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March 27, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

State of Louisiana v. Ladarrius Hodge

Louisiana Court of Appeal

• Citations: None known
• Docket Number: 56,696-KA
• Judges: ROBINSON; MARCOTTE; ELLENDER

• Disposition: Affirmed

• Opinion

• Authorities (7)

• Cited By (0)

• Summaries (0)

• Similar Cases (26.8K)

• PDF

Disposition

Affirmed

Combined Opinion

                        by Ellender

Judgment rendered April 8, 2026.
Application for rehearing may be filed
within the delay allowed by Art. 922,
La. C. Cr. P.

No. 56,696-KA

COURT OF APPEAL
SECOND CIRCUIT
STATE OF LOUISIANA

---

STATE OF LOUISIANA Appellee

versus

LADARRIUS HODGE Appellant

---

Appealed from the
First Judicial District Court for the
Parish of Caddo, Louisiana
Trial Court No. 382,125

Honorable Ramona L. Emanuel, Judge

---

LOUISIANA APPEALS
& WRIT SERVICE Counsel for Appellant
By: Remy V. Starns
Michael A. Mitchell
Sara A. Clarke

JAMES E. STEWART, SR. Counsel for Appellee
District Attorney

REBECCA A. EDWARDS
CHRISTOPHER BOWMAN
FERNANDO B. GRIDER, JR.
Assistant District Attorneys

---

Before ROBINSON, MARCOTTE, and ELLENDER, JJ.
ELLENDER, J.

Ladarrius Hodge appeals as excessive a reimposed sentence of 18

years at hard labor, without benefits, for possession of a firearm or carrying

a concealed weapon by a convicted felon. For the reasons expressed, we

affirm.

On the evening of April 2, 2021, Hodge was riding as a front-seat

passenger in a Toyota Corolla being driven by Sonique Kennon; in the

backseat were Kennon’s young son (of whom Hodge is the father), sister,

and the sister’s two children. Police stopped Kennon on Fairfield Avenue

for driving with high beams on and for having a plastic cover obscuring the

car’s license plate. Once the car was stopped, officers smelled burnt

marijuana wafting from the open window and saw two of the children in the

backseat were unrestrained. Officers arrested Kennon for driving without a

license and having unrestrained children in the car.

Officers also spotted a black backpack on the floorboard between

Hodge’s feet. Hodge was removed from the car and, on questioning,

admitted the marijuana was his, stashed in a cup in the car; he was arrested

and placed in a separate police unit. The backpack was searched and found

to contain a loaded 9mm Hi-Point pistol with an extended magazine. Hodge

denied the pistol was his; Kennon initially said it was hers, but then admitted

she had reported it stolen and later given it to Hodge.

Hodge had pled guilty in December 2019 to unauthorized entry of an

inhabited dwelling, sentenced to a fine only, and placed on supervised

probation for 18 months. For the instant offense, the state charged him with
possession of a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon,

La. R.S. 14:95.1. He posted bond shortly afterward.1

The matter came to trial in April 2023, with the first day devoted to

jury selection. Hodge attended the first day but, without explanation, failed

to appear for the rest. After two days of evidence, the jury deliberated

slightly under one hour and found him guilty as charged. The court did not

order a presentence investigation report but directed the parties to submit

sentencing statements, which were duly submitted.

On the day of sentencing, September 7, 2023, Hodge returned to

court. Defense counsel filed motions for new trial and post verdict judgment

of acquittal; after a brief recess, the court denied both. After counsel

announced ready to proceed, the court sentenced Hodge to 18 years at hard

labor, without benefits.

On original appeal, this court rejected Hodge’s claim of insufficient

evidence to convict. However, we found the district court failed to observe

the 24-hour sentencing delay of La. C. Cr. P. art. 873; we therefore vacated

the sentence and remanded for resentencing. State v. Hodge, 56,044 (La.

App. 2 Cir. 12/18/24), 402 So. 3d 1223.

