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Judgment rendered March 14, 2012 Application for rehearing may be filed within the delay allowed by Art. 922, La. C.Cr.P.

No. 46,888-KA COURT OF APPEAL SECOND CIRCUIT STATE OF LOUISIANA ***** STATE OF LOUISIANA versus JOHN HENRY CAMPBELL Appellant Appellee

***** Appealed from the First Judicial District Court for the Parish of Caddo, Louisiana Trial Court No. 282,709 Honorable Scott J. Crichton, Judge ***** DOUGLAS LEE HARVILLE Louisiana Appellate Project JOHN HENRY CAMPBELL CHARLES R. SCOTT II District Attorney BRIAN H. BARBER BRADY D. O'CALLAGHAN SUZANNE M. OWEN KODIE SMITH Assistant District Attorneys ***** Before BROWN, WILLIAMS and CARAWAY, JJ. Counsel for Appellant Pro se Counsel for Appellee

CARAWAY, J. John Henry Campbell was found guilty by a unanimous jury of aggravated second degree battery. Campbell was subsequently adjudicated a fourth felony offender and sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. This appeal followed. His appellate counsel has filed a motion to withdraw, together with an Anders1 brief in support of the motion. Campbell filed a pro se brief alleging insufficiency of the evidence, improper admission of other crimes evidence, pretrial discovery violations and a jury deliberation error. For the following reasons, Campbell's conviction and sentence are affirmed. Facts John Henry Campbell was charged by amended bill of information on August 23, 2010, with one count of aggravated second degree battery arising from allegations that Campbell burned his girlfriend multiple times with an iron. On August 24, 2010, Campbell's jury trial commenced. The first witness was Shreveport Police Officer Aisha Barns, who testified that she was the first police officer to respond to a domestic violence call at 5316 Avon Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 20, 2009. When she arrived at the scene, Officer Barns immediately approached a black male, who had just exited his vehicle, read him his rights and passed custody of the man to Officer Brad Sotak and Corporal Richard McDonald for questioning. Officer Barns then spoke with the

The brief was filed in accordance with the cases of: Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967); State v. Jyles, 96-2669 (La. 12/12/97), 704 So. 2d 241; State v. Mouton, 95-0981 (La. 4/28/95), 653 So. 2d 1176; and State v. Benjamin, 573 So. 2d 528 (La. App. 4th Cir. 1990).

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victim, Nakiel Hunter, and observed that she had suffered severe burns on her face and arms caused by a clothing iron which was introduced into evidence. Corporal Richard McDonald testified that he was called to the scene and took photographs of Hunter's injuries which were introduced into evidence. The pictures revealed burns on Hunter's arms and face and a mark on Hunter's neck that appeared to come from strangulation. Officer Brad Sotak testified that upon his arrival at the scene, he discovered the iron used to burn Hunter, and noted it was still warm when he picked it up. Officer Sotak testified that his patrol car was equipped with audio and video capabilities. He transported Campbell to the police station in his patrol vehicle which recorded a conversation between the two. The video was introduced into evidence. The video and audio portions of the recording showed Officer Sotak retrieve the iron and comment that it was still warm. Then, as Officer Sotak entered his vehicle to transport Campbell, he asked another officer whether Campbell had been read his rights. Both the other officer and Campbell stated that he had. Campbell then protested his innocence and stated that Hunter had burned herself with the iron. He also told Officer Sotak that he had used the iron the previous day. He claimed that he choked Hunter, who is bipolar, so that she would stop burning herself with the iron. Campbell also explained that Hunter was upset because she had recently discovered that Campbell was sleeping with another woman. Officer Sotak testified that Campbell told him he did not have any scars on his person.

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Nakiel Hunter testified she was living at 5316 Avon Avenue in Shreveport with Campbell and her two children on November 20, 2009. Hunter stated that at approximately 6:30 a.m., Campbell told her son to go make his bed. Hunter told Campbell to make the bed and her children to wait for the school bus. Campbell responded that he was the provider for the family and could tell her children what to do. He then left the room and Hunter continued ironing her uniform for work. She heard loud noises coming from the other room and thought Campbell was breaking things. Approximately five minutes later, Campbell returned to the room where Hunter was ironing and began calling her insulting names. According to Hunter, Campbell pushed her onto the sofa and began choking her. Campbell then grabbed the iron and again told Hunter that she and her children had to listen to him. Hunter testified that Campbell took the iron and held her down by the throat and burned her with it. Hunter stated she did not have the strength to fight back and Campbell was able to burn her face and arms. Hunter tried to escape out the back door, but Campbell shoved her in the bathroom, pushed her in the bathtub and tried to put her head in the toilet. Hunter somehow escaped the bathroom and got to a phone to call her sister, but Campbell threw the phone and broke it. Hunter finally managed to leave the house and ran down the street to a neighbor's house where she called 911. Hunter testified that Campbell tried to follow her in his car, but police arrived and he returned to the house where police found him. Police took photographs of Hunter's burns and the redness on her neck, which she

