Jonas Williams VS Louisiana Board of Parole and Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections
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NOT DESIGNATED FOR PU CATION BLI STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL FIRST CIRCUIT NO 2010 CA 2292 JONAS WILLIAMS VERSUS LA BOARD OF PAROLE LA DEP T OF PUBLIC SAFETY CORRECTIONS Judgment rendered November 9 2011 i EA Appealed from the C 19th Judicial District Court in and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge Louisiana Trial Court No 586 524 G r Honorable Kay Bates Judge JONAS WILLIAMS IN PROPER PERSON ST GABRIEL LA PLAINTIFF APPELLANT JAMES D BUDDY CALDWELL ATTORNEYS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL DEFENDANT APPELLEE PATRICIA H WILTON LOUISIANA PAROLE BOARD ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL BATON ROUGE LA BEFORE PETTIGREW McCLENDON AND WELCH 33 PETTIGREW J In this case petitioner Jonas Williams an inmate in the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections DPSC filed a petition for habeas corpus in the 19th Judicial District Court seeking judicial review of the decision of the Louisiana Parole Board the Board to revoke his parole The action was initially referred to a commissioner for review pursuant to La R 15 Following its de novo review of S 1188 the record the district court adopted the commissioner srecommendation and dismissed s petitioner action in a judgment signed on July 28 2010 For the reasons that follow we reverse and remand In 1984 petitioner was convicted of attempted second degree murder aggravated battery and aggravated assault in Louisiana and sentenced to a term of twentyfive 25 years imprisonment with DPSC On May 13 2000 petitioner was released under parole supervision In August 2005 petitioner and his family fled New Orleans Louisiana to Houston Texas under mandatory evacuation due to Hurricane Katrina parole supervision was subsequently transferred to Texas s Petitioner On November 3 2008 petitioner was arrested in Texas on a charge of Evade Arrest WMotor Vehicle According to the record petitioner pled guilty as charged to a State Jail Felony on March 23 2009 and was sentenced to one 1 year in the county jail After serving his term in Texas petitioner based on a parole violation was returned to the physical custody of DPSC to serve out his term Petitioner filed the instant request for habeas relief contending that he is being held in the physical custody of DPSC without a final revocation hearing and that there is no legal authority for his return to DPSC physical custody Petitioner acknowledged that s he waived a preliminary parole revocation hearing while serving a oneyear sentence in Texas However petitioner argues that he was convicted of a misdemeanor grade 1 The offices of commissioner of the 19th Judicial District Court were created by La R 13 to hear and S 711 recommend disposition of criminal and civil proceedings arising out of the incarceration of state prisoners La R 13 The district judge may accept reject or modify in whole or in part the findings or S 713 A recommendations made by the commissioner and also may receive further evidence or recommit the matter to the commissioner with instructions La R 13 S 713 5 C a offense in Texas while on parole supervision from Louisiana and maintains that he never received a final parole revocation hearing In response DPSC contends that petitioner Texas conviction was for a felony s grade offense but that the Texas trial court imposed only a misdemeanor grade punishment The revocation record submitted by DPSC contains an October 8 2009 letter from the Board advising petitioner that his parole was revoked based on his new felony conviction pursuant to La R 15 S 574 10 The commissioner found as follows he T record submitted in this matter supports the finding that the petitioner was convicted of a felony grade offense in Texas and a final parole revocation S 574 10 hearing was not required under R 15 s Petitioner Parole Board Action Sheet indicates that on October 7 2009 petitioner s parole was deemed revoked by the Board based on this new felony conviction and he was returned to Hunt Correctional Center on October 8 2009 Louisiana Revised Statutes 15 provides in pertinent part as follows 10 574 When a person is convicted in this state of a felony committed while on parole or is convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or any foreign government or country of an offense committed while on parole and which if committed in this state would be a felony his parole shall be deemed revoked as of the date of the commission of the felony or such offense under the laws of the other jurisdiction Emphasis added The record before us does not contain an incident report from petitioner November 3 s 2008 arrest for Evade Arrest WMotor Vehicle The only information in the record concerning the offense is in the Waiver of Constitutional Rights Agreement to Stipulate and Judicial Confession that petitioner signed on March 23 2009 In said document the following description is given 0 or about NOVEMBER 3 3008 petitioner did then n and there unlawfully intentionally flee from R WIENERS a peace officer lawfully attempting to DETAIN petitioner and petitioner knew that WIENERS was a peace officer attempting to DETAIN him and petitioner used a motor vehicle while in flight Although it is clear from the record that petitioner was convicted of what amounts to a felony grade offense in Texas we are unable to determine from this record whether 3 the same offense if committed in Louisiana would amount to a felony The record does not support a finding that petitioner parole was properly revoked pursuant to La R s S 10 574 15 Accordingly the commissioner conclusion that a final parole revocation s hearing was not required under La R 15 was in error and this matter is S 574 10 remanded for a full hearing on petitioner shabeas petition DECREE For the above and foregoing reasons we reverse the July 28 2010 judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion Appeal costs in the amount of 1 are assessed against the Department of Public Safety 94 130 and Corrections We issue this memorandum opinion in accordance with Uniform Rules Courts of Appeal Rule 2 16 113 REVERSED AND REMANDED 2 In Louisiana the basic offense of flight from an officer a sixmonth misdemeanor is committed when the offender intentionally refuses to bring his vehicle to a stop knowing that he has been given a visual and audible signal to stop by a police officer when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the driver has committed an offense La R 14 The crime of aggravated flight from an officer a S 108 A 1 twoyear felony offense occurs when the offender flees from an officer as defined in subsection A under circumstances wherein human life is endangered La R 14 The statute provides a specific S 108 C 1 and seemingly exclusive definition of the aggravating factors which elevate the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony An offender creates circumstances in which human life is endangered when he commits at easttwo of the following acts 1 leaves the roadway or forces another vehicle to leave the roadway 2 collides with another vehicle 3 exceeds the posted speed limit by at least 25 miles per hour 4 travels against the flow of traffic 5 fails to obey a stop sign or a yield sign 6 fails to obey a traffic control signal device La R 14 S 108 D 1 4
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