Baskin v. State

986 So. 2d 338, 2008 WL 73639
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 8, 2008
Docket2006-KA-01355-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 986 So. 2d 338 (Baskin 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
Baskin v. State, 986 So. 2d 338, 2008 WL 73639 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

986 So.2d 338 (2008)

Keith BASKIN a/k/a Keith K. Baskin, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-01355-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 8, 2008.
Rehearing Denied May 6, 2008.

*340 Joshua Aaron Turner, Merrida Coxwell, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorney for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., GRIFFIS and CARLTON, JJ.

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Keith Baskin seeks review of his conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell as a habitual offender. Baskin contends the State failed to prove he had intent to distribute a controlled substance and, as such, the trial court erred in refusing Baskin's motions for a directed verdict and for a new trial. Additionally, Baskin maintains the trial court violated his Eighth Amendment rights because his sentence is grossly disproportionate to the offense. Further, in Baskin's last issue, he claims the trial court erred in allowing the State to amend the indictment after the jury verdict but before sentencing. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On the night of January 2, 2004, Keith Baskin was a passenger in a car driven by Dacorious Clark, and they were traveling north on Highway 49. The Mississippi Highway Patrol was conducting a safety checkpoint north of the Flora city limits on Highway 49. As Clark approached the checkpoint, he accelerated his car and struck the approaching officer, Master Sergeant Bradley, in the arm, then sped away. Sergeant Bradley and Trooper Steve Shows gave chase in their patrol cars, and noticed Baskin throwing bags out of the open passenger side of Clark's vehicle. Eventually, the car was stopped and the occupants were arrested. While Clark resisted arrest, Baskin was cooperative with law enforcement. During the short chase, Trooper Shows retrieved a bag containing 450.6 grams of marijuana, which had been thrown out of the moving vehicle by Baskin.

¶ 3. Baskin was charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. The indictment was later amended to charge Baskin as a subsequent offender because the State was aware of one previous drug conviction. Baskin was found guilty and convicted on March 17, 2006. After the conviction, the State moved to amend the indictment to charge him as a habitual offender, since it discovered during the pre-sentence investigation that Baskin actually had two previous convictions. The State's motion was subsequently granted. Baskin filed a motion for new trial, which was denied by the trial court. Baskin was sentenced to serve a term of sixty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole. Baskin appeals that conviction and sentence.

¶ 4. Baskin alleges three points of error in this appeal. First, Baskin contends the State failed to present evidence establishing *341 that he had intent to sell the controlled substance and, as such, the trial court should have granted Baskin's motion for a directed verdict or his request for a new trial. Second, Baskin argues that his sentence is grossly disproportionate to the crime. Finally, Baskin challenges the trial court's decision to allow the State to amend the indictment after the jury verdict but before sentencing to charge him as a habitual offender.

DISCUSSION

¶ 5. A motion for directed verdict challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and the court will view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Dixon v. State, 953 So.2d 1108, 1111(¶ 4) (Miss. 2007). We will uphold a trial court's denial of a directed verdict when, "after considering all of the evidence, the evidence shows `beyond a reasonable doubt that accused committed the act charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed.'" Id. (citing Carr v. State, 208 So.2d 886, 889 (Miss. 1968)). "[W]here the evidence fails to meet this test it is insufficient to support a conviction." Dixon, 953 So.2d at 1111(¶ 4).

¶ 6. A motion for new trial challenges the weight of the evidence. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 844(¶ 18) (Miss.2005). We are to review a trial court's denial of a motion for new trial by weighing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Id. Reversal is only warranted if a trial court's ruling "is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice." Id.

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING BASKIN'S MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT OR A NEW TRIAL

¶ 7. Baskin asserts that the trial court should have granted a directed verdict or ordered a new trial because the State failed to prove his intention to distribute marijuana. "Where the amount [of the controlled substance] is greater than what one might ordinarily have for personal consumption, it does create an inference of intent to distribute." Fox v. State, 756 So.2d 753, 759(¶ 19) (Miss.2000). "In either case, this Court must view the surrounding circumstances in determining the sufficiency of the evidence of intent." Id. Further, "intent is a question of fact to be gleaned by the jury from the facts shown in each case." Boyd v. State, 634 So.2d 113, 115 (Miss.1994) (citing Shanklin v. State, 290 So.2d 625, 627 (Miss.1974)). Additionally, "[i]ntent may be determined from the acts of the accused and his conduct and inferences of guilt may be fairly deducible from all the circumstances." Shive v. State, 507 So.2d 898, 900 (Miss. 1987).

A. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

¶ 8. In the case sub judice, the record reflects that Trooper Steve Shows testified that the passenger in the car, Baskin, opened the door and began throwing what appeared to be bags out onto the highway. Trooper Shows further testified that he was able to retrieve the last bag that was thrown from the retreating car. Trooper Shows testified that large chunks of marijuana were scattered on the floor board, on and behind the passenger seat, and on the car floor.

¶ 9. Sergeant Bradley testified that there was marijuana residue in the car, as well as marijuana in the bag which was tossed out of the moving vehicle. Sergeant Bradley also testified there were multiple bags being thrown out of the vehicle at the time of the chase and subsequent *342 arrest. Here, there was testimony at trial that the amount in the bag was more than a single person would generally have for personal consumption.

¶ 10. Testimony from Archie Nichols, a chemical analyst from the Mississippi Crime Lab, opined that the bag of marijuana retrieved by officers would easily make anywhere from 450 to 900 marijuana cigarettes. This testimony supports the State's argument that Baskin had sufficient intent to distribute. Nichols testified that he deals with marijuana on a daily basis and examines marijuana joints routinely.

¶ 11. Further, testimony from the arresting officers in pursuit of the fleeing vehicle established that there appeared to be multiple bags being thrown out of the vehicle and a large amount of marijuana residue was discovered in the vehicle. The Mississippi Supreme Court has acknowledged the difficulty in determining the evidence necessary to establish intent to distribute. "In drafting the statute, the legislature has not set out any parameters of `intent.'" Jones v. State, 635 So.2d 884, 890 (Miss.1994). "As it stands, `intent' is like pornography—you `know it when you see it.'" Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Russell v. State
79 So. 3d 529 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
986 So. 2d 338, 2008 WL 73639, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baskin-v-state-missctapp-2008.