State v. Collins

334 So.3d 1098

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee

v.Cartez S. COLLINS, Appellant

No. 54,280-KA

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

Judgment rendered March 9, 2022

LOUISIANA APPELLATE PROJECT, By: Peggy J. Sullivan, Monroe, Counsel for Appellant

JAMES E. STEWART, SR., District Attorney, REBECCA A. EDWARDS, WILLIAM C. GASKINS, BRITTANY B. ARVIE, TOMMY J. JOHNSON, Assistant District Attorneys Counsel for Appellee

Before PITMAN, STONE, and STEPHENS, JJ.

STEPHENS, J.

This criminal appeal by defendant, Cartez S. Collins, arises from the First Judicial District Court, Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana. Collins was convicted of aggravated battery, adjudicated a second-felony offender, and sentenced to serve ten years at hard labor without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. For the following reasons, Collins's conviction and sentence are affirmed.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On September 16, 2019, Collins was involved in a physical altercation with his two brothers, J.B. and Livontae, which concluded with Collins stabbing J.B. below his right ribcage. J.B., who suffered a punctured lung and a lacerated diaphragm and liver, received medical treatment and survived his injury. Collins was subsequently arrested and charged by bill of information with attempted second degree murder. Following a jury trial commencing on October 28, 2020, a unanimous verdict of guilty of aggravated battery was returned. Collins filed a motion for post-verdict judgment of acquittal, which was denied prior to sentencing. The State filed a second-felony habitual offender bill of information. After a hearing on December 7, 2020, Collins was adjudicated a second-felony offender and sentenced to serve ten years at hard labor without benefit of probation or suspension of sentence. His motion to reconsider sentence was denied without hearing. This appeal by Collins ensued.

DISCUSSION

Overview of Relevant Testimony

The State called Brandy Beverly as its first witness. Brandy testified she was the mother of the victim, the defendant, and Livontae. At the time of the incident, J.B. was 17 and Collins was 25.¹ Collins's girlfriend, Molly Baker, and Brandy's sister, Sharon Arthur, were also present during the altercation.² Brandy, Sharon, Livontae, and J.B. arrived at Brandy's home in Sharon's minivan after having been to the store. Upon their arrival, Collins exited the home, approached the group, and asked Sharon for a cigarette. Sharon and Collins began to argue about her son. Livontae and J.B. joined the argument, and a fistfight began when Collins swung at Livontae while he was still inside the van. Livontae exited the vehicle and engaged in an altercation with Collins. Collins then went around to the passenger side of the vehicle and punched J.B. through the open window, causing J.B. to begin bleeding from his mouth. J.B. exited the van, and a fistfight between the three brothers ensued, with Brandy and Sharon trying to break them up. Eventually, Livontae and J.B. heeded Brandy's instruction to get back into Sharon's van. At that point, Brandy had not seen any weapons. Livontae got in the backseat of the van while J.B. returned to the front passenger seat. Brandy noted Livontae entered the van from the driver's side because the back passenger door of the van was broken and unable to open. Sharon returned to the driver's seat and was about to drive away when Collins ran quickly in and out of the house and crossed in front of Sharon's vehicle to the passenger side, where he reached through the open front passenger window and stabbed J.B. Brandy noted Sharon had to stop to keep from hitting Collins as he crossed in front of the van. Brandy witnessed Collins stab J.B. under the ribcage. Collins stabbed J.B. quickly but at least two times. She described the knife as having ridges on one side of the blade and brass knuckles on the handle. Brandy pulled Collins away and applied pressure to J.B.’s wound while Collins then attempted to get to Livontae. Collins was unable to reach Livontae because the rear passenger door would not open. Sharon then sped away, taking J.B. to a nearby fire station. Brandy called 911, while Collins remained on the premises briefly before walking down the street with Molly, the knife still in his hand.