At resentencing, in February 2025, the district court reimposed the

original sentence of 18 years at hard labor, without benefits. The court

recommended him for any “special programs or life skill programs”

available to him, including the Steve Hoyle program; the court recognized

he had already taken this program and certain others.2 The court stated,

1
The state also charged him with possession of marijuana, but this charge was
later dropped, by amended bill of information.
2
Steve Hoyle is an intensive substance-abuse treatment program. State v. Harris,
55,467 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/28/24), 380 So. 3d 837.
2
however, that Hodge “left and refused to return to his trial even after being

given the opportunity,” a fact she considered “very concerning and cannot

be overlooked.” Finally, the court gave him credit for time served and

advised him of the right to post-conviction relief “in accordance with the

Code of Criminal Procedure.”

Counsel filed a motion to reconsider sentence urging only the

excessiveness of the sentence. Hodge filed a pro se motion to “amend or

modify to reduce sentence,” citing his “exemplary achievements toward

rehabilitation that have been successfully accomplished.” The district court

denied all motions after a brief hearing.

Hodge appealed raising one assignment: the sentence of 18 years at

hard labor, without benefits, is excessive under the facts of the case. After

citing the general principles of constitutional excessiveness and the trial

court’s wide discretion in sentencing, he contends the court failed to

adequately consider the factors of La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1, specifically that

his actions did not cause or threaten serious harm; he was not carrying the

gun on his person and did not use it to commit any crime of violence; and

the fact that he absconded from trial had absolutely no bearing on the gravity

of the underlying offense. He asks this court to reverse and remand for new

sentencing.

Appellate review of sentences for excessiveness is a two-prong

inquiry. The first prong is a review of the sentencing colloquy for

compliance with the guidelines of La. C. Cr. P. art. 894.1. The sentencing

court is not required to list every aggravating or mitigating circumstance, so

long as it adequately considered them in particularizing the sentence to the

defendant. State v. Smith, 433 So. 2d 688 (La. 1983). The goal of Art.
3
894.1 is to articulate an adequate factual basis for the sentence, not to

achieve rigid or mechanical compliance with its provisions. State v.

Lanclos, 419 So. 2d 475 (La. 1982). The important elements to be

considered are the defendant’s personal history (age, family ties, marital

status, health, employment record), prior criminal record, seriousness of the

offense, and the likelihood of rehabilitation. State v. Jones, 398 So. 2d 1049

(La. 1981). Even in the absence of compliance with Art. 894.1, a sentence

may be upheld if the evidence in the record clearly illumines the sentencing

choice. State v. Williams, 397 So. 2d 1287 (La. 1981). The sentencing court

may rely on the contents of the parties’ sentencing memoranda, if these are

not objected to. State v. Trotter, 55,477 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2/28/24), 380 So.

3d 866; State v. Bailey, 56,691 (La. App. 2 Cir. 12/17/25), 425 So. 3d 969.

The second prong is a review for constitutional excessiveness. A

sentence violates La. Const. art. I, § 20, if it is grossly out of proportion to

the seriousness of the offense or nothing more than a purposeless and

needless infliction of pain and suffering. State v. Dorthey, 623 So. 2d 1276

(La. 1993). A sentence is deemed grossly disproportionate if, when crime

and punishment are viewed in light of the harm done to society, it shocks the

sense of justice. State v. Weaver, 01-0467 (La. 1/25/02), 805 So. 2d 166.

The sentencing court has wide discretion in imposing a sentence within

statutory limits, and such a sentence will not be set aside as excessive in the

absence of manifest abuse of that discretion. State v. Williams, 03-3514 (La.

12/24/04), 893 So. 2d 7.

At Hodge’s original sentencing, the district court stated that both sides

had filed a sentencing memorandum, the court had met with all counsel, and

all her questions had been answered. She also stated she had reviewed the
4
guidelines of Art. 894.1 and found the incarceration factors of Art. 894.1 (A)

were present. She finally noted Hodge had completed a prior probation

satisfactorily and was no longer eligible for probation. At the second

sentencing, the court reimposed the original sentence, crediting Hodge for

completing the special programs and life-skills programs originally

suggested but reiterating he “left and refused to return during his trial,” a

fact the court found “very concerning and cannot be overlooked.”

