STATE OF LOUISIANA VERSUS HOWARD S. MOORE AKA HOWARD SU MOORE AKA PACO

STATE OF LOUISIANA

COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

11-1080

STATE OF LOUISIANA

VERSUS

HOWARD S. MOORE
a/k/a HOWARD SU MOORE
a/k/a PACO

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APPEAL FROM THE
THIRTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
PARISH OF VERNON, DOCKET NO. 79483
HONORABLE JOHN C. FORD, DISTRICT JUDGE
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SYLVIA R. COOKS
JUDGE

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Court composed of Judges Sylvia R. Cooks, Marc T. Amy and Phyllis M. Keaty.

Affirmed.

Paula C. Marx
Louisiana Appellate Project
P.O. Box 80006
Lafayette, LA 70598-0006
(337) 991-9757
Attorney For Defendant/Appellant, Howard S. Moore

Asa A. Skinner
District Attorney
Terry W. Lambright
Assistant District Attorney
P.O. Box 1188
Leesville, Louisiana 71446
Attorneys For Plaintiff/Appellee, State of Louisiana

Cooks, Judge.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Howard S. Moore (Defendant), was charged with armed robbery, a violation

of La.R.S. 14:64, or in the alternative, first degree robbery, a violation of La.R.S.

14:64.1; and with extortion as a principal, violations of La.R.S. 14:24 and 14:66.

He pled no contest to the extortion charge on February 11, 2011. The State agreed

to dismiss the robbery charges and not to charge Defendant as a habitual offender.

The trial court ordered a pre-sentencing investigation. On April 20, 2011,

Defendant was sentenced to five years with the Department of Corrections.

Defendant appeals his sentence, arguing it is excessive. He also maintains

the trial court did not properly articulate reasons to justify the sentence or

adequately consider mitigating factors. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the

sentence.

FACTS

Sidney Ortez (Ortez) suffered embarrassment and humiliation during a date

with Patrick Smith (Smith) when he struck her causing her to urinate on herself.

The next day, Ortez invited Smith to her apartment. She also invited Defendant to

exact revenge on Smith and extort money from him in return for what happened on

their date. Defendant arrived carrying a BB gun that convincingly appeared to

Smith to be a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Defendant menaced Smith with the

handgun, placing it against his head and threatening to shoot him. Defendant also

struck Smith twice in the face with his fist while “talking to him about why he had

behaved so badly the night before on this date with Miss Ortez.” As a result of the

serious blows to Smith’s face he urinated on himself. Defendant asked for

additional instruction from Ortez as to what more she wanted done to Smith.

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Ortez then decided that taking money from Smith would further satisfy her

revenge. Smith had only twenty dollars in cash on his person at that time and

handed it over to Defendant. Ortez threatened to file criminal charges against

Smith unless he returned the next day with $350, allegedly to pay her rent. The

State’s factual recitation at the plea hearing alleged Defendant was “the element of

fear . . . that was present throughout all of this,” and “his actions qualified his

actions as a principal to the commission of the extortion that occurred and the

threat that was given to Patrick Smith to pay this money the following day. Mr.

Smith’s statement said, in effect, that he agreed to do whatever he had to do to get

out of there alive fearing for his life.”

LAW AND DISCUSSION

In accordance with La.Code Crim.P. art. 920, all appeals are reviewed for

errors patent on the face of the record. After reviewing the record we find no

errors patent.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1 AND 2:

Defendant argues the trial court imposed an excessive sentence without

articulating sufficient reasons and without adequately considering mitigating

factors. This court has set out a standard to be used in reviewing excessive

sentence claims:

La.Const. art. I, § 20 guarantees that, “[n]o law shall subject
any person to cruel or unusual punishment.” To constitute an
excessive sentence, the reviewing court must find the penalty so
grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our
sense of justice or that the sentence makes no measurable contribution
to acceptable penal goals and is, therefore, nothing more than a
needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Campbell, 404
So.2d 1205 (La.1981). The trial court has wide discretion in the
imposition of sentence within the statutory limits and such sentence
shall not be set aside as excessive absent a manifest abuse of
discretion. State v. Etienne, 99-192 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/13/99); 746
So.2d 124, writ denied, 00-0165 (La.6/30/00); 765 So.2d 1067. The
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relevant question is whether the trial court abused its broad sentencing
discretion, not whether another sentence might have been more
appropriate. State v. Cook, 95-2784 (La.5/31/96); 674 So.2d 957,
cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1043, 117 S.Ct. 615, 136 L.Ed.2d 539 (1996).

