Armstrong v. State

828 So. 2d 239, 2002 WL 31112361
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 24, 2002
Docket2001-KA-01012-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 828 So. 2d 239 (Armstrong v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Armstrong v. State, 828 So. 2d 239, 2002 WL 31112361 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

828 So.2d 239 (2002)

Steven ARMSTRONG, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2001-KA-01012-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 24, 2002.

*240 Ross Parker Simons, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by John R. Henry Jr., attorney for appellee.

Before KING, P.J., IRVING, and BRANTLEY, JJ.

BRANTLEY, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Steven Armstrong was convicted in the Circuit Court of Jackson County on a charge of aggravated assault. After a sentencing hearing, he was found to be an habitual offender and sentenced to serve a term of fifteen years without parole in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He then filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, a new trial which was denied by the court. Armstrong appeals asserting the following assignments of error:

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AMENDING JURY INSTRUCTION D-8.
II. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED WAS SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH ARMSTRONG'S HABITUAL OFFENDER STATUS PURSUANT TO MISS. CODE ANN. SECTION 99-19-83 (REV.2000).

Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On May 10, 1999, Bonnie Pace, sixty-one years of age, was in charge of a worksite for setting forms for pouring concrete. *241 Steven Armstrong was employed on the worksite to cut the wooden stakes used to hold the concrete forms in place. Pace and Armstrong had an argument about what length the stakes should be. After this exchange, Armstrong intentionally struck Pace twice with a wooden stake which resulted in Pace's hospitalization for about a week. Although it is clear that Armstrong intentionally struck Pace, the testimony was in dispute as to why it happened.

¶ 3. At trial, the State called Pace and he testified that, at the conclusion of the exchange, he instructed Armstrong to follow his directions and turned to work on other matters. At this time, Pace was struck without warning on the side of his head by Armstrong. Armstrong then struck Pace again, but Pace was able to partially deflect the second blow with his arm. The State further showed that Pace was making no hostile demonstration toward Armstrong, and that he did not have a tool or any other object in his hands when Armstrong struck him. This testimony was corroborated by other workmen on the site at that time.

¶ 4. Alternatively, Armstrong alleged that he struck Pace in self-defense. He alleges that after the argument ensued, Pace "pushed-turned" him and turned away in the direction of a "Skill" saw. He claimed that he thought Pace was drunk and was going to reach for the saw and attack him. Therefore, according to this perception, he hit Pace with one of the stakes in self-defense. The evidence showed that a saw was in the area. No challenge is brought on this appeal concerning the sufficiency or the weight of the evidence concerning Armstrong's guilt.

ANALYSIS

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN AMENDING JURY INSTRUCTION D-8.

¶ 5. Armstrong presented a theory of self-defense. In the event the jury did not believe his argument of self-defense, he wanted the jury to determine whether the board or stake used to assault Pace constituted a deadly weapon for purposes of aggravated assault. Therefore, he represented to the court that if the jury found that the board was not a deadly weapon, then they should consider whether he attempted to cause or did purposefully, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury for the purposes of simple assault.

¶ 6. Based on his argument and on Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-7(1)(a), Armstrong submitted the following lesser offense instruction, D-8, on the crime of simple assault:

If you find that the State has failed to prove any one or more of the essential elements of the crime of aggravated assault, you will then proceed with your deliberations to decide whether the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements of the crime of simple assault.
If you find from the evidence in this case beyond a reasonable doubt that Steven Armstrong on or about May 10, 1999, did purposefully, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to Bonnie Pace, [not with a deadly weapon, or] not in his necessary self-defense, then you shall find Steven Armstrong guilty of simple assault.

Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-7(1 Xa) (Rev.2000) provides that "(1) [a] person is guilty of simple assault if he (a) attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another."

¶ 7. Alternatively, the State prosecuted Armstrong for aggravated assault based on Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-7(2)(b) (Rev. 2000). Section 97-3-7(2)(b) provides that *242 "[a] person is guilty of aggravated assault if he (b) attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm...." Specifically, the indictment alleged that Armstrong "did unlawfully, feloniously, willfully, and purposefully cause bodily injury to Bonnie Pace with a deadly weapon, ... a wooden board." Therefore, the State requested that the simple assault instruction, D-8, include the words "not with a deadly weapon, or," which are underlined and set out within the brackets above. The State requested the insertion in order to avoid possible confusion between the applicable form of simple assault, which was advanced by Armstrong, and aggravated assault, which was advanced by the State. The addition served to clarify and distinguish the applicable two forms of assault for the jury by explicitly setting forth the essential difference of whether bodily injury, if any, was caused by the use of a deadly weapon.

¶ 8. The State also requested the addition in order to be consistent with another instruction, S-2. Instruction S-2 defined simple assault and aggravated assault in accordance with the evidence presented in the case. Instruction S-2 also included the added language in an attempt to clarify and distinguish the available lesser offense of simple assault from the given definition of aggravated assault on the basis of whether a deadly weapon was used to cause the bodily injury.

¶ 9. The trial court granted the instruction for simple assault because of the possibility that the jury might find that the wooden stake was not a deadly weapon, an essential and required element for a conviction of aggravated assault. The trial judge also admitted the addition with the instruction.

¶ 10. Armstrong makes several arguments in this assignment of error. First he asserts that it was an error to allow the additional language because it incorrectly apprized the jury of the various forms of simple assault and denied him the right to present to the jury an instruction in support of his various theories of defense. He states that the additional language in the instruction limited the jury to only consider the simple assault verdict if there was a finding that the stake was not a deadly weapon. He states that this is incorrect because a verdict of simple assault is also available even when a deadly weapon is used according to Miss.Code Ann.

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