Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Eddye Sue W. GREY and Charles S. Grey
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1982-01-25
Citations: 408 So. 2d 1239
Docket Number: No. 81-KA-0821
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Eddye Sue W. GREY and Charles S. Grey.
Judges: MARCUS, J., concurs and assigns reasons.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 408
Pages: 1239–1247

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Eddye Sue W. GREY and Charles S. Grey.
No. 81-KA-0821.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Jan. 25, 1982.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., James David Caldwell, Dist. Atty., George F. Fox, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
Samuel Thomas, Tallulah, for defendant-appellant.

Opinion:
DIXON, Chief Justice .
Charles S. Grey and his wife, Eddye Sue Grey were jointly charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in violation of R.S. 40:967(A)(1). After a trial by jury, defendant Charles Grey was found guilty as charged. Eddye Sue Grey was found guilty of possession of marijuana. Following a sentencing hearing, Charles Grey was sentenced to eight years at hard labor and to pay a fine of $10,000, or, in default thereof, two additional years. Ed-dye Sue Grey received a sentence of six months in the parish jail, the maximum term allowed under R.S. 40:967(D)(1).
Defendants purchased a home in Lake Providence, Louisiana. Shortly thereafter, neighbors noticed an unusual number of people coming and going at all hours. The visitors were mostly young persons who would only stay a few minutes, then leave. Due to many complaints received from neighbors, the police drove by the house'on several occasions. A surveillance of the home was begun which culminated in the controlled purchase by a confidential informant of a bag of marijuana. A search warrant was obtained on June 3, 1980 and the residence searched. Defendants were arrested based upon the discovery of marijuana.
Assignments of Error Nos. 1, 2, 8
By these assignments defendants contest the trial court's denial of defense counsel's objection to the admissibility of evidence of prior marijuana distribution.
In his opening statement, the prosecutor indicated that defendants had sold marijuana in the past to a confidential informant. Investigator Charles Gilbert and Trooper Donald Givens testified that they arranged for a confidential informant to make a purchase from defendants after learning that the informant had bought marijuana from them about three weeks before the arrests. Defendants objected to this evidence on the ground that they had not been charged with distribution of marijuana and thus evidence of prior distribution was irrelevant and highly prejudicial. The court ruled that evidence of prior crimes was admissible under the standard of R.S. 15:446.
The admissibility of other acts of misconduct involves substantial risk of grave prejudice to an accused. State v. Prieur, 277 So.2d 126 (La.1973). Therefore, the probative value of unrelated offenses should be weighed in light of its possible prejudicial effect and its tendency to influence the trier of fact improperly. This court has recognized that evidence of other drug sales is of great probative value in establishing intent to distribute when it is an essential element of the crime charged. See State v. Medlock, 297 So.2d 190 (La.1974). Here the highly probative value of other crimes evidence outweighs the prejudicial effect to defendants. The crime charged in this case, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, requires that the state prove intent on the part of the accused. Since intent is an essential element of the crime, evidence of prior offenses was properly admitted.
Defendants also argue that the state failed to give notice that it intended to introduce evidence of prior crimes. In State v. Prieur, supra, at 130, we established safeguards to be followed whenever the state offers evidence of other misconduct:
"The State shall within a reasonable time before trial furnish in writing to the defendant a statement of the acts or offenses it intends to offer, describing same with the general particularity required of an indictment or information. . . . "
The state asserts that its answer to a defense motion for discovery meets the Prieur test. In that answer, the prosecutor stated:
"The state may offer evidence of the purchase of marijuana, made from defendants by a confidential informant, approximately 3 weeks before defendants were arrested, which purchase took place at defendants' home in Lake Providence before the search warrant was issued. The state may also offer evidence that the same confidential informant purchased marijuana from the defendants, at their home in Lake Providence, on at least three other occasions during the three month period of March, April, and May of 1980. These acts would be introduced into evidence to show the required intent on the part of the defendants concerning the charge against them of possession with intent to distribute."