State v. Barling, 00-1241, 00-1591, p.12 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1/31/01), 779 So.2d 1035,

1042-43, writ denied, 01-838 (La. 2/1/02), 808 So.2d 331.

In deciding whether a sentence shocks one’s sense of justice or makes no

meaningful contribution to acceptable penal goals, this court has held:

[An] appellate court may consider several factors including the nature
of the offense, the circumstances of the offender, the legislative
purpose behind the punishment and a comparison of the sentences
imposed for similar crimes. State v. Smith, 99-0606 (La.7/6/00), 766
So.2d 501. While a comparison of sentences imposed for similar
crimes may provide some insight, “it is well settled that sentences
must be individualized to the particular offender and to the particular
offense committed.” State v. Batiste, 594 So.2d 1 (La.App. 1
Cir.1991). Additionally, it is within the purview of the trial court to
particularize the sentence because the trial judge “remains in the best
position to assess the aggravating and mitigating circumstances
presented by each case.” State v. Cook, 95-2784 (La. 5/31/96), 674
So.2d 957, 958.

State v. Smith, 02-719, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 2/12/03), 846 So.2d 786, 789, writ

denied, 03-562 (La. 5/30/03), 845 So.2d 1061. “[T]he trial judge need not

articulate every aggravating and mitigating circumstance outlined in art. 894.1[;]

the record must reflect that he adequately considered these guidelines in

particularizing the sentence to the defendant.” State v. Smith, 433 So.2d 688, 698

(La.1983).

The trial judge stated he considered “the sentencing guidelines in Article

894.1, the pre-sentence report and its contents, [and] the fact that this is this

defendant’s third felony offense.” Defendant requested no further explanation of

the trial judge’s consideration of the La.Code Crim. P. art. 894.1 factors. The trial

court noted that Defendant’s prior felony convictions included attempted

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manslaughter, a violent act, and introducing contraband into a correctional facility,

a non-violent act.

In State v. Parent, 02-835 (La.App. 5 Cir. 12/30/02), 836 So.2d 494, writ

denied, 03-491 (La. 10/31/03), 857 So.2d 472, the defendant was sentenced to

fifteen years at hard labor for extortion, along with sentences totaling forty-three

additional years for additional convictions, with all the sentences to run

consecutively. In that case the defendant threatened to break his victim’s legs and

harm her family members if she did not give him the money he demanded. She

believed the threats because of the defendant’s prior violent behavior.

In the present case, Defendant asserts that his sentence is excessive in

comparison to Ortez’s sentence asserting that he was only trying to help Ortez.

Ortez received a probated sentence.

A sentence greater than one received by another defendant for the
same crime does not render the sentence cruel and unusual. The
disparity of sentences between codefendants is only a factor to be
considered along with all other appropriate considerations. Disparity
of sentences, even between codefendants involved in the same crime,
does not render a sentence disproportionate if the nature of the
defendant's participation or his character or propensities differ
significantly from those of his confederates. In providing a wide
range of criminal sanctions for violations of a statute, the legislature
obviously intended that the judge should exercise his sentencing
discretion to impose sentences gradated according to individualized
circumstances of the offense and the offender.

State v. Burton, 541 So.2d 329, 331 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1989) (citations omitted).

Defendant played a direct, active role in inflicting physical injury on Smith

and threatened to shoot Smith as punishment for his behavior the night before with

Ortez. Defendant intimidated Smith and placed him in fear of his life in order to

extort money from him for Ortez’s benefit.

Defendant was exposed to a potential sentence of one to fifteen years at hard

labor. La.R.S. 14:66. His sentence of five years falls in the lower range of
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sentencing. Defendant received a substantial benefit from his plea bargain. Had

he been found guilty of armed robbery, the charge dropped because of his plea, he

would have been exposed to a possible sentence of ten to ninety-nine years.

La.R.S. 14:64. The possible sentence for a conviction of the alternative charge of

first degree robbery was three to forty years. La.R.S. 14:64.1. These potential

sentences could have been imposed in addition to a potentially longer sentence for

extortion. Further, the State agreed not to pursue a habitual offender charge, which

carried a potential sentence of ten to thirty years. La.R.S. 15:529.1.

We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Defendant to

five years. Defendant’s sentence is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

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