Conner v. State

971 So. 2d 630, 2007 WL 1532292
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 29, 2007
Docket2005-KA-01994-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 971 So. 2d 630 (Conner 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
Conner v. State, 971 So. 2d 630, 2007 WL 1532292 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

971 So.2d 630 (2007)

Zachary CONNER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-KA-01994-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 29, 2007.
Rehearing Denied September 18, 2007.
Certiorari Denied December 6, 2007.

*631 Jennifer Powell Fortner, attorney for appellant.

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

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

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Zachary Conner appeals his Warren County Circuit Court convictions for murder, armed robbery, and shooting into an occupied dwelling. The jury returned a verdict against Conner finding that, on July 8, 2004, Conner shot and killed Christopher Cage, robbed him of his shorts and wallet, and fired a bullet intended for Cage which passed through the front door of a residence at 505 Adams Street in Vicksburg. For the crimes of murder, armed robbery, and shooting into an occupied dwelling, Conner was sentenced to respective terms of life, twenty, and five years, to be served in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Conner raises the following issues on appeal:

I. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN DENYING CONNER'S REQUEST FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE?
*632 II. WHETHER THE CIRCUIT COURT ERRED IN DENYING CONNER'S MOTION FOR JNOV/NEW TRIAL WHERE THE JURY VERDICT WAS CONTRARY TO THE LAW AND AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE?

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the circuit court.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 3. The testimony offered at trial adduced that on the night of July 8, 2004, Tasheba Williams invited friends over to her home located on Adams Street in Vicksburg for a barbeque. In attendance at Williams' barbeque were her boyfriend, Jammal Bell, her neighbor and the victim in this case, Christopher Cage, the appellant herein, Zachary Conner, the cook at the barbeque, Charles Ross, and friends, George Deon Scott, Keon Hatchett, Tameka Williams, and Jimmie Felix. Over the course of several hours, the friends ate barbeque, drank beer, smoked cigarettes, and may have used marijuana and cocaine.

¶ 4. Later in the evening, Conner, Cage, Hatchett, and Scott took part in a game of dice, gambling money on what number would be rolled. Cage got "hot," and ultimately won "all the money," amounting to approximately $240. Conner lost all the money he had to Cage. Cage felt the ire of the group and offered to buy everyone cigarettes and beer if someone would take him to the store. Scott instructed his younger cousin, Hatchett, to drive Cage to the store in Scott's orange Chevrolet Suburban. Conner and Bell accompanied Hatchett and Cage on the excursion. Hatchett was driving, Bell was sitting in the front passenger seat, Conner was seated behind Bell, and Cage behind Hatchett.

¶ 5. When the four men arrived at the Smoke Brake store, located on the corner of Cherry and Clay Streets, Cage and Bell entered the store while Hatchett and Conner remained in the vehicle. Videotape evidence, later recovered by the Vicksburg police, indicated that Cage and Bell purchased cigarettes and beer, and exited the store at 11:39 p.m. Bell testified that while he and Cage were inside the store, Cage told him that he hoped that Hatchett and Conner were not up to something. Hatchett testified at trial that while Cage and Bell were inside the store, Conner repeatedly said, "I've got to get my money back." Once Cage and Bell returned to the vehicle, the four men proceeded in the orange Suburban in the general direction of Williams' house. However, when Hatchett came to the stop sign where he was to make a right turn onto Adams Street, Conner instructed him to "stay straight." Cage became uneasy and attempted to jump out of the vehicle while it was in motion. Hatchett stopped the vehicle and Cage jumped out. Bell and Hatchett both testified that Conner exited the vehicle behind Cage, and began firing multiple shots at Cage as Cage ran up the hill toward the intersection of Cherry and Fayette Streets. Hatchett had also exited the vehicle, but Bell remained inside. After observing Conner shoot Cage, Hatchett returned to the driver's seat in the vehicle, reversed, and backed up the hill to the stop sign he had previously gone through, returning to Williams' house with Bell, but without Conner or Cage.

¶ 6. Upon returning to Williams' house, Hatchett asked his cousin George Deon Scott to step outside. There, Hatchett told Scott, "Zack shot that dude." As Hatchett was explaining to Scott what had transpired, Conner returned to Williams' house on foot. Bell was inside explaining what happened to the others at the party. Conner, Scott, and Hatchett went back *633 inside the house and according to the testimony of everyone at the party, Conner said something to the effect of "Ya'll ain't got nothing to worry about, this one's on me." Bell testified that Conner said that he "could not let [Cage] live," and that he "had to get his money back." Scott asked Hatchett and Conner if Cage was dead, and told them they needed to check. Conner then walked back up Adams Street to the corner of Cherry and Fayette Streets; Hatchett followed at a distance. Hatchett found Cage lying face down, half in the street and half in the grass. Conner approached the body and removed Cage's shorts, socks, and other personal effects. As Conner proceeded back down Adams Street toward Williams' house, Hatchett observed him place Cage's shorts in a city garbage can located in front of 622 Adams Street. Investigators later recovered the shorts from the garbage can.

¶ 7. When Conner returned to Williams' house the second time, he had Cage's identification card in his hand and he was tearing it up using his teeth. Conner then took out a box of .45 caliber Winchester bullets, placed the unused cartridges in a blue rubber glove, and tossed the glove into the neighbors' yard. Conner then tore the Winchester box into small pieces and discarded it into the trash. Bell and Williams then told Conner that he could not stay there, so Conner called a ride. Around midnight, Conner left Williams' house in a white car driven by a man known only as "Little Jesse." Conner returned to Williams' house at approximately 1:30 a.m. on July 9, 2004, wearing different clothes. He stayed for about thirty minutes and then left again.

¶ 8. At trial, Alma Butler, who resides at 505 Adams Street, testified that she was in her living room, lying on the couch, watching television on the night of July 8, 2004. At approximately 11:44 p.m., a .45 caliber Winchester bullet shattered the storm door on the front of her house, went through her wooden front door, through a pillow underneath her legs, and lodged in a barstool cushion. Butler immediately dropped to the floor and crawled to a back bedroom. She then called 911 and reported hearing eight or nine shots fired. The Vicksburg police arrived within five minutes and began investigating the scene. At approximately 12:04 a.m. on July 9, 2004, the Vicksburg police received a call about a man, later identified as Christopher Cage, lying face down on the corner of Cherry and Fayette Streets. Butler's house is directly across a vacant lot approximately fifty to sixty yards from where Cage's body was found.

¶ 9. The crime scene was investigated by Lieutenant Billy Brown and Crime Scene Investigator Linda Hearn. The officers took photographs of Cage's body, depicting Cage lying face down with his socks and shorts removed, which were introduced into evidence at trial.

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Related

Miller v. State
18 So. 3d 898 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Stewart v. State
29 So. 3d 12 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
971 So. 2d 630, 2007 WL 1532292, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conner-v-state-missctapp-2007.