Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Noil GEORGE
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1973-01-15
Citations: 273 So. 2d 34
Docket Number: No. 52800
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Noil GEORGE.
Judges: HAMLIN, C. J., absent.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 273
Pages: 34–39

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Noil GEORGE.
No. 52800.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Jan. 15, 1973.
Concurring Opinion Jan. 23, 1973.
Rehearing Denied Feb. 19, 1973.
Murphy W. Bell, Baton Rouge, for defendant-relator.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., LeRoy A. Hartley, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Wilmore J. Broussard, Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-respondent.

Opinion:
DIXON, Justice.
In a bill of information, defendant was accused of committing the theft of "one case of fifths of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and five cases of tenths of Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine, having a value of less than $100.00." R.S. 14:67 (amended 1970). Defendant was convicted by the trial judge of misdemeanor theft and was sentenced to pay a fine of $50.00 or to serve thirty days in the parish prison. This court granted defendant's application for a writ of cer-tiorari. 266 So.2d 711.
Although defendant perfected six bills of exceptions during these proceedings, only three bills are urged before this court. Bills number 2 and 4 were reserved when the trial court sustained the validity of the search warrant pursuant to which the State had obtained the evidence which led to defendant's conviction. Bill number 5 was reserved when the trial judge refused to grant a new trial in order to allow the introduction of "new and material" evidence discovered after sentencing.
BILLS OF EXCEPTIONS NUMBERS 2 AND 4
Around September 20, 1971, approximately one hundred cases of wine were stolen from the Svoboda Distributing Company in Houma, Louisiana. The stolen wine consisted mostly of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine, bottled in both tenths and fifths of a gallon. On September 27, 1971, after presenting an affidavit to a Houma city judge, Detective Ralph Bergeron of the Houma Police Department obtained a warrant to search the defendant's place of business, known as "George's Package Liquor Store." In substance the affidavit recited that on or about September 20, 1971, a "confidential informer," known personally by affiant, purchased from George's Package Liquor Store one case of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and seven cases of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine in tenths; that the eight cases were turned over to affiant who determined that the eight cases were part of the wine stolen from Svoboda Distributing Company; that the confidential informer told affiant that he saw about forty more cases of Boone's Farm Wine being concealed at defendant's liquor store when he made the previously mentioned purchase; and that the owner of the Svoboda Distributing Company stated to affiant, both on September 20, 1971 and September 27, 1971, that he "did not sell any type of wine to the said George's Package Liquor Store."
The return to the search warrant shows that the following items were seized in a search of defendant's business premises:
"one full case of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, Fifths, four cases of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine, tenths, three empty cases of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, fifths, one case of tenths of Strawberry Hill Wine with five bottles missing, three fifths of Boone's Farm Apple Wine, and seven tenths of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill Wine."
Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized pursuant to the search warrant. Defendant's pre-trial motion to suppress attacked the validity of the search warrant on th@ ground that the "confidential informer" had made false statements to the police officer, which statements were then used to obtain the search warrant. The defendant did not allege in the motion to suppress that the police officer had knowingly recited false statements to the Houma city court in his application for the search warrant. Thus, relying on State v. Anselmo, 260 La. 306, 256 So.2d 98 (1971), the trial court properly judged the affidavit on its face, rejecting defendant's attempts to inquire into the truthfulness of the facts set forth in the affidavit. In Anselmo this court ruled that the truthfulness of the facts which were supplied to an affiant by a confidential informer and which were then recited by the affiant in his application for a search warrant could not later be attacked at a hearing on a motion to suppress.
Judged on its face, the police officer's affidavit established probable cause for the valid issuance of the search warrant. C.Cr.P. 162. Thus, the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress. Bill of Exceptions Number 2 is without merit.
Following the trial, but prior to sentencing, defendant moved for a new trial. Defendant contended that evidence adduced at trial indicated that Detective Bergeron obtained the search warrant by making false statements in his affidavit. Defendant urged that the search warrant was invalid due to the alleged falsification of the affidavit and that all the evidence seized under the warrant should be excluded from a new trial. C.Cr.P. 851(1), (4), (5).
The trial judge found no evidence of falsification and denied the motion. Defendant reserved Bill of Exceptions Number 4.
