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STATE OF LOUISIANA                                                      *   NO. 2012-KA-0853
VERSUS                                                                  *
                                                                            COURT OF APPEAL
SCOTT J. BROWN                                                          *
                                                                            FOURTH CIRCUIT
                                                                        *
                                                                            STATE OF LOUISIANA
                                                                        *
APPEAL FROM
CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT ORLEANS PARISH
NO. 505-610, SECTION “K”
Honorable Arthur Hunter, Judge
Judge Edwin A. Lombard
(Court composed of Judge Terri F. Love, Judge Edwin A. Lombard, Judge
Madeleine M. Landrieu)
Leon A. Cannizzaro, Jr.
District Attorney
Scott G. Vincent
Assistant District Attorney
619 South White Street
New Orleans, LA 70119
COUNSEL FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Gwendolyn K. Brown
Louisiana Appellate Project
P.O. Box 64962
Baton Rouge, LA 70896-4962
COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT
AFFIRMED
FEBRUARY 6, 2013




The defendant, Scott J. Brown, seeks reversal of his conviction for simple
burglary of a vehicle pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 14: 62(A) and the denial of his
motion for new trial and motion in arrest of judgment on the basis of insufficiency
of evidence.  For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the conviction and
sentence.
Relevant Procedural History
The defendant was charged by bill of information with one count of simple
burglary of a vehicle on May 4, 2011.  He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on
June 15, 2011, and at the preliminary hearing on July 26, 2011, the trial court
found that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding of probable cause.
The defendant waived his right to a jury and, after a judge trial held on October 12,
2011, the defendant was found guilty as charged.  On November 4, 2011, he filed a
motion for new trial and motion in arrest of judgment, arguing that the evidence
presented at trial was insufficient to support a conviction.  The motions were
denied on December 12, 2011.
On December 16, 2011, the defendant was sentenced to five years at hard
labor.  The court also imposed fines and fees of $500.00 to the Judicial Expense
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Fund and $191.50 in court costs.  The sentence was suspended and the defendant
was placed on five years active probation.  The defendant was ordered to serve
twenty-five Sundays in the “weekend warrior” program.
Assignment of Error
The defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his
conviction and, concomitantly, the trial court erred in denying the motion for new
trial and motion in arrest of judgment.  Specifically, the defendant argues that the
evidence is insufficient in this case because the State failed to prove that the
defendant himself entered the vehicle with the intent to commit a theft or that he
acted in concert with someone who entered it with the intent to commit a theft.
Applicable Law
We review the sufficiency of the evidence under the standard enunciated in
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979).  See State v. Brown, 2003-0897, p. 22
(La. 4/12/05), 907 So.2d 1, 18.  Accordingly, we “must determine that the
evidence, 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 had been
proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”  State v. Neal, 2000-0674, p. 9 (La. 6/29/01),
796 So.2d 649, 657 (quoting State v. Captville, 448 So.2d 676, 678 (La. 1984)).
The determination of credibility is a question of fact within the sound discretion of
the trier of fact and will not be disturbed unless clearly contrary to the evidence.
State v. Holmes, 2006-2988, p. 34 (La. 12/2/08), 5 So.3d 42, 68;  State v. Vessell,
450 So.2d 938, 943 (La. 1984).
In this case, the defendant was charged with simple burglary which, as
defined in La. Rev. Stat. 14:62, is “ the unauthorized entering of any dwelling,
vehicle, watercraft, or other structure, movable or immovable, or any cemetery,
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with the intent to commit a felony or any theft therein, other than as set forth in La.
Rev. Stat. 14:60 [aggravated burglary].”  The requisite intent required by La. Rev.
Stat. 14:62 is specific intent.  State v. Smith, 2002-1018, p. 7 (La. App. 5 Cir.
3/11/03), 844 So.2d 119, 125.  Specific criminal intent is defined as “that state of
mind which exists when the circumstances indicate that the offender actively
desired the prescribed criminal consequences to follow his act or failure to act.”
La. R.S. 14:10(1).  Specific intent may be inferred from the circumstances and
actions of the defendant.  State v. Ennis, 2011-0976, p. 7 (La. App. 4 Cir. 7/15/12),
97 So.3d 575, 580, quoting State v. Riley, 2008-1102, p. 9 (La. App. 4 Cir.
4/24/09), 10 So.3d 1232, 1237.  Whether a criminal defendant possessed the
requisite intent is for the trier of fact, and a review of the correctness of that
determination is guided by the Jackson standard.  State v. Naquin, 2010-0474, p. 9
(La. App. 5 Cir. 2/15/11), 61 So.3d 67, 71-72.
Entry, in relation to La. Rev. Stat. 14:62, is accomplished whenever any part
of the defendant’s person passes the line of the threshold.  State v. Conner, 2008-
0473, pp. 5-6 (La. App. 4 Cir. 10/1/08), 996 So.2d 564, 568.  It is sufficient that
any part of the person intrudes, even momentarily, into the structure.  Id.
Relevant Facts
The following evidence was adduced at trial:
On April 7, 2011, at approximately 4:00 a.m., in response to a 911 call from
gilbert Caesar, Officer Robert King of the New Orleans Police Department
(NOPD) was dispatched to a vehicle theft in progress in the 8300 block of Curran
Boulevard, near the intersection with Crowder Boulevard in Orleans Parish. The
defendant was arrested at the scene.  Mr. Caesar and Officer King, as well as
Claudine Howard (the owner of the vehicle) testified at trial.
