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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
STATE OF LOUISIANA                                                                 *   NO. 2007-KA-1340
VERSUS                                                                             *   COURT OF APPEAL
EVERETT A. WILLIAMS, III                                                           *   FOURTH CIRCUIT
                                                                                   *   STATE OF LOUISIANA
*
APPEAL FROM
CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT ORLEANS PARISH
NO. 468-698, SECTION “I”
Honorable Raymond C. Bigelow, Judge
Judge Dennis R. Bagneris, Sr.
(Court composed of Judge Dennis R. Bagneris, Sr., Judge Max N. Tobias, Jr.,  and
Judge David S. Gorbaty)
Laura Pavy
LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT
New Orleans, LA   70175-0602
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT
Keva Landrum-Johnson
District Attorney
Alyson Graugnard
Assistant District Attorney
1340 Poydras Street
Suite 700
New Orleans, LA   70112-1221
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED;
MOTION TO WITHDRAW GRANTED
MARCH 19, 2008




Everett A. Williams appeals his conviction and sentence for one count
of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, requesting only a review of the
record for errors patent.    Finding no error, we affirm his conviction and
sentence, and grant his counsel’s motion to withdraw from representing him.
FACTS
On February 22, 2007, the State charged Williams with one count of
simple  burglary  of  an  inhabited  dwelling.    He  pled  not  guilty  at  his
arraignment on March  2.    On March  23, the court heard and denied his
motions to suppress the evidence and the statement.   His first trial, held on
May 21, ended in a mistrial.   On that date Williams also reurged his motion
to suppress the statement, and the court heard testimony on the motion and
then continued the matter.   The motion became moot when the State on June
1 indicated it would not use Williams’ statement at trial.   On June 13, at the
close of a two-day trial, a twelve-person jury found him guilty as charged.
On June 29, the court sentenced Williams to serve eight years at hard labor,
the first year without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
On July 17, Williams moved for an appeal, which the court granted.
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At  approximately                                                                   12:30  p.m.  on  December  13,  2006,  the  police
received notification of a burglar alarm tripped at 7401 Spruce Street, which
is located at the corner of Lowerline Street.   Off. Sean Gibson testified that
he responded to the call within ten minutes.   He stated that he parked his car
at the corner of Lowerline, and he noticed a man later identified as the
defendant Everett Williams exiting the back gate of a wooden fence on the
Lowerline Street side of 7401 Spruce.   Off. Gibson testified that Williams
was carrying a television.    The officer called for backup.    Off. Gibson
testified that he saw Williams walk over to a gold Lexus that was parked
near the gate and try to put the television into the passenger seat of the car.
It did not fit, and Williams then walked to the open trunk at the back of the
car.   Off. Gibson testified that he quickly approached the Lexus, and because
Williams  was  behind  the  open  trunk  lid,  he  could  not  see  the  officer
approaching him.   Off. Gibson stated that just as he reached the trunk of the
car, Williams put the television into the trunk, thereby freeing his hands.
Off.  Gibson  stated  that  he  reached  over  and  grabbed  Williams’  wrist,
handcuffing him.   Off. Gibson testified that he placed Williams on the curb
between the car and the back yard, and when he looked through the open
gate into the back yard, he saw another person running through the yard.   He
stated  that  he  did  not  pursue  the  second  suspect  because  he  was  still
detaining Williams.
Off. Gibson testified that when he asked Williams for his name and
birthdate, Williams identified himself as Leon Turner and gave a birthdate
from the 1970’s.   However, Williams also stated that he was in his forties,
leading Off. Gibson to believe that Williams was lying.   Off. Gibson stated
that backup officers soon arrived and entered the back yard through the gate.