On cross-examination, Brandy confirmed she actually saw Collins stab J.B. and testified she was certain the van door was closed at the time because the side mirror was broken off when Collins reached through the window to stab J.B. She admitted the brothers had fought in the past, including altercations in which they hit one another with sticks. She also confirmed Collins had previously reported to her that his brothers had threatened to kill him. She testified all of her sons claim to have guns but she had never seen any of them with one. However, Brandy later stated, "I've only saw Cartez with a gun but, I mean, my son, my other son, I've seen him with a gun which it wasn't his, and I'm not sure if the one that Cartez had was his, which he had pictures." Brandy confirmed she had been convicted of cruelty to juveniles involving her sons.³ She denied having a special fondness for J.B. and stated she tries to protect all of her children. She further testified she has never lied to the police.

Sharon Arthur testified Brandy was her best friend, and they refer to one another as sisters. She echoed Brandy's testimony regarding the trip to the grocery store, who was present for the altercation, the van's broken passenger side back door and side mirror, and the general chain of events of the fight between the three brothers. However, Sharon recalled that only she and Brandy had been to the store, but when they arrived at Brandy's home, the three brothers approached the vehicle to unload the groceries. Like Brandy, she testified an argument between the brothers began after she refused Collins's request for a cigarette. She further testified that the physical altercation began when Collins punched J.B. through the passenger side of her car, at which point J.B. and Livontae jumped out and began fighting with Collins. Once the altercation ended, Livontae and J.B. got back into the van, while Collins ran into the house. Prior to that point, Sharon had not seen any weapons in the fight. She first saw the knife when Collins reached through the open window and stabbed J.B. what she believed to be a single time. She stated Collins then tried to reach Livontae with his knife but was unable to because of the broken door. Sharon described the knife as looking like a hunting knife, with ridges on the blade. She stated she initially could not start her car before Collins approached because she panicked and froze. After Brandy pulled Collins away from the van, Sharon drove away and took J.B. to a nearby fire station, where he was transferred into an ambulance and transported to the hospital.

J.B. testified, consistent with Brandy, that he and Livontae had been to the grocery store with Sharon when they arrived home in Sharon's van. Thereafter, a fistfight began between Livontae and him on one side and Collins on the other. Eventually, his mother broke up the fight, and he and Livontae got back into Sharon's van—him in the front passenger seat and Livontae in the back behind the driver. Sharon returned to the driver's seat. He did not see Collins enter the house, but testified that while he was sitting in the van, Collins appeared and stabbed him with a knife through the open window. In addition to the stab wound to his abdomen, he was also suffered cuts to each of his arms. J.B. testified he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks due to injuries sustained to his lungs, liver, and diaphragm.

On cross-examination, J.B. denied ever having threatened Collins or having been involved in prior fights with him. He denied ever hitting Collins with sticks or owning/handling firearms. J.B. recognized the knife, having seen it in the home prior to this incident.

Livontae Beverly was called by the State and testified as a hostile witness. He confirmed he, J.B., Brandy, and Sharon arrived at the home in Sharon's minivan after having been to the grocery store. The group exited the vehicle to unload groceries. Collins was in the yard. A fistfight between the three brothers ensued. The fight ended, and Livontae and J.B. got back in the van. Livontae saw Collins go inside the house then return to the van, at which point he stabbed J.B. through the open passenger window. Collins then attempted to reach into the backseat to stab Livontae before Sharon drove away. Livontae confirmed one side of the knife blade was smooth and the other was jagged, and there were brass knuckles on the handle. Livontae also confirmed that in addition to trying to stab him through the open window, Collins attempted to open the broken back passenger door of the van in order to gain access to him. No weapons were used in the fight prior to Collins returning from the house with the knife.

On cross-examination, Livontae denied having seen J.B. and Collins fight previously. He also denied ever using any weapons, including sticks, in a fight. When asked if he'd ever threatened to kill Collins, he responded, "I said what I said out of anger." When asked what he said, he replied, "I can't remember right off, but I know I said some f***ed up stuff." Livontae confirmed he had seen the knife before in the home, admitted it was his, but claimed he had never used it.

James Harvey testified he was employed with the Shreveport Fire Department and was an EMT at the time of this. He stated J.B. presented with a wound to the lower right abdomen that was two to three inches in length, and that J.B. reported the wound was inflicted with a knife which was approximately six inches in length. J.B. was transported to the hospital by ambulance after his wounds were bandaged, an IV was started, and he was assessed for other injuries.

Corporal David Ware testified he was employed with the Shreveport Police...