Despite the court’s minimal compliance with Art. 894.1, the contents

of the sentencing memos shed considerable light on the sentencing choice.

The state’s memo disclosed that Hodge’s prior felony, in December 2019,

was a charge of home invasion and battery of a dating partner, but he was

allowed to plead guilty to unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling,

resulting in only probation and the dismissal of the battery charge. He also

had a July 2019 misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana and, in

2018, a dismissed charge of battery of a dating partner. Further, after

Hodge’s arrest on a bench warrant in July 2023, his phone calls from jail

showed full awareness that law enforcement officers had been seeking to

arrest him and he was purposefully evading them. The defense memo

asserted that Hodge successfully completed 18 months of probation for the

2019 felony and, after posting bond for the instant offense, he remained on

bond for over two years without incident; though not married to Kennon, the

couple had two children together and one more on the way; at the time of

trial he was working as a dishwasher at Magnolia Manor and had worked

steadily as a cook, dishwasher, painter, or carpenter; and he helped his

grandmother take care of his two cousins who have cerebral palsy and just

completed high school.
5
The district court was fully aware of Hodge’s family obligations,

work history, and efforts at self-improvement since incarceration. However,

Hodge had a criminal history, which resulted in a favorable plea bargain and

probation, but only months after completing probation he was found in

possession of a Hi-Point pistol, forming the basis of the instant offense.

Despite making bail shortly after this arrest and going two years without

incident, he bolted from trial and frustrated officers’ attempts to bring him

back to justice – conduct that obviously had a negative effect on his

sentencing. On this record, despite the court’s minimal recitation, we find

adequate compliance with Art. 894.1 and adequate factual support for the

sentence imposed.

Regarding the constitutional claim, we note the sentencing range for

illegal possession of a firearm or carrying a concealed weapon by a person

convicted of certain felonies is not less than 5 nor more than 20 years at hard

labor, without benefits. La. R.S. 14:95.1 (B)(1). We acknowledge the

sentence imposed, 18 years, while not the maximum, is somewhat longer

than those imposed in other recent cases in which the firearm was not

discharged. See, e.g., State v. Sloan, 55,856 (La. App. 2 Cir. 10/2/24), 400

So. 3d 1066, writ denied, 24-01362 (La. 2/19/25) (15 years); State v. Adams,

55,696 (La. App. 2 Cir. 5/22/24), 387 So. 3d 914 (12 years); State v.

Edwards, 55,822 (La. App. 2 Cir. 10/2/24), 400 So. 3d 274 (10 years); State

v. Johnson, 53,086 (La. App. 2 Cir. 11/20/19), 285 So. 3d 1168 (10 years).

However, the court very clearly stated its displeasure at Hodge’s effort to

elude justice. There was also the extended magazine on the Hi-Point pistol,

the presence of small children in the car, and evidence that somebody in the

car was smoking marijuana. The sentence, though severe, reflects the
6
district court’s valid concern over gun violence and the need to keep

weapons out of the hands of felons. We perceive no abuse of the court’s

discretion. The assigned error lacks merit.

On our own motion, we note that, in passing sentence, the court

advised Hodge of “the right to pursue post-conviction relief remedies to

which you are accorded by law in accord with the Code of Criminal

Procedure.” This does not comply with La. C. Cr. P. art. 930.8 (D)’s

requirement to inform the defendant of the prescriptive period for seeking

PCR, which is two years.3 Therefore, by means of this opinion, Hodge is

officially informed that no application for post-conviction relief will be

considered if it is filed more than two years after the judgment of conviction

and sentence has become final under La. C. Cr. P. art. 914 or 922. State v.

Green, 54,955 (La. App. 2 Cir. 4/5/23), 361 So. 3d 546.

For the reasons expressed, Hodge’s conviction and sentence are

affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

3
This provision was previously designated as La. C. Cr. P. art. 930.8 (C), prior to
amendment by 2025 La. Acts No. 393, effective August 1, 2025.
7