State v. Honea
State v. Honea
Opinion of the Court
The defendant, Avery Honea, was charged by grand jury indictment with armed robbery with a firearm, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64, and use of a firearm in the commission of an armed robbery, a violation of La. R.S. 14:64.3.
FACTS
In the early morning hours of December 11, 2013, Ivan Graham and Bryton Montelaro went to the house of the defendant, who was Ivan's cousin. Demarcus James and Aaron Hargrove were also at the defendant's *1120house. The men made plans to rob Jared Vincent, who sold marijuana from his apartment in Baton Rouge. Jared lived with his friend, Leonard Wyatt. Demarcus and Ivan texted Jared and set up deals to purchase marijuana. With Ivan driving a Dodge Ram truck, all five men went together to Jared's apartment. The defendant, Demarcus, and Aaron, who apparently were all armed, got out of the truck, while Ivan and Bryton stayed in the truck. A short time later, shots were fired inside Jared's apartment. Jared was killed, and Leonard was shot in the back, but survived. Demarcus had also been shot; he was dropped off that night at a hospital in Gonzales.
The defendant did not testify at trial.
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NOS. 1 AND 2
In these related assignments of error, the defendant argues, respectively, that the trial court erred in denying his motion to reconsider sentence and that his sentence is unconstitutionally excessive.
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 20, of the Louisiana Constitution prohibit the imposition of cruel or excessive punishment. Although a sentence falls within statutory limits, it may be excessive. State v. Sepulvado,
The articulation of the factual basis for a sentence is the goal of Article 894.1, not rigid or mechanical compliance with its provisions. Where the record clearly shows an adequate factual basis for the sentence imposed, remand is unnecessary even where there has not been full compliance with Article 894.1. State v. Lanclos,
With a maximum sentencing exposure of 104 years imprisonment, the defendant was sentenced to fifty years at hard labor (45 years for the armed robbery conviction, plus 5 years to be served consecutively under the additional penalty provision of armed robbery with the use of a firearm) without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. See La. R.S. 14:64(B) and La. R.S. 14:64.3(A). The defendant argues in brief that his (cumulative) 50-year sentence is excessive because he was only 17 years old at the time of the offense, he was not the primary planner or major participant in the offense, and he will likely be confined for the remainder of his natural life.
Considering the nature of the crime, and the fact that the imposed (cumulative) sentence was 54 years less than the statutorily allowed maximum sentence(s), we find no abuse of discretion by the trial court. The sentence is not apparently severe and is supported by the record. The defendant engaged in a course of criminal conduct that resulted in one victim being shot (but who survived), and another victim being shot and killed. See Knight,
He was convicted by a jury of his peers for armed robbery; an armed robbery which he helped plan, which he participated in, and which ended up in a murder. And he could have just as easily, in my opinion, been charged with second-degree murder as he was with armed robbery.
Accordingly, the 50-year (cumulative) sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offense and, therefore, is not unconstitutionally excessive. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to reconsider sentence.
These assignments of error are without merit.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3
In his third assignment of error, the defendant argues that a 50-year sentence without parole eligibility for a juvenile offender convicted of a nonhomicide offense is illegal because it does not provide a meaningful opportunity for release.
According to the defendant, his 50-year sentence is "effectively a life sentence" without a meaningful opportunity for release. Thus, defendant argues, under Graham v. Florida,
In Graham,
In Morgan,
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person serving a sentence of life imprisonment who was under the age of [18] years at the time of the commission of the offense, except for a person serving a life sentence for a conviction of first degree murder ( R.S. 14:30 ) or second degree murder ( R.S. 14:30.1 ), shall be eligible for parole consideration pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection if all of the following conditions have been met:
(a) The offender has served [30] years of the sentence imposed[3 ][; and]
(b) The offender has not committed any major disciplinary offenses in the [12] consecutive months prior to the parole hearing date ....
