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State v. Joseph1/29/2003
The defendant, Billy Ray Joseph, was found guilty as charged of driving while intoxicated, third offense. He argues on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he operated a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. We affirm the defendant's conviction, but we remand the matter to the trial court for re-sentencing according to law.
FACTS
At around 11:00 a.m., on March 1, 2001, an accident involving three vehicles occurred at the intersection of Hearne and Vivian in Shreveport, Louisiana. The accident resulted when a white Chevrolet pickup truck ran a stop sign on Vivian. As explained at trial by James Monette and Michael Foust, both witnesses to the accident, the Chevy truck hit a Dodge truck with an attached horse-trailer, thereby causing the trailer to jack-knife and hit Monette's vehicle. The driver of the Chevy truck fled the scene and left the vehicle behind.
Corporal Kelly Silva of the Shreveport Police Department ("SPD") responded to the accident. Officer Silva received information that the driver of the Chevy had left the scene. While canvassing the area in a patrol car, Officer Silva came across Jack Wynn, who informed the officer that he had been flagged down by a black male with a little boy and had given them a ride to the Lakehurst area. The address on the registration papers found in the glove box inside the abandoned Chevy was located on Lakehurst. Officer Silva and another officer proceeded to the address listed on the registration. A little boy answered the door. The defendant was also in the house with the boy. Officer Silva noted an odor of alcohol about the defendant. Alcohol had also been found in the abandoned Chevy. The defendant was placed under arrest. Officer Silva testified that approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes elapsed from the time of dispatch to the accident scene until arrival at the Lakehurst address. Wynn testified that he was later called back to the accident scene where he identified the man who had been arrested as the man he gave a ride to earlier, however he could not identify the defendant at trial.
Following the arrest, the defendant was transported to SPD's traffic bureau where he underwent field sobriety testing and submitted to the Intoxilyzer test. The defendant was informed of his rights, and the testing was videotaped. The video was played for the jury at trial. The results of the Intoxilyzer were 0.155 grams percent at 12:54 p.m. The defendant admitted on the video to driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. He stated on the video that he began drinking at 8:30 a.m., that he last had a drink at either 9:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m., and that he had not consumed alcohol since the accident. The evidence introduced at trial also established two prior DUI convictions on the defendant's record. The defense offered no evidence at trial.
DISCUSSION
Sufficiency of the Evidence
The standard of appellate review for a sufficiency of the evidence claim is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979); 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. The Jackson standard is applicable in cases involving both direct and circumstantial evidence. 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 prosec
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