The trial judge was correct. Ber-geron, the affiant, did not falsify the allegations of the affidavit, but did conceal the fact that his "confidential informer" was a deputy sheriff who made the purchase through another informer. There was no error in the allegation that the wine purchased from defendant was part of the stolen wine. Hence, there was probable cause for the issuance of the search warrant. Bill of Exceptions Number 4 is without merit.
BILL OF EXCEPTIONS NUMBER 5
After the trial and sentencing, defendant timely filed a motion for a new trial alleging that new and material evidence had been found which, if introduced at trial, would probably have resulted in a verdict of not guilty. C.Cr.P. 851(3), 852. The trial judge denied the motion and defendant reserved Bill of Exceptions Number 5.
The "new evidence" relied upon by defendant is receipts indicating that Svobo-da Distributing Company sold defendant seven cases of Boone's Farm wine in August, 1971, rather than four cases as was suggested at trial. The receipts are business records of defendant which were always possessed by either defendant or his accountant. Through the exercise of reasonable diligence defendant could have introduced the receipts as evidence at trial. Furthermore, there is no showing that the introduction of the evidence at trial "would probably have changed the verdict." C. Cr.P. 851(3). Therfore, the trial judge properly denied the motion for a new trial.
Bill of Exceptions Number 5 is without merit.
Although no other bill of exceptions was presented to this court, in either oral argument or written brief, we have examined the remaining bills of exceptions and find them to be without merit.
Defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed.
HAMLIN, C. J., absent.
SANDERS, J., concurs in the result.
SUMMERS, J., concurs and assigns reasons.
. "APPLICATION FOR SEARCH WARRANT STATE OP LOUSIANA, PARISH OP TERREBONNE, THIRD WARD CITY COURT OP HOUMA
"Before me, Robert D. Lottinger, City Judge of the Third Ward, in and for the Parish of Terrebonne, personally came and appeared Detective Ralph Bergeron of the Houma Police Department, who, being duly sworn, deposes and says :
"That a search warrant should issue for the search of the land and all improvements thereon including living quarters and stock or supply rooms of a structure known as 'George's Package Liquor Store' located at 811 West Main Street, corner of West Main Street and Smith Lane in the City of Houma, Louisiana, for the purpose of seizing fifths and tenths of Boone's Pnrm Apple Wine and Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine, and an undetermined amount of Gallo Wine.
"The reasons and facts for the request of this search warrant are: That during the month of September, 1971, approximately ninety (90) cases of Boone's Farm Apple Wine and Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine, in fifths and tenths, and an undetermined amount of Gallo AVine, was taken during a burglary of the Svoboda Distributor Company building located at the corner of Academy and Barataría Streets in the City of Houma, Louisiana. "That a confidential informer, who is personally known by affiant to be reliable and who has proven to be reliable in the past, stated to affiant that on or about September 20, 1971 he purchased from George's Package Liquor Store located at 811 West Main Street in the City of Houma, Louisiana, eight (8) cases of Boone's Farm Wine (1 case Boone's Farm Wine, Apple, in fifths, and seven cases of Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine in tenths).
"That the above described eight eases of wine purchased at George's Package Liquor Store were turned over to affiant, who examined same, and found it to be part of the wine stolen from the burglary of the Svoboda Distributor Company building. "That confidential informer further stated that he observed approximately forty (40) more cases of the above described wine being concealed at George's Package Liquor Store located at 811 West Main Street in the City of Houma, Louisiana, at the time he purchased the above described eight eases of Boone's Farm Wine on or about September 20, 1971.
"That on September 20, 1971 and again on September 27, 1971, William Svoboda, owner of Svoboda Distributor Company, stated to affiant that he definitely did not sell any type of wine to the said George's Package Liquor Store located at 811 West Main Street in the City of Houma, Louisiana.
"That affiant has reasonable grounds and probable cause to believe that the above described stolen wine is being concealed in the above described premises, in the Third Ward of the Parish of Terrebonne, Louisiana, and that your affiant requests a Warrant of Search to issue herein for the purpose of allowing your affiant to search the said land and all improvements thereon including living quarters and stock and supply rooms of a structure known ns 'George's Package Liquor Store' located at 811 West Main Street, corner of AArest Main Street and Smith Lane in the City of Houma, Louisiana, Third AArard, for the purpose of locating, if possible, the same, or any part of the said wine.
"s/ Pet. Ralph Bergeron Applicant"