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Mr. Caesar stated that on April 7, 2011, he awoke up around 4:00 a.m. when
he heard a noise outside his residence at 8320 Curran Boulevard.  From his upstairs
window, he observed two men across the street near the vehicle owned by his
neighbor, Ms. Howard.  He saw one man carrying a car hood which was placed in
the back of a truck or sport utility vehicle driven by another individual.  Those two
individuals drove away with the car hood.  A third man, heavily built and wearing
a green hat, walked back towards the vehicle.  He continued to watch the man with
the green hat while his wife telephoned the police.  The stood in front of vehicle
and then, as if something spooked him, started to walk away from the vehicle
ducking in and out of dark yards down the street.  Mr. Caesar saw no one else in
the area at the time and was still watching the man in the green hat when the police
arrived.  Mr. Caesar testified that he had never lost sight of the man in the green
hat, explaining that he directed the police to the man and watched as the police
apprehended him.
On cross examination, Mr. Caesar conceded that he never saw the man in the
green hat inside the vehicle, never saw him remove anything from the vehicle, and
never saw him in possession of the hood or any of the vehicle’s contents.  He also
conceded that he never saw the man’s face and could not identify the defendant in
court.
Officer King testified that he was dispatched to a possible auto theft in
progress on the day and time in question and, upon arriving at the scene, saw the
defendant (the only individual in the area) wearing jeans, a long-sleeve black shirt
and a green “Mountain Dew” hat.  As Officer King watched, the defendant walked
down the street, past an empty lot and into the driveway of a residence several
houses down from the victim’s vehicle, and picked up a newspaper on the ground.
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At this point, Officer King stopped the defendant to discover what he was doing
out at that time of morning and, subsequently, recovered in the course of a pat-
down some small hand tools, a flashlight, an open-end wrench, a lock to a tool
used for removing lock nuts on vehicles, a socket, a screw that looked like part of a
vehicle, and a towel.
Officer King observed that the vehicle in question was partially stripped.
The hood was removed; there was a screwdriver wedged in between the headlight
and the frame of the vehicle; the battery was removed; the doors were partially
open; the inside of the vehicle had been rummaged through; and there was a bag of
tools and CDs on the ground beside the vehicle.  Officer King noted similarities
between the tools found next to the vehicle and the tools found on the defendant’s
person.  He further testified that the bolt found on the defendant’s person was
similar to the bolts that he observed on the victim’s vehicle.
Claudine Howard, the owner of the vehicle, testified that when she went to
bed in the early morning hours of April 7, 2011, her vehicle was intact, but when
the police came to her door later that morning, the vehicle’s hood was missing and
the battery, along with some of the vehicle’s contents, had been removed from the
vehicle and placed on the ground.  In addition, an open bag of tools was on the
ground next to her vehicle.  Ms. Howard stated that she did not know the defendant
and did not give anyone permission to enter her vehicle or to remove anything
from her vehicle.
The defendant did not testify or call witnesses on his own behalf at trial.
Discussion
The defendant points out that the State did not prove that he actually entered
the victim’s vehicle.  However, it is well established that one may be a principal to
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a burglary without having personally entered the burglarized structure.  State v.
Arceneaux, 2007-0692, p. 11 (La. App. 5 Cir. 3/25/08), 983 So.2d 148, 154.
Because the State did not present evidence that the defendant personally
entered the victim’s vehicle, it had the burden of proving that he was a principal to
the unauthorized entry.  State v. Arceneaux, 2005-0338, p. 7 (La. App. 5 Cir.
12/27/05), 930 So.2d 44, 49.  La. Rev. Stat. 14:24 defines “principals” as “all
persons concerned in the commission of a crime, whether present or absent, and
whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense, aid and abet in its
commission, or directly or indirectly counsel or procure another to commit the
crime.”  Accordingly, the State did not need to prove that the defendant personally
entered the vehicle; it only had to prove that he was someone “concerned with the
commission of the crime” in order for him to be found guilty as a principal to the
burglary.  State v. McCord, 2011-0656, p. 9 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2/15/12), 85 So.3d
210, 215.
The record contains evidence which, viewed in the light most favorable to
the prosecution, supports the judge’s finding that the defendant was guilty, beyond
a reasonable doubt, of being a principal in the simple burglary of a vehicle
pursuant to La. Rev. Stat. 14:62.  The eyewitness testified that he saw a man
walking away from the victim’s vehicle carrying a car hood, accompanied by a
man in a green hat.  He observed the man with the green hat return to the vehicle,
stand directly in front of the motor, where he was “doing something.”  At that time,
he stated that it looked like the man got spooked and walked away, went to the
back of a dark yard, came forward, then started walking down the street.  Officer
King identified the defendant as the man wearing the green hat that he
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apprehended near the crime scene, in possession of various tools and car parts that
were similar to those found on or near the victim’s vehicle.
Conclusion
The evidence is sufficient to support the defendant’s conviction for violation
of La. Rev. Stat. 14:62(A) and, accordingly, the trial court did not err in denying
the defendant’s motion for new trial and motion in arrest of judgment.  The
defendant’s conviction and sentence are affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
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