We agree with the district court that the state's response to the discovery motion fulfilled the Prieur requirement. It stated clearly that the state might offer evidence of other purchases from defendants preceding their arrests which would be introduced to show intent.
These assignments lack merit.
Assignment of Error No. 4
By this assignment defendants contend that the trial court erred in refusing to permit defense counsel to inquire into the character of the police informant. This assignment lacks merit. The informant told the police officers that he had bought marijuana from defendants at their house in the past. While under the officers' surveillance, the informant entered defendants' home. He was searched by the officers before he left their presence and found to possess only a small amount of cash. After returning from the residence, he had a plastic bag of marijuana on his person. Based on these facts, the police officers executed an affidavit upon which the search warrant was grounded. Thus, the search warrant was not dependent upon the informant's credibility; the police officers' personal ob servations supported the warrant. Moreover, an independent magistrate could determine that the informant was credible and his information reliable on the basis of the above events. See State v. Klar, 400 So.2d 610 (La.1981).
Assignment of Error No. 6
By this assignment defendants assert that the jury verdict is erroneous because there was insufficient evidence to convict defendants. To the contrary, the record contains substantial and convincing evidence that defendants are guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted.
This assignment lacks merit.
Assignment of Error No. 7
By this assignment defendants suggest that the trial court erred in not providing them with an opportunity to review the presentence investigation report so that they could rebut allegedly misleading information contained therein. Defendants did not request a copy of the report. In the absence of a timely request and a showing that false information was included in the report, there is no error in the court's failure to give defendants a copy of the report. State v. Boone, 364 So.2d 978 (La.1978), cert. den. 444 U.S. 825, 100 S.Ct. 46, 62 L.Ed.2d 31. There has been no showing that the report contained false or misleading information in this case.
This assignment lacks merit.
Assignment of Error No. 5
By this assignment defendants argue that the district court did not comply with the sentencing guidelines in C.Cr.P. 894.1 and that the sentences imposed are excessive. The trial judge need not articulate every aggravating and mitigating circumstance; however, the record must reflect that he adequately considered the guidelines enumerated in C.Cr.P. 894.1. State v. Franks, 373 So.2d 1307 (La.1979), cert. den. 450 U.S. 983, 101 S.Ct. 1520, 67 L.Ed.2d 818. In imposing defendants' sen-fences, the court mentioned some of the factors in C.Cr.P. 894.1 as justification for the sentences:
"(1) There is an undue risk that during the period of a suspended sentence or probation the defendant will commit another crime;
(2) The defendant is in need of correctional treatment or a custodial environment that can be provided most effectively by his commitment to an institution; or
(3) A lesser sentence will deprecate the seriousness of the defendant's crime."
After a review of the presentence investigation report, the court concluded that defendants did not feel they had done anything wrong. This conclusion was based on the answer to a confusing question by the judge and a statement in the report on Charles Grey that he believed his offense was minor. Perhaps the trial judge could have been more explicit in her discussion of the sentencing guidelines; however, we find that the court sufficiently contemplated the factors set out in C.Cr.P. 894.1.
Our Constitution prohibits the imposition of excessive sentences. La. Const. Art. 1, § 20 (1974). Even though within statutory limits, a sentence may violate a defendant's rights against excessive punishment under the particular circumstances of the case. State v. Sepulvado, 367 So.2d 762 (La.1979). Defendant Charles Grey is twenty-five years old. The presen-tence report discloses no prior criminal activity — not even an arrest — as a juvenile or adult. He has been employed consistently since he was sixteen years old. At the time of his arrest, he was working as a dirt scraper operator earning a wage of $5.35 an hour. Due to his steady employment record and the fact that Charles Grey is a first offender, we find no factual basis for the district court's finding that he would be a poor probation risk and was likely to commit another crime. As in State v. Tilley, 400 So.2d 1363 (La.1981), this crime did not involve a large scale drug operation. From the facts in the record, it appears that defendant Charles Grey was a small-time distributor. He has a wife and three stepchildren (according to the presentence report) to support; the lengthy sentence and large fine imposed by the trial judge will work an undue hardship on defendant and his dependents.
