Brandon Spralls v. State of Mississippi

• Court: Court of Appeals of Mississippi
• Decided: May 28, 2024
• Docket: 2023-KA-00347-COA
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2023-KA-00347-COA

BRANDON SPRALLS APPELLANT

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 02/17/2023 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. WILLIAM HUNTER NOWELL COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: COAHOMA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: MOLLIE MARIE McMILLIN ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: BARBARA WAKELAND BYRD DISTRICT ATTORNEY: BRENDA FAY MITCHELL NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 05/28/2024 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

BEFORE BARNES, C.J., McDONALD AND LAWRENCE, JJ.

LAWRENCE, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. On February 16, 2023, Brandon Spralls was convicted of one count of burglary of an

automobile by a Coahoma County Circuit Court jury. The circuit court judge sentenced

Spralls to four years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with two

years suspended, two years to serve, and two years of probation. Spralls filed a motion for

judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which the circuit court denied. Spralls appealed his

conviction. On appeal, Spralls’s appointed counsel filed a Lindsey brief.1 Finding no

reversible error after a thorough and independent review of the record, we affirm.

1 Lindsey v. State, 939 So. 2d 743 (Miss. 2005). FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶2. On August 1, 2021, Dhane Burton was working late cutting the grass at Clarksdale

Hospital when he noticed something odd with his trailer. He drove his mower back to his

truck and saw two men in his truck as he approached. Burton told the jury that “one was in

the front, and one was in the back” and fled. The truck had a smashed window, and Burton’s

personal belongings were outside of the truck. Burton told police the men were wearing dark

hoodies, and he witnessed them running “to the south of the building.” The police set up a

perimeter to conduct a search of the area and found Spralls a short distance from the crime

scene. He was lying on the ground behind a tree, sweating and wet, wearing a dark hoodie.

Burton testified that a week after the incident, he was cutting grass in the area where Spralls

had been found when he discovered more of his personal items.

¶3. Police interviewed Spralls the night he was arrested. The police officer testified that

Spralls admitted to being present when “Kentavious Nolan . . . actually broke into the vehicle

and took items from the vehicle.” Spralls told police he had been present but had not been

in the vehicle despite Burton telling authorities he had seen two men in his truck. The jury

returned a guilty verdict of auto burglary in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section

97-17-33 (Rev. 2020).

ANALYSIS

¶4. In Lindsey, 939 So. 2d at 748 (¶18), the Mississippi Supreme Court established the

“procedure to govern cases where appellate counsel represents an indigent criminal

defendant and does not believe his or her client’s case presents any arguable issues on

2 appeal.” In this case, Spralls’s appointed appellate counsel complied with that procedure and

certified there were no arguable issues for appeal. Spralls’s appellate counsel also certified

in her brief that she “mailed by first class, postage prepaid, a copy” of the brief filed in this

court, the trial transcript, and a letter “informing Spralls” that counsel found “no arguable

issues in the record” and that “Spralls has a right to file a pro se brief.” This Court also

entered an order granting Spralls time to file a pro se brief. Spralls did not file a brief.

¶5. Following a review of the record with a clear understanding that the jury determines

the factual issues in dispute and judges the credibility of the witnesses, this Court finds that

the State presented sufficient evidence to support Spralls’s conviction. Knox v. State, 912

So. 2d 1004, 1009 (¶23) (Miss. Ct. App. 2005) (citing Harvey v. State, 875 So. 2d 1133, 1136

(¶18) (Miss. Ct. App. 2004)). In addition, this Court has “conducted an independent and

thorough review of the record, and we conclude that there are no issues that warrant

reversal.” Taylor v. State, 162 So. 3d 780, 787 (¶18) (Miss. 2015). Therefore, Spralls’s

conviction and sentence are AFFIRMED.

BARNES, C.J., CARLTON AND WILSON, P.JJ., GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS, McDONALD, McCARTY, SMITH AND EMFINGER, JJ., CONCUR.