Summary
The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed Charles Penn’s convictions and sentences for second-degree murder, obstruction of justice in a homicide investigation, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court remanded for correction of the minute entry and, if necessary, the commitment order to conform to the sentencing transcript. The opinion also addressed sentencing-delay error and Penn’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the discrepancy between the sentencing transcript and the November 8, 2024 minute entry required correction of the minute entry and commitment order.
- Whether the trial court's failure to observe a twenty-four-hour sentencing delay constituted reversible error.
- Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that Penn, rather than Scott, was the shooter.
- Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the specific intent or felony-murder basis required for second-degree murder.
Holdings
- When the sentencing minute entry conflicts with the sentencing transcript, the transcript prevails; the matter may be remanded to correct the minute entry and commitment order to conform to the transcript.
- Any violation of the twenty-four-hour sentencing delay was harmless because defense counsel expressly waived the delay and Penn did not challenge his sentence on appeal.
- The evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Penn, rather than Scott, shot Brooks.
- The evidence was sufficient to support Penn's second-degree-murder conviction because the jury could find that he acted with specific intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm and that he was engaged in an armed robbery.
Key quotations
“where “there is a discrepancy between a minute entry and the transcript, the transcript prevails.”” (at 14)
“An implicit waiver ... runs afoul of the plain language of Art. 873 that requires that the waiver be expressly made.” (at 15)
“determin[e] whether, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found that all of the elements of the offense had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” (at 16-17)
Factual background
Brooks was shot twice in the back at his apartment after Penn and Scott went there to obtain marijuana. Scott testified that Penn brought firearms, pointed a rifle at Brooks, took Brooks's marijuana, cell phone, and firearm, and shot Brooks as he walked away. Surveillance footage, the recovery of the rifle and ammunition from Penn's residence, ballistics evidence linking shell casings at the scene to that rifle, and evidence tracking Brooks's cell phone corroborated material portions of Scott's testimony.
Procedural history
Penn and Travis C. Scott were indicted in Orleans Parish on charges including second-degree murder. The trial court denied Penn's motion to suppress, and the Fourth Circuit denied related writs. Following a jury trial, Penn was convicted as charged and sentenced to life imprisonment for second-degree murder, forty years for obstruction of justice, and twenty years for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial court denied post-verdict motions and a motion to reconsider. On appeal, the court affirmed the convictions and sentences but remanded for correction of the November 8, 2024 minute entry and commitment order to conform to the sentencing transcript.
Remand instructions
Affirm the convictions and sentences, and remand to the trial court to amend the November 8, 2024 minute entry to conform to the sentencing transcript and to correct the commitment order if necessary.