Likewise, defendant Eddye Sue Grey is a first offender with no prior criminal history. She is twenty-seven years old and the mother of two children. She has been consistently employed since childhood, and graduated from Southern University with excellent grades; she has been teaching elementary school since 1978. Due to her arrest, she was forced to resign her teaching position. The jury found Eddye Grey guilty of simple possession, a lesser offense then possession with intent to distribute. Despite the numerous mitigating circumstances and the lack of any negative factors, the district court sentenced her to the maximum permissible sentence for the crime of possession. We hold that the trial court abused her discretion in sentencing defendant Eddye Sue Grey to six months in the parish jail.
In State v. Forshee, 395 So.2d 742 (La.1981), we vacated a sentence of three years at hard labor and a fine of $7500 for possession of preludin with intent to distribute. In that ease, we looked at the defendant's past employment record, the fact that he had no prior convictions, and the testimony of witnesses describing the defendant as a law-abiding citizen, in determining that the sentence imposed was excessive. Similarly, we must decide that the sentences imposed in this case are overly harsh and are not individualized to fit the particular defendants and the offenses.
For these reasons, defendants' convictions are affirmed. The sentences imposed are vacated and the case is remanded to the trial court for resentencing consistent with the views expressed herein.
MARCUS, J., concurs and assigns reasons.
BLANCHE, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
BAGERT, Justice Ad Hoc, dissents and assigns reasons.
Judges James C. Gulotta and Jim Garrison of the Fourth Circuit and Bernard J. Bagert, Sr. of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, participated in this decision as Associate Justices Ad Hoc, joined by Chief Justice Dixon and Associate Justices Calogero, Marcus and Blanche.
.Four officers executed the warrant. A partial lid of marijuana was taken from Charles Grey's back pocket. No marijuana was discovered on Eddye Grey's person. The return on the search warrant lists these items that were seized:
"1. One brown box containing two (2) Marijuana cigarettes (Sherman).
2. One set of weight scales and case.
3. One cloth hand bag containing six (6) brown envelopes of Marijuana.
4. One paper bag containing Marijuana.
5. One plastic baggie containing Marijuana.
6. Three plastic baggies containing Marijuana.
7. One brown box containing aluminum foil containing hashish.
8. One brown bag containing Marijuana and stems.
9. One shopping bag containing Marijuana.
10. One plastic baggie containing Marijuana.
11. One green plastic baggie containing Marijuana.
12. One plastic baggie containing Marijuana.
13. Two brown vials each containing suspected cocaine.
14. One Folgers coffee can containing seven (7) Amphetamine capsules and suspected Marijuana seeds.
15. One brown wooden box containing Marijuana, one white bottle containing fifteen (15) preludin dose units and one tylenol bottle containing two (2) white amphetamine dose units.
16. One glass jar containing Marijuana.
17. One shot gun S.N. P294624 (Stock and barrell (sic) cut off).
18. Three pistols SN numbers V068452, 418670 and Q117562.
. R.S. 15:446 states:
"When knowledge or intent forms an essential part of the inquiry, testimony may be offered of such acts, conduct or declarations of the accused as tend fo establish such knowledge or intent and where the offense is one of a system, evidence is admissible to prove the continuity of the offense, and the commission of similar offenses for the purpose of showing guilty knowledge and intent, but not to prove the offense charged."
. Defendants did not raise this objection at the time of sentencing. However, no formal objection at the time of sentencing is necessary to preserve the right of review on this ground. State v. Gist, 369 So.2d 1339 (La.1979); State v. Cox, 369 So.2d 118 (La.1979).