Ellis v. State

778 So. 2d 114, 2000 WL 1868506
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 14, 2000
Docket1999-KA-00706-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 778 So. 2d 114 (Ellis v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellis v. State, 778 So. 2d 114, 2000 WL 1868506 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

778 So.2d 114 (2000)

Antwon Leshay ELLIS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1999-KA-00706-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 14, 2000.
Rehearing Denied February 8, 2001.

*116 Dan W. Duggan, Jr., Brandon, Vicki L. Gilliam, Jackson, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jean Smith Vaughan, Attorney for Appellee.

EN BANC.

SMITH, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Antwon Leshay Ellis, convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and murder in the Hinds County Circuit Court, now appeals to this Court. We affirm the trial court as to the conspiracy to commit murder conviction and the trial court's decision to deny the lesser-related offense jury instruction.

I.

¶ 2. On August 23, 1997, Antwon Leshay Ellis ("Ellis") was riding in a car with Marcus Reese ("Reese") and Michelle Holden ("Holden"). Beyond that, the facts in his case have been told so differently by the witnesses, both during trial and in pretrial statements, that it is necessary to outline the story as told by each.

¶ 3. First, Carlos Gray ("Gray") testified at trial that Ellis and Reese came over to his house on Hughes Street and inquired as to the location of the dwelling of Commodore Johnson. Gray took the two to the apartment and got Johnson to come to the door. When Johnson came to the *117 door, he had a gun in his hand, but he put it down. Then, after some arguing between Johnson and Ellis, and after Ellis said that Johnson owed him some drug money, Gray noticed that Ellis had a gun in his hand. Ellis told Gray to move and shot Johnson through the screen door which was closed. When Gray saw Johnson holding his stomach and back, he ran to call an ambulance. Gray gave an original statement to the police in which he denied being at Johnson's apartment.

¶ 4. Reese testified at trial that he was picked up on August 23, 1997, by Ellis, Holden, and Holden's daughter. He further testified that Holden asked Ellis "You gonna do that" to which Ellis responded "Yeah, I'm fixing to go do that." Reese's trial testimony revealed that Holden dropped Reese and Ellis off on Hughes street where Ellis said they were going to go "straighten up a little business." (In Reese's original statement to the police, he never mentioned Holden or her daughter in the events.). Reese stated that he and Ellis went to Gray's house where Gray agreed to take them to Johnson's apartment. Upon arrival, Reese watched while Gray and Ellis stepped on the porch. When Johnson appeared, an argument ensued and then Ellis shot Johnson. (Reese told the police in an earlier statement that Johnson rushed Ellis, but testified that Ellis told him to say this to the police.). On cross-examination, Reese said he saw Johnson and Ellis talk for three minutes with the screen-door open. After the shooting, Reese testified at trial that he and Ellis ran back to Holden's car where Holden asked, "Did you do that?" to which Ellis answered "Yes, I did it." Reese testified that in exchange for his testimony, he was promised a sentence of zero to twenty years.

¶ 5. The third version of the events on that evening was that of Ellis, introduced at trial through the testimony of Detective Williams of the Jackson Police Department relating Ellis's earlier statement given to the police. In his statement, Ellis said that on Hughes Street he met Gray and Reese who wanted to go to Johnson's house because he owed the two of them money and that they wanted to use Ellis's gun to intimidate Johnson. Upon arrival at the apartment, Ellis stated that a conversation ensued among Gray, Reese and Johnson and then Johnson lunged or rushed Ellis, trying to get his gun. It was at that time while Ellis was trying to get Johnson off of him that the gun went oft the bullet striking Johnson.

¶ 6. At the end of the State's case, Ellis moved for a directed verdict arguing that the State failed to prove the necessary elements of "deliberate design murder" and "conspiracy to commit murder." The trial court denied this motion. Ellis did not put on any evidence. Ellis was found guilty on both counts. Ellis filed a motion for a JNOV, or in the alternative a motion for a new trial. The trial court denied these motions, and Ellis perfected this appeal.

II.

¶ 7. The legal sufficiency of the State's evidence may be tested by a motion for a directed verdict, a request for a peremptory instruction and a motion for a JNOV; the standard of review of each is essentially the same. Butler v. State, 544 So.2d 816, 819 (Miss.1989). In addition to viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, this Court must accept as true all the evidence which supports the verdict without weighing the credibility of the evidence on appeal. Davis v. State, 568 So.2d 277, 281 (Miss. 1990); Malone v. State, 486 So.2d 360, 366 (Miss.1986).

A. Conspiracy

¶ 8. Ellis argues that there is no evidence of a meeting of the minds between Ellis and Holden to commit murder. The only evidence of a conspiracy includes the testimony of Reese as to the conversation between Ellis and Holden before and after the shooting. Reese testified that *118 before the shooting, while they were all still in the car, Holden asked Ellis, "Are you going to do that?" Ellis responded, "Yeah, I'm fixing to do that." After the shooting, Reese testified that he and Ellis ran back to the car when Holden stated, "Did you do that?" Ellis responded, `Yeah, I got that m* * * * *f* * * * *." (expletive deleted.)

¶ 9. The other evidence of a conspiracy was an insurance check for $10,000 payable to Holden for the life of Johnson. Ellis argues that even if taken in the light most favorable to the State, this does not constitute a "union of the minds" of a common scheme or plan to murder Johnson. We disagree.

¶ 10. This Court has held many times that conspiracy may be proven entirely by circumstantial evidence. Franklin v. State, 676 So.2d 287, 288 (Miss.1996) (collecting authorities). To prove a conspiracy the State must show that two or more people agreed to accomplish an unlawful purpose or agreed to accomplish a lawful purpose unlawfully. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-1-1 (2000); Clayton v. State, 582 So.2d 1019, 1022 (Miss.1991); Griffin v. State, 480 So.2d 1124, 1126 (Miss.1985).

¶ 11. Here there is testimony that three individuals were riding in the car together. The driver asks one of the passengers is he about to "do that," to which the passenger replies that he is about to "do that" now. The driver waits in the car while the passengers go "do that." Upon returning to the car the driver asked the first passenger if he had done that, to which he replied in the affirmative. The driver is shown to have a motive, $10,000 for agreeing that the action take place. In our view, that is enough circumstantial evidence to show a meeting of the minds of the parties to "do that." Ellis's response to the question whether "that" had been done that he had killed the expletive informs us on the question what "that" meant. These facts would allow a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Ellis and Holden had conspired to kill Johnson.

B. Murder

¶ 12. Ellis argues that the State also failed to prove deliberate design by him to kill Johnson. Ellis reasserts the testimony of Gray, Reese's prior statement, and his police statement, contending that at best he may be found guilty of "heat of passion" manslaughter. We disagree.

¶ 13.

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Bluebook (online)
778 So. 2d 114, 2000 WL 1868506, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellis-v-state-miss-2000.