Donelson v. State

158 So. 3d 1154, 2014 WL 3824037, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 426
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 5, 2014
DocketNo. 2012-KA-00859-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 158 So. 3d 1154 (Donelson 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
Donelson v. State, 158 So. 3d 1154, 2014 WL 3824037, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 426 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Albert Donelson, Eric Lindsey, and Antonio Marshall beat Richard Crosby, stripped him naked, stuffed him in a grocery cart, and dumped him in a parking lot — all because Donelson did not recognize Crosby as he walked past Donelson’s house late one night.

¶ 2. On appeal of his aggravated-assault conviction, Donelson claims the uncorroborated testimony of his accomplice Marshall was insufficient to support a guilty verdict. But Marshall’s testimony that Donelson kicked and bludgeoned Crosby with an assault rifle was indeed corroborated — by the trail of blood leading to Donelson’s door, by Crosby’s blood found on Donelson’s legs, by Crosby’s bloodstained clothes found inside Donelson’s house, and by the bloodied shopping cart found beside Donelson’s house. There was also a second witness who placed Donelson in the middle of the altercation, which she testified Donelson started. Thus, we find the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict.

¶ 3. We also disagree that Donelson is entitled to a new trial. Donelson, who was known around Jackson, Mississippi, as “Batman,” sought to prevent jurors from learning his alias. So he filed a motion in limine asking that he not be referred to as “Batman” during trial, which the judge granted. This ruling was accidentally violated once. And on appeal, Donelson complains that once was enough for a mistrial. But during the trial Donelson did not seek a mistrial. Nor did he even raise this issue in his motion for a new trial. And we find no plain error when the judge— after swiftly correcting the State and ensuring no other mention of the name “Batman” was made — continued with the trial.

¶ 4. Because we also find, despite Do-nelson’s remaining assertions, that no other reversible error occurred, we affirm.

[1157]*1157Background

I. Attack on Crosby

¶ 5. For several weeks, Crosby and his brother, Richard Barnes, had been staying off and on at their father’s house on Huron Street in Jackson, Mississippi. In the wee hours one morning, they found themselves hungry. So they walked to a pool hall around the corner that served food.

¶ 6. While it was still dark, they started to walk back home. They rounded the corner of Palmyra and Huron Street, where Donelson’s purple house sat. Do-nelson was on his porch with Lindsey, Marshall, and several others. Donelson yelled at the two men, asking who they were and why they were walking past his house. Crosby replied that Donelson knew him because he stayed down the street. Unsatisfied with Crosby’s answer, Donelson and several others left the porch to confront Crosby and Barnes.

¶ 7. Barnes testified that he saw a gun and took off running. He escaped. His brother was not as lucky. Barnes saw some of the men grab his brother. But, due to the darkness, he could not identify which ones. Barnes could, however, hear them whaling on Crosby. He also heard a gunshot, so he kept running.

¶ 8. Crosby testified that he has no recollection of that night — or any other time during the month following the attack. Crosby told the jury he is still impaired from what happened that morning.

¶ 9. At 5:15 a.m., Jackson police responded to a call about a fight on Huron Street. Upon arrival, they found a giant pool of blood, a torn t-shirt, a bloody shoe, and a belt. They followed the blood trail to Donelson’s house. When they knocked on the door, Donelson answered. The officers observed Donelson’s bare legs had blood on them. Tests later confirmed the blood belonged to Crosby. The officers got a search warrant. They found Crosby’s bloodied shorts in Donelson’s bedroom. Behind the house, they found a red shopping cart with Crosby’s blood on it.

¶ 10. Officers also found Crosby— naked and unconscious — in a nearby parking lot. His eyes were swollen shut, and he had a severe head wound.

¶ 11. After initially detaining six people, the officers’ investigation narrowed down to three suspects — Donelson, Lindsey, and Marshall. All three were indicted for armed robbery and aggravated assault.

¶ 12. Marshall pled guilty to the assault charge and agreed to testify at Donelson and Lindsey’s trial. Marshall told the jury that Donelson, along with Lindsey, kicked Crosby. Donelson then clubbed Crosby with an assault rifle he was holding. When the beating stopped, Donelson ordered Lindsey and Marshall to strip Crosby, stuff him in the grocery cart, and get him out of there.

¶ 13. Lindsey and Donelson chose not to testify in their defense. The only other eyewitness besides Crosby’s brother and Marshall was Nina Myers. Myers was on the porch that night when Crosby walked by. Myers confirmed Donelson was there — along with a rifle leaning against the railing. She also confirmed that Do-nelson was angry about Crosby walking by and had left the porch with Lindsey and another unidentified guy to confront him. Myers initially testified she had seen Do-nelson kick Crosby. But she later testified only Lindsey had beaten him. When Lindsey started pushing and kicking Crosby, Myers claimed she shot a gun into the air. That is when Donelson turned around and told her to go home. She claimed she immediately complied, leaving while Crosby was still standing and clothed.

II. Verdict, Post-trial Motions, and Appeal

¶ 14. The jury was instructed on what was necessary to find either Donelson or [1158]*1158Lindsey guilty of armed robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. The jury found neither one guilty of armed robbery. But they found Lindsey guilty of simple assault, and Donelson guilty of aggravated assault. Donelson was sentenced to twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

¶ 15. Within ten days of the judgment, Donelson filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial. Three months after this post-trial motion was denied, Donelson sought additional time to file an appeal, claiming he had just learned that his post-trial motion had been ruled on. See M.R.A.P. 4(h) (authorizing trial judge to reopen the time to file an appeal if he finds certain conditions were met — which include a party not receiving notice that a dispositive order had been entered). While that motion for more time was pending, Donelson filed a document entitled “Second Motion for New Trial, or in the Alternative, Post-Conviction Relief.” On the same day, the trial court denied this “second motion for new trial” but granted Donelson an additional two weeks to file a notice of appeal, which he promptly did.1

Discussion

I. Sufficiency and Weight of the Evidence

¶ 16. Donelson contends he was entitled to a directed verdict or at least a new trial based on the evidence — or rather lack thereof. But viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, as we must, we find it is neither insufficient nor substantially outweighed by evidence supporting acquittal.

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 17. At the end of the State’s presentation, Donelson moved for a directed verdict, which was denied. And after the judgment of conviction was entered, Do-nelson moved for a judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the jury’s verdict, which was also denied.

¶ 18.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
158 So. 3d 1154, 2014 WL 3824037, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 426, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/donelson-v-state-missctapp-2014.