. Canales' character. In proceeding with introducing testimony for Mr. Canales' sentencing rather than objecting to the court's questioning of whether Mr. Canales was waiving the delay, Mr. Canales implicitly waived the delay required by La.C.Cr.P. art. 873.
In his first and only assignment of error, Mr. Canales contends that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed attempted manslaughter. He contends that the State failed to disprove that he acted in self-defense. He submits that the circumstances adduced at trial demonstrate that he withdrew from the conflict and that he was justified in defending himself against being attacked with a knife.
State v. Jasper, 14-0125 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/17/14), 149 So.3d 1239, 1246 (quoting State v. Brown, 12-0626, pp. 6-8 (La.App. 4 Cir. 4/10/13), 115 So.3d 564, 570-71).
The jury found Mr. Canales guilty of attempted manslaughter.
In this case, Mr. Tran positively identified Mr. Canales as the man who attacked him in the bathroom, repeatedly hit him, and stabbed and cut him several times in the abdomen. The evidence was sufficient for the jury to return a verdict of attempted manslaughter. Nonetheless, Mr. Canales contends that the evidence did not disprove that he stabbed Mr. Tran in self-defense.
"In a non-homicide situation, the defense of justification requires a dual inquiry: (1) an objective inquiry into whether the force used was reasonable under the circumstances; and (2) a subjective inquiry into whether the force was apparently necessary." State v. Cooks, 11-0342, p. 11 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/14/11), 81 So.3d 932, 939, writ denied, 12-0112 (La. 5/18/12), 89 So.3d 1189 (citing State v. Fluker, 618 So.2d 459, 462 (La.App. 4th Cir.1993)).
Regardless of whether the State or the defendant bears the burden of proof regarding self-defense in non-homicide situations,
The testimony and evidence introduced by the State proves that Mr. Canales did not act in self-defense. Mr. Tran was the only person to testify as to what actually happened during the attack and stabbing. He testified that, unprovoked and unexpectedly, he was hit from behind on his head and face, and stabbed and cut several times in his abdomen. Mr. Tran testified that at no time did he pull out his knife on Mr. Canales. Further, he testified that he did not grab Mr. Canales and prevent him from leaving. Rather, he only tried to stop Mr. Canales from hitting him. This testimony defeats Mr. Canales' self-defense argument.
Corroborating Mr. Tran's testimony, Mr. Armstrong testified that it was Mr. Canales who was holding the knife and who was on top of Mr. Tran when he entered the bathroom. Moreover, the severe injuries Mr. Tran suffered, as opposed to the minor injuries Mr. Canales suffered, support Mr. Tran's testimony that he was not the aggressor and that Mr. Canales was not acting in self-defense. Several Shamrock employees also testified that Mr. Tran kept saying, even in his nearly unconscious state, that Mr. Canales stabbed him out of revenge for testifying
Mr. Canales, however, contends that the events that occurred during the fight between himself and Mr. Tran were disputed. Mr. Canales notes that the knife used in the stabbing belonged to Mr. Tran and that it was unreasonable for the jury to find that he was able to see the knife and take it from Mr. Tran's back pocket during the fight. He contends that Mr. Tran testified that he commonly used the knife when he was attacked. He contends that this evidenced a propensity by Mr. Tran to get into fights and to use his knife. He further contends that Mr. Tran had attacked him in the past.
Mr. Canales also argues that Mr. Tran himself admitted in his Recorded Statement that Mr. Canales attempted to leave before the stabbing occurred but Mr. Canales prevented him from leaving. Mr. Canales submits that at this point, Mr. Tran became the aggressor. Mr. Canales contends that only then did he use the knife to defend himself. Still further, Mr. Canales contends that he sustained "significant" injuries during the fight, while Mr. Tran's injuries were not immediately life-threatening.
A reading of the transcript dispels these arguments. The fact that the knife belonged to Mr. Tran did not prove that Mr. Canales used it in self-defense. Contrary to Mr. Canales' contention that it was unlikely that he knew about the knife and took it from Mr. Tran, Mr. Tran testified that he carried the knife while he was working in Monroe and living with Mr. Canales. Further, Mr. Tran testified that the knife and clip were visible. Also contrary to Mr. Canales' contention, Mr. Tran did not testify that he "commonly" used the knife when attacked. Rather, Mr. Tran testified that he carried the knife for cutting boxes and other things. He testified: "But I never really — when I get attacked, I don't consider using it as a weapon." Significantly, although Mr. Tran and Mr. Canales were involved in a fight in Monroe that may have been started by Mr. Tran, Mr. Tran did not use his knife during that altercation.
With respect to Mr. Canales' "significant" injuries, Officer Duzmal identified photographs of Mr. Canales' injuries, which were taken by the defense within days of the incident. According to Officer Duzmal, the photographs showed that Mr. Canales had a minor cut on the interior of his hand, a small cut on his index finger that required two sutures, an abrasion on his knuckle, and a bit of bruising on his wrist. The photographs do not show any "significant" injuries. Further, Mr. Tran testified that he grabbed Mr. Canales' wrists in order to get the knife from him, which would explain these injuries. Also buttressing that Mr. Canales' injuries were not significant, Mr. Armstrong testified that he did not notice any injuries on Mr. Canales when he pulled him off of Mr. Tran. By contrast, the photographs of Mr. Tran's injuries show severe wounds, including stab wounds to the side and stomach. Indeed, Dr. Stuke testified that Mr. Tran's intestine was protruding through one of the wounds. Dr. Stuke also testified that although the injuries were not immediately life-threatening, they would have been fatal if not promptly treated.
As noted, the defense claims that Mr. Canales started to retreat but Mr. Tran
The jury was aware of the discrepancies between Mr. Tran's Recorded Statement and his trial testimony. The jury, nevertheless, rejected Mr. Canales' argument that his stabbing of Mr. Tran was in self-defense. A factfinder's credibility determination is entitled to great weight and should not be disturbed unless it is contrary to the evidence. State v. Johnson, 09-0259, p. 9 (La.App. 4 Cir. 9/16/09), 22 So.3d 205, 211. Given Mr. Tran's physical and mental state at the time he gave his Recorded Statement, we find that the jury did not abuse its discretion in discrediting the defense's arguments and finding that Mr. Canales' actions were not justified.
Viewing all the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Canales was guilty of attempted manslaughter.
For the foregoing reasons, the defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.