Bell v. State

963 So. 2d 1124, 2007 WL 2051365
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 19, 2007
Docket2006-KA-00900-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 963 So. 2d 1124 (Bell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bell v. State, 963 So. 2d 1124, 2007 WL 2051365 (Mich. 2007).

Opinion

963 So.2d 1124 (2007)

Darral BELL
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2006-KA-00900-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

July 19, 2007.
Rehearing Denied September 13, 2007.

*1127 Charles E. Miller, Mccomb, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, attorney for appellee.

*1128 Before SMITH, C.J., EASLEY and DICKINSON, JJ.

SMITH, Chief Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This case comes to this Court on appeal from the Circuit Court of Amite County, by defendant Darral Bell. On March 9, 2005, Bell was indicted by an Amite County grand jury for the murder of LeCedric Hurst. On May 18, 2006, Bell was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a term of fifteen years with five years suspended in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Bell subsequently filed a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict, which was denied. Bell then timely filed a Notice of Appeal to this Court.

¶ 2. Finding no errors by the trial court, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. On October 30, 2004, Bell and Hurst were involved in an altercation at the residence of Edna Spears, a relative of Hurst, with other witnesses present. Bell testified that Hurst struck him with his hand, but Bell did not respond to this attack. Bell left Spears's residence, driving a white F350 work truck, with one passenger, Kerwin Bland. Hurst left Spears's residence driving a four-wheeler and traveled onto Perry Road. The two vehicles were traveling in the same direction at the time of the collision. Hurst was killed in the collision. Dr. Steven Hayne, who performed an autopsy on Hurst's body, testified that Hurst died of massive internal injuries, including lacerations to his liver and aorta. The Amite County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene of the wreck. Officer Anthony Reeves made initial inquiries as to the events causing the wreck.

¶ 4. Bell was arrested at 11:20 p.m. on October 30, 2004. On March 9, 2005, Bell was indicted for the murder of Hurst. An Amite County jury subsequently found Bell guilty of manslaughter and sentenced him to a term of fifteen years with five years suspended in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The trial court denied Bell's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). From that conviction and denial, Bell appeals to this Court, raising the following seven issues on appeal:

I. Whether the evidence is insufficient to support conviction pursuant to the indictment and relevant law. The lower court erred in not granting a judgment notwithstanding the verdict pursuant to Rule 50(B) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.
II. Whether the lower court erred by not dismissing the indictment or granting mistrial when it allowed testimony of prior bad acts of the accused.
III. Whether the lower court should have dismissed the case based on illegal arrest.
IV. Whether the lower court erred in its failure to dismiss the case based on discovery violations.
V. Whether Bell's Miranda rights were violated and the court erred in not suppressing any and all statements made by Bell.
VI. Whether the lower court erred in not dismissing the indictment for failure to comply with Rule 6.03.
VII. Whether the lower court erred in denying Bell's motion to dismiss on the basis of spoliation of evidence.

DISCUSSION

I. Sufficiency of the evidence

¶ 5. First, Bell asserts that insufficient evidence supported the verdict, and thus *1129 the trial court should have granted his motion for JNOV. Bell argues that the State's case rested entirely on the testimony of Kerwin Bland and other witnesses, which should have been suppressed based on the unreliability of these witnesses. Bell also argues that Bland gave no independent corroboration of the evidence. Further, Bell asserts that the trial court erred by not suppressing physical evidence such as the truck, the four-wheeler and photographs. The State counters that the record reflects that the evidence supporting Bell's conviction did not rely entirely upon Bland's testimony. Further, the State argues that Bland's testimony as to what he witnessed was not shown to be credible. Citing McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993), the State asserts that the denial of Bell's motion for JNOV was proper because sufficient credible evidence supports the denial, including eyewitness testimony, voluntary inculpatory statements and statements against interest.

¶ 6. In reviewing a denial of a motion for a JNOV, this Court must consider all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. McClain, 625 So.2d at 778 (citing Esparaza v. State, 595 So.2d 418, 426 (Miss.1992)); Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987); Harveston v. State, 493 So.2d 365, 370 (Miss.1986). The credible evidence which is consistent with the guilt must be accepted as true. Id. (citing Spikes v. State, 302 So.2d 250, 251 (Miss.1974)). Matters regarding the weight and credibility of the evidence are to be resolved by the jury. Id. (citing Neal v. State, 451 So.2d 743, 758 (Miss. 1984); Gathright v. State, 380 So.2d 1276, 1278 (Miss.1980)). This Court will reverse only where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Id. (citing Wetz, 503 So.2d at 808; Harveston, 493 So.2d at 370; Fisher v. State, 481 So.2d 203, 212 (Miss.1985)).

¶ 7. Kerwin Bland, the son of Edna Spears, was present at Spears's house on the night that the wreck occurred. Kerwin left the house with Bell following the argument between Bell and Hurst. Kerwin was riding in the truck with Bell when the wreck occurred. At trial, Kerwin testified that Hurst came up behind the truck and when Hurst got ready to pass the truck, Bell "cut over" on him. Kerwin testified that he could hear and see Hurst's four-wheeler when it was beside the truck. He also testified that Bell looked back through the window toward the four-wheeler before cutting over on Hurst. Kerwin testified that after the truck hit the four wheeler, the truck continued to the left and between two trees in a nearby yard. Damage to the driver's side of the truck is shown in the photographs, which were admitted into evidence. Kerwin also testified that after the wreck occurred, Bell told him not to say anything. Despite Bell's argument that the evidence should be suppressed based on the lack of reliability of Kerwin's testimony, a review of the record shows Bell offered no evidence to prove that this witness was unreliable. Furthermore, the question of credibility of the evidence is not for this Court to decide, but is to be determined by the jury. McClain, 625 So.2d at 778.

¶ 8. Tannie Bland, Spears's nephew, also testified that he was present at Spears's home on the night of the incident. Tannie witnessed the altercation between Hurst and Bell. Tannie testified that he was standing in the driveway when Bell lowered the truck window and said "bring your bad a* * up the road, I got something for you." Melvin Bland, Spears's *1130 brother, was also present at Spears's home that night.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
963 So. 2d 1124, 2007 WL 2051365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bell-v-state-miss-2007.