Cornell Stubbs v. State of Mississippi

220 So. 3d 1014, 2017 WL 2257563, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 291
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 23, 2017
DocketNO. 2015-KA-00924-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 220 So. 3d 1014 (Cornell Stubbs 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
Cornell Stubbs v. State of Mississippi, 220 So. 3d 1014, 2017 WL 2257563, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 291 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

GRIFFIS, P. J.,

FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1 Cornell Stubbs appeals his conviction of burglary of a storage shed. We find no error and affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. Stubbs and Jonathan Holmes were indicted on the charge of burglary of a building other than a dwelling pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-17-33 (Supp. 2013). The indictment was subsequently amended to charge Stubbs as a habitual offender pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev. 2014). The State of Mississippi proceeded to trial against Stubbs. At the conclusion of voir dire, Stubbs advised the circuit court that he no longer wanted his attorney to represent him. Following instructions from the circuit court, Stubbs waived his right to counsel and proceeded to trial self-represented. The circuit court ordered Stubbs’s trial counsel to remain present to assist, if necessary.

¶ 3. At trial, the victim, Williams Jones, testified that he was in his yard when he heard a loud pop come from the direction of his storage shed. Although there was a fence between Jones and the shed, Jones stated he could see that the top of the door to the shed was open. Jones looked over the fence and saw a truck backed up to the shed and two men standing at the entrance of the shed. The two men were later identified as Stubbs and Holmes. Jones stated he saw Stubbs and Holmes grabbing stuff from inside the shed. When Jones asked them what they were doing, Stubbs responded that “John Smith” had given them permission to enter the shed and take the property. Jones then called 911. Stubbs and Holmes subsequently left in the truck. Shortly thereafter, they were stopped by law enforcement.

¶ 4. Sergeant Clint Breland located the truck approximately two to three blocks from Jones’s residence. Breland testified that Stubbs was driving the truck and Holmes was in the passenger seat. After Breland initiated the traffic stop, he observed a pair of bolt cutters, a broken lock, and a measuring wheel in the back of the truck.

¶ 5. Detective Tyson Fairley, the lead investigator on the ease, responded to the scene. Fairley collected into evidence a large industrial-size bolt cutter, a damaged lock, and' a road-measuring tool, which were found in the back of the subject truck. Fairley subsequently interviewed Stubbs. During the interview, Stubbs admitted to cutting and/or assisting in cutting the lock. When Fairley asked Stubbs to give him a description of John Smith, Stubbs was unable to describe Smith, other than to say that Smith was about the *1016 same height as Stubbs. 1 Additionally, Stubbs’s description of the vehicle that Smith was driving changed throughout the interview. In the beginning of the interview, Stubbs advised that Smith was driving a truck, but later described Smith’s vehicle as a van. Fairley stated that the measuring wheel was determined to be Jones’s property and was ultimately returned to Jones.

¶6. In support of his defense, Stubbs called Jonathan Magee and Holmes as witnesses. 2 Magee testified that the night before their arrest, Stubbs and Holmes were at his house working on a remodeling project. Magee gave Stubbs “a draw on the job” in the amount of $800. After Stubbs and Holmes left his house that night, Ma-gee did not hear from them again. A couple of days later, Magee learned that Stubbs and Holmes had been arrested. As a result, Magee posted bail for Stubbs and Holmes. Stubbs and Holmes then finished the job at Magee’s house. Magee testified that Stubbs and Holmes had worked at his house alone numerous times and had never stolen anything. On cross-examination, Magee acknowledged that he was not with Stubbs or Holmes on the day of the alleged burglary and did not know what Stubbs or Holmes did that day.

¶ 7. Holmes testified that on the morning of the incident, he and Stubbs were driving in their truck and saw a man, later identified as John Smith, in front of a storage shed who looked like he was struggling. Holmes asked Smith if he needed help, to which Smith replied, “yeah, man, I need some help.” As a result, Holmes got out of the truck, and Stubbs backed up the truck to the shed, popped the lock, and opened the door to the shed. As the door opened, a measuring wheel fell out of the shed. According to Holmes, Smith said they could take the measuring wheel. Stubbs then picked up the measuring wheel and threw it in the back of the truck.

¶8. Holmes stated that Smith subsequently left to get his truck and trailer. Approximately thirty-five seconds later, Jones came out and asked Holmes and Stubbs what they were doing. Stubbs explained to Jones that it was a mistake, and that he would pay for the broken lock. Stubbs attempted to explain to Jones that Smith would be right back. However, Jones interrupted Stubbs and advised that he was “going to [his] gate” and would “be back.” Stubbs decided not to wait for Jones to come back, and he and Holmes left in their truck.

¶ 9. On cross-examination, Holmes described Smith as a thirty-eight- to thirty-nine-year-old Caucasian, who was about six feet tall, with a beard. Holmes stated Smith was driving a car, not a truck, but could not recall the color of the car. On redirect, Holmes changed his testimony and stated that Stubbs did not pop the lock, nor did Stubbs go near the shed other than to look in it. Additionally, Holmes claimed that Stubbs did not steal anything from the shed.

¶ 10. Stubbs was found guilty of burglary and sentenced, as a habitual offender, to serve seven years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Stubbs filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, which the circuit court *1017 denied. Stubbs now appeals and argues: (1) the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, (2) the circuit court erroneously failed to continue the trial after he fired his counsel, and (3) he was denied his fundamental right to a preliminary hearing.

ANALYSIS

I. The Weight of the Evidence

¶ 11. Stubbs first argues the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and, as a result, he is entitled to a new trial. Stubbs does not explain how the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, nor does he cite any authority in support of his position, other than this Court’s standard of review. Instead, Stubbs simply argues that when one looks at the facts as presented, “[his] story seems plausible.” We disagree and find the evidence supports the verdict.

¶ 12. “When reviewing a denial of a motion for [a] new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence, we will only disturb a verdict when it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice.” Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 844 (¶ 18) (Miss. 2005). The evidence is weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict. Id.

¶ 13.

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Bluebook (online)
220 So. 3d 1014, 2017 WL 2257563, 2017 Miss. App. LEXIS 291, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cornell-stubbs-v-state-of-mississippi-missctapp-2017.