He stated that they found no one in the yard, but they indicated that the back
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door to the residence had been kicked-in.   The officers entered the residence,
and although they did not find anyone inside the residence, they noted that it
appeared as if things had been moved around inside.   Off. Gibson also stated
that the other officers found an ADT burglar alarm panel face plate lying on
the ground by the front door and wires hanging out of the wall.   Off. Gibson
testified that he arrested Williams for residence burglary and advised him of
his rights.
On cross-examination, Off. Gibson testified that the gold Lexus was
stolen.   He testified that he did not pursue the other suspect, and he did not
know if any of the other officers searched the neighborhood for him.   He
stated that he did not frisk Williams after he detained and handcuffed him.
He  denied  defense  counsel’s  assertion  that  he  chased  another  suspect
through a side gate and down the alleyway between the residence and the
house next door, nor did he see anyone jump the fence in the back yard.   He
also denied defense counsel’s theory that he then encountered Williams
walking by on the street.   He denied that Williams told him that he was
visiting his brother, Leon Turner, or that Williams told him that his brother
was born on December 23, 1973.   Off. Gibson stated that the officers found
a footprint on the back door that did not match the shoes Williams was
wearing.
The State presented the testimony of Off. Larry Kooken, who was not
present but had testified at an earlier hearing.   Off. Kooken testified that
when he arrived at 7401 Spruce Street, Williams was already in custody.   He
testified that Off. Gibson asked him to check inside the residence to see if
anyone was in there.   He stated that he and other officers entered the back
yard but saw no one.   They then went into the house, but they found no one
inside.   He stated that he returned to Off. Gibson, who asked him to take
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charge of Williams.   He testified that he picked up Williams from the ground
and searched him, finding three remote controllers in the back of Williams’
waistband.  He then turned Williams over to another officer.
Det. Nicole McCaskill testified that she also entered the residence.
Once inside, she found that the ADT alarm panel on the wall had been
damaged.   She testified that when she went back outside, she approached
Williams, who was sitting on the sidewalk near the house, and advised
Williams  of  his  rights.    At  that  time,  she  questioned  Williams,  and  he
identified himself by his real name.
Glenn Madison, employed by the N.O.P.D. crime lab, testified that he
took photographs at the scene and lifted fingerprints from a chest of drawers
in the den and from a jar outside.   He also stated that he photographed and
dusted a footprint on the back door.   He testified that he compared it to
Williams’ shoes, and he was not sure if they matched the footprint.   He also
collected various items of clothing given to him by officers on the scene.
Mr.  Madison  testified  that  he  did  not  know  what  happened  to  the
photographs he took that day.
Tenisha Stevens identified herself as an investigator for the District
Attorney’s Office.   She testified that sometime after the incident she went to
7401 Spruce Street to take photographs of the scene and of the items that
were recovered.   She testified that she took photographs of the television, the
remote controls, and a knapsack.   She also took a photograph of the back
door that had been removed but was still in the back yard.   She stated that
the  original  photographs  taken  by  crime  lab  personnel  could  not  be
developed because of some sort of malfunction.
The State also presented the testimony of Dr. Judith Maxwell from an
earlier hearing.   Dr. Maxwell testified that she owned the residence at 7401
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Spruce, having inherited it from her mother, but she rented it to two Tulane
professors, Dr. Holliday and Dr. Morgan, one of whom worked with her in
the Anthropology Department.   She testified that on December 13, 2006, she
received a call for Dr. Holliday concerning the break-in at the residence.
She stated that because Dr. Holliday was out- of- town, she and her secretary
went to the residence.   Dr. Maxwell testified that she told the officers on the
scene  that  she  did  not  live  there  but  that  some  of  the  property  inside
belonged to her.   She testified that she only saw two remote controls lying
outside on the sidewalk that day, one of which had belonged to her mother.
She also testified that the gold Lexus was parked on Lowerline Street level
with  its  back  gate  open.    She  testified  that  she  had  not  given  anyone
permission to enter the residence that day.