Morgan,
Our supreme court in Morgan noted that to date, State v. Brown, 2012-0872 (La. 5/7/13),
*1123The Morgan court distinguished Brown , finding that the defendant's 99-year sentence (in Morgan ) was "an effective life sentence, illegal under Graham . " Morgan,
The Morgan court noted that the defendant would not become parole-eligible until 2082, after reaching the age of 101. Morgan,
The Morgan court then, in addressing the applicability of La. R.S. 15:574.4(D) to the defendant, opined:
Thus, considerations of equity and consistency require that La. R.S. 15:574.4(D) be construed as applicable not just to those juvenile offenders serving a sentence of life for a nonhomicide offense, but also to those, like the defendant, serving an effective life sentence for a single nonhomicide offense which the legislature deems not so serious as to warrant an automatic life sentence. To conclude otherwise would be to sanction the harsher punishment of those deemed less culpable by the legislature than of those now indisputably entitled to parole-eligibility under present law.
Morgan,
Accordingly, the Morgan court ordered the deletion of the defendant's parole ineligibility and ordered that he be designated as parole-eligible in accordance with La. R.S. 15:574.4(D). Morgan,
In the instant matter, we do not find that the defendant's sentence is illegal under Graham , as interpreted by Morgan . Morgan specifically found that a 99-year sentence was the functional equivalent of a life sentence and, therefore, illegal under Graham . And it was because such a sentence was tantamount to a life sentence that the Morgan court applied La. R.S. 15:574.4(D) to the defendant. Here, the defendant was sentenced to (a total of) 50 years imprisonment at hard labor without the benefit of parole. We do not find that a 50-year sentence is an effective life sentence. Moreover, the defendant may be eligible for actual release after 30 to 40 years of custody (depending on "good time" earned and other factors). See La. R.S. 15:571.3(B)(2)(a).
This assignment of error is without merit.
For the above and foregoing reasons, we affirm the defendant's convictions and sentences.
CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCES AFFIRMED.
There were six co-defendants, including the defendant, listed in the grand jury indictment. Under Count 1, the defendant, Aaron Hargrove, Demarcus James, Bryton Montelaro, and Ivan Graham were charged with second degree murder of Jared Vincent, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1. Under Count 2, Aaron Hargrove was charged with attempted second degree murder of Leonard Wyatt, a violation of La. R.S. 14:30.1 and 14:27. Under Count 3, Patrick Anderson was charged with obstruction of justice by tampering with evidence, a violation of La. R.S. 14:130.1(B)(1). The indictment was subsequently amended to charge the defendant with only armed robbery with a firearm.
Demarcus James was convicted of the second degree murder of Jared Vincent. His sentence and conviction were affirmed by this court on February 27, 2018. See State v. James, 2017-1253 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/27/18),
The latest amendment to this provision provides that the offender serve twenty-five years of the sentence imposed. See La. R.S. 15:574.4(D)(l)(a) (as amended by
In the instant matter, the State in brief suggests that because the defendant received two sentences to run consecutively (45 years plus 5 years), his case is governed by Brown ; that is, the defendant cannot aggregate his sentences in support of a Graham claim. Such an argument, the State avers, is foreclosed by Brown 's principle that the aggregation of multiple sentences cannot create an effective life sentence. We do not agree. We do not think that the Brown court had in mind, nor do we consider, that the 5-year "additional penalty" sentence under La. R.S. 14:64.3 is anything like the multiple, aggregated sentences (5 total) that were at issue in Brown . This extra 5-year sentence in the instant case is simply a mandatory additional penalty and is more in the nature of a sentencing enhancement (to La. R.S. 14:64 ) rather than an aggregation of sentences.
An offender convicted of a crime of violence, without a prior conviction of a crime of violence or a sex offense, shall earn diminution of sentence at a rate of one day for every three days in actual custody held on the imposed sentence. See La. R.S. 15:571.3(B)(2)(a).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.