Calvin Keontrey Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Keontray Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Armstrong v. State of Mississippi

CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 31, 2026
Docket2024-KA-01217-COA
StatusPublished

This text of Calvin Keontrey Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Keontray Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Armstrong v. State of Mississippi (Calvin Keontrey Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Keontray Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Armstrong v. State of Mississippi) 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
Calvin Keontrey Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Keontray Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Armstrong v. State of Mississippi, (Mich. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

NO. 2024-KA-01217-COA

CALVIN KEONTREY ARMSTRONG A/K/A APPELLANT CALVIN KEONTRAY ARMSTRONG A/K/A CALVIN ARMSTRONG

v.

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10/24/2024 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. JAMES McCLURE III COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: YALOBUSHA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: JUSTIN TAYLOR COOK ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: DANIELLE LOVE BURKS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: JAMES STEPHEN HALE JR. NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 03/31/2026 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:

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

McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Calvin Armstrong was indicted by a Yalobusha County grand jury on June 20, 2023,

and charged with one count of sexual battery, one count of possession of methamphetamine

in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-139(c) (Rev. 2018), and one count

of possession of thirty grams or more of cocaine with intent to transfer in violation of section

41-29-139(a)(1) and (f)(2)(A). The sexual battery charge was remanded to the file without

prejudice, and Armstrong was tried and convicted on the other two charges. The Yalobusha

County Circuit Court sentenced Armstrong to serve ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections followed by ten years of post-release supervision

(PRS) for the cocaine conviction, and the court sentenced him to three years of PRS for the

methamphetamine conviction. On appeal, Armstrong contends that the trial court erred by

denying his motion to suppress the evidence that was found pursuant to two search warrants.

Having reviewed the record, considered the arguments of the parties, and applied the relevant

precedent, we affirm Armstrong’s convictions and sentences.

FACTS

¶2. On the morning of June 16, 2022, Deputy Chad Caffrey with the Tate County

Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the Arkabutla Fire Station because “a male had been

shot in the eye.” When Caffrey arrived, first responders were attending to “the male,”

Armstrong. They determined Armstrong had been cut above his eye and not shot.

Armstrong told Caffrey that he had picked up his girlfriend, brought her to his home in Water

Valley, Mississippi, and an unidentified person began shooting at him. When Caffrey

requested Armstrong’s identification, Armstrong produced an ID card, which listed his

address as “308 West Lee Street, Water Valley, Mississippi.” Caffrey asked Armstrong if

that was where he lived, and Armstrong replied, “Yes.” Paramedics arrived and transported

Armstrong to the hospital.

¶3. On the same day, the Tate County Sheriff’s Department contacted the Water Valley

Police Department and notified them that they received a report from Markuryion Irby that

she had been sexually assaulted at a house in Water Valley. Irby alleged that the sexual

2 assault began in the living room, and then she was forced into the bedroom. Lieutenant

Anthony Hernandez with the Water Valley Police Department traveled to Delta Health-

Highland Hills Hospital in Senatobia, Mississippi, to interview Irby and obtain her written

statement. Unfortunately, Hernandez was unable to secure rape kit results because the

hospital’s rape kits had expired.

¶4. The next day, Irby and her mother met Hernandez at the Water Valley Police

Department to follow him and identify the house where the sexual assault occurred. The

residential address for the identified house was “308 West Lee Street, Water Valley,

Mississippi.” Aneatha Johnson, Armstrong’s mother, was the registered owner of the house.

Premises Search Warrant for Sexual Assault Evidence

¶5. On the same day that Irby identified the house, Hernandez prepared an affidavit for

a search warrant to obtain evidence of the sexual assault. He presented the affidavit and

underlying facts and circumstances to the municipal judge. However, the municipal and

justice court judge, Judge Howell, added the address in sections two and seven because

Hernandez forgot to include it. In section two of the affidavit, Judge Howell wrote the

address as 308 West Street, Water Valley; however, in section seven of the affidavit, and the

underlying facts and circumstances document, Judge Howell wrote the address

correctly—308 West Lee Street, Water Valley. In section three, the affidavit stated that law

enforcement sought articles of personal property used during the sexual assault and any

personal property left behind afterward. In section four, the affidavit specified that

3 investigators sought DNA on the bed linens and Irby’s keys, which she had left on the

bedroom dresser. Hernandez signed the affidavit that the judge had completed.

¶6. Hernandez then prepared the search warrant and swore before Judge Howell that the

address where the alleged sexual assault occurred was “308 West Lee Street” in Water

Valley. Consistent with that sworn statement, the search warrant correctly listed the

residential address as 308 West Lee Street, Water Valley. Judge Howell authorized the

search warrant at approximately 3:45 p.m.

¶7. Law enforcement searched the home around 6:01 p.m. Following Irby’s description

of the sexual assault location, officers first went to the bedroom. There, the officers collected

two pillowcases, one cream-colored fitted sheet, and one flat bed sheet. Officers also

searched for Irby’s keys. Because they did not find them in the bedroom, they moved the

search to the living room, where the alleged sexual assault started. On the living room coffee

table, in plain view, officers identified a small plastic bag of what appeared to be marijuana.

Around the same time, officers found a shoebox on top of a storage box between the living

room and back bedroom’s entrance. Inside the shoebox, officers found $99 and what

appeared to be crack cocaine. After finding money and what appeared to be illegal drugs

inside the shoebox, Hernandez stopped the search, secured the outside of the house, and left

to obtain a second search warrant.

Premises Search Warrant for Controlled Substances and Paraphernalia

¶8. At approximately 8:47 p.m., Judge Howell issued a second search warrant that

4 allowed the officers to search for controlled substances or paraphernalia at 308 West Lee

Street. Officers executed it at 9:09 p.m. This warrant correctly listed the residential address

as “308 West Lee Street, Water Valley.”

¶9. When officers executed the second search warrant, they found what appeared to be

six ecstasy tablets and a safe that contained a gallon-size plastic bag weighing approximately

237 grams of what appeared to be cocaine, and $5,259 in United States currency.1

¶10. Later, the district attorney filed a petition for forfeiture of the $5,259 found in the safe

to which Armstrong filed a response, asserting that the money was his.

¶11. On June 20, 2022, Aneatha brought her son, Armstrong, to the police department for

questioning during which officers asked Armstrong for his address. Armstrong denied living

at 308 West Lee Street in Water Valley and instead told officers that he lived at 701 Airways

Acres Drive in Coffeeville. However, officers determined that address did not exist.

Armstrong later claimed during booking that he lived with his “baby’s mamma” at a Rolling

Hills residence.

Court Proceedings

¶12.

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Calvin Keontrey Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Keontray Armstrong a/k/a Calvin Armstrong v. State of Mississippi, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/calvin-keontrey-armstrong-aka-calvin-keontray-armstrong-aka-calvin-missctapp-2026.