Dr. Kathleen Morgan testified that she and her husband Dr. Holliday
lived at 7401 Spruce Street on December 13, 2006.   She testified that the
family left home that morning for an out-of-town trip, and she was later
notified  that  someone  had  broken  into  her  house.    She  identified  the
television seized from the trunk of the Lexus, noting that it had been on a
dresser in the bedroom when they left the house that morning.   She also
identified the remote controls, which she indicated had been lying on top of
the television that morning.   She stated that a camcorder was also missing
from the house.   She testified that she did not know Williams and had not
given him or anyone else permission to enter the residence that day.
Dr. Trenton Holliday testified that he also lived at the residence.   He
testified that on the morning of December 13, he locked the doors and set the
alarm when he and his family left the residence to go to the airport.   He
stated that he had not given anyone permission to enter the residence on that
date.   He stated that the television and the remote controls were inside the
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house when he left.   He stated that the back door had nine panes of glass that
were intact when he left and broken when he returned.   He stated that the
alarm system had been ripped out of the wall, and some drawers had been
opened.   He testified that Dr. Maxwell, the landlord, did not know the code
for the alarm.   He also testified that there was a gate on the fence between
his residence and the one next door, but the gate was locked and he did not
have the key to it.
The  defense  re-called  Off.  Gibson,  who  testified  that  crime  lab
personnel took Williams’ shoes.   Off. Gibson testified that these shoes did
not match the footprint on the back door.
The defense also called Susan Chevalier, Dr. Maxwell’s secretary,
who accompanied Dr. Maxwell to the residence on the day of the burglary.
Ms. Chevalier testified that when she went inside the residence with Dr.
Maxwell, she noticed a camcorder sitting on the counter.   She stated that by
that time, Williams was sitting in the back of a police car.
Artis Ulmer, III testified that he was an investigator.   He testified that
he  went  to  the  scene,  took  photographs,  and  made  diagrams  and
measurements of the residence and the yard.   He testified as to the various
measurements he took.
DISCUSSION
By his sole assignment of error, Williams requests a review of the
record  for  patent  errors.  Such  review  shows  there  are  none.    Counsel
complied with the procedures outlined by Anders v.   California, 386 U.S.
738, 87 S.Ct. 1396 (1967), as interpreted by this Court in State v. Benjamin,
573 So. 2d 528 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1990).   Counsel filed a brief complying with
State v. Jyles, 96-2669 (La. 12/12/97), 704 So. 2d 241.   Counsel’s detailed
review of the procedural history of the case and the facts of the case indicate
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a thorough review of the record.   Counsel moved to withdraw because she
believes,  after  a  conscientious  review  of  the  record,  that  there  is  no
non-frivolous issue for appeal.   Counsel reviewed available transcripts and
found no trial court ruling that arguably supports the appeal.   A copy of the
brief was forwarded to Williams, and this Court informed him that he had
the right to file a brief in his own behalf.   He has not done so.   Thus, this
Court’s review is limited to errors on the face of the record.   La. C.Cr.P. art.
920.
As  per  State  v.  Benjamin,  this  Court  performed  an  independent,
thorough review of the pleadings, minute entries, bill of information, and
transcripts in the appeal record.   Williams was properly charged by bill of
information with a violation of La. R.S. 14:62.2, and the bill was signed by
an  assistant  district  attorney.    Williams  was  present  and  represented  by
counsel  at  arraignment,  during  the  trial,  and  at  sentencing.    The  jury’s
verdict and Williams’ sentence are legal in all respects.    Furthermore, a
review  of  the  trial  transcript  shows  that  the  State  provided  sufficient
evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Williams was guilty of
simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling.
Our independent review reveals no non-frivolous issue and no trial
court ruling that arguably supports the appeal. Therefore, we affirm Everett
Williams’ conviction and sentence, and we grant appellate counsel’s motion
to withdraw.
CONVICTION AND SENTENCE AFFIRMED;
MOTION TO WITHDRAW GRANTED
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