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identified in court from the photographs admitted into evidence. Hunter testified that Campbell also burned her left breast and thigh with the iron and showed the jury the resulting scars. Hunter admitted that she suffers from bipolar disorder and had not taken medication for her illness since 2006, but stated that she had never physically injured herself and did not burn herself that day. Hunter testified that she received several letters from Campbell after the incident and identified four letters admitted into evidence. Hunter recognized a letter postmarked November 30, 2009, wherein Campbell told Hunter, "it was all about you from the beginning." Next, Hunter identified a December 15, 2009 letter wherein Campbell stated that "[w]e are both in the wrong, Baby, because I'm wrong for putting my hands on you and you are wrong for the way you talk to me." Hunter identified a letter postmarked January 4, 2010, wherein Campbell told her, "[y]ou told me that you was going to make me an appointment for anger management class." Hunter conceded that she told Campbell prior to the incident she would make him an appointment for anger management. Finally, Hunter identified a letter from Campbell postmarked March 22, 2009, wherein Campbell referred to Hunter as his wife. Following Hunter's testimony, the state rested. The defense called Campbell as its sole witness. Campbell admitted to previously being convicted of illegal use of weapons on March 5, 1996, distribution of a schedule II controlled dangerous substance on September 21, 1998, criminal trespass on April 16, 2004, and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling on February 27, 2006. Campbell testified he had lived

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with Hunter since September of 2007 and that she often accused him of cheating and acted irrationally due to her bipolar disorder. Campbell also stated that Hunter would sometimes hit herself and call herself "stupid." He stated that she also told him once that she thought about killing herself. Campbell testified that on the morning of November 20, 2009, Hunter accused him of cheating on her with a former coworker. Campbell stated that Hunter told him "if I can't have you ain't nobody have you" and proceeded to burn her face with the iron. Campbell testified that he jumped on top of her and began choking her in an attempt to get the iron from her. Campbell stated he was still on probation and was afraid he would get blamed. After the incident, Hunter left to go down the street and Campbell followed her to make sure she did not tell anyone that he had burned her. Campbell denied burning Hunter. Campbell could not explain how Hunter burned both of her arms if she was holding the iron with one hand. He admitted that he never asked about Hunter's welfare after he was arrested and stated that he believed that Hunter concocted the plan to injure herself to send him to prison for life. After considering the evidence and testimony, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty of aggravated second degree battery. On November 17, 2010, Campbell was adjudicated a fourth felony habitual offender. The trial court vacated Campbell's previously imposed sentence,2 and resentenced Campbell to life imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence because

On September 30, 2010, Campbell had been sentenced to 15 years at hard labor on the aggravated second degree battery conviction.

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he was a fourth felony offender with a predicate offense for a crime of violence and a drug conviction. This appeal followed. Discussion Campbell's appellate counsel filed an Anders brief which alleged the existence of no non-frivolous issues for appeal and sought the withdrawal of counsel. Campbell was afforded and took the opportunity to file a brief. Upon review of Campbell's arguments, this court issued an order to counsel to brief arguably non-frivolous issues raised in Campbell's brief relating to other crimes evidence which was not disclosed during pretrial discovery. Thereafter, counsel filed a brief addressing the pretrial discovery issue, urging reversal of Campbell's conviction. Thus we address the merits of the appeal. In his pro se brief, Campbell first argues insufficiency of the evidence to convict because the jury failed to consider that Hunter burned herself with the iron in an effort to send Campbell to jail for life so that he could not be with another woman. In support of his claim, Campbell points to his testimony and the fact that Hunter admitted to suffering from bipolar disorder. When issues are raised on appeal both as to the sufficiency of the evidence and as to 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.

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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 proved beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hearold, 603 So.2d 731 (La. 1992); State v. Moton, 46,607 (La. App. 2d Cir. 9/21/11), 73 So.3d 503, 508; State v. Bosley, 29,253 (La. App. 2d Cir. 4/2/97), 691 So.2d 347, writ denied, 97

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