Evans v. State

984 So. 2d 308, 2007 WL 2771001
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided September 25, 2007·No. 2006-KA-00253-COA·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

984 So.2d 308 (2007)

Huey L. EVANS, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-00253-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 25, 2007.
Rehearing Denied March 11, 2008.

*310 Lisa M. Ross, Jackson, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Ladonna C. Holland, attorney for appellee.

*311 Before MYERS, P.J., BARNES and ROBERTS, JJ.

MYERS, P.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Huey L. Evans was found guilty by a jury in the Circuit Court of Newton County of four counts of sexual battery and sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences and two consecutive twenty-year terms in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He appeals his conviction and sentences, asserting numerous trial court errors, as well as arguing he was provided ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no error in the decisions of the trial court, we affirm the conviction and sentence. Evans' claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is brought prematurely and is dismissed without prejudice, accordingly.

FACTS

¶ 2. The Newton County Sheriff's Department responded to a domestic disturbance call at the home of Evans on September 18, 2005. Upon the sheriff's arrival, Evans' fourteen-year-old step-daughter, R.C.J.[1], informed a deputy that Evans had taken nude pictures of her. R.C.J.'s brother corroborated R.C.J.'s accusations and directed the sheriff to a location in the home where the photographs were stored. One of the responding deputies testified at trial that he then read Evans' Miranda rights, and questioned Evans whether he had any inappropriate pictures of R.C.J. The deputies testified that Evans admitted he possessed nude photographs of R.C.J. and executed a consent to search form. Before the deputies entered Evans' home for the search, Evans warned the officers that they would find "kiddie porn" in his home. Fourteen-hundred floppy disks, several hundred data compact disks, and several boxes of child pornographic photographs were recovered from the search. During the search, Evans led the deputies to a computer in the home, inserted a compact disk and showed the officers photographs of him and R.C.J. engaged in sex acts and sexual intercourse. Evans was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual battery. At trial, R.C.J. testified that Evans forced her to perform oral sex and engage in sex and sex acts beginning at age ten and that the abuse had progressed until she was age twelve, when she moved with her mother temporarily to another state in 2003.

¶ 3. Evans was charged and convicted by a jury of four counts of sexual battery occurring during 2001. He was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences and two consecutive twenty-year terms, after serving the life sentences, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Evans appeals his conviction and sentence, asserting that the trial court erred in (1) denying his motions for suppression, for a continuance, and for a competency hearing, (2) advising him against a special venire, (3) limiting voir dire examination, (4) admitting certain testimony of the victim, (5) excluding evidence of the victim's past conviction, and (6) sentencing him too harshly. Additionally, Evans seeks reversal of his conviction, asserting that he was denied a fair trial due to (7) the ineffectiveness of his counsel and (8) overall cumulative error. Finding no error, we affirm Evans' conviction and sentence. Evans' claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is dismissed without prejudice.

DISCUSSION

I. DENIAL OF MOTIONS FOR SUPPRESSION, FOR CONTINUANCE, AND COMPETENCY HEARING

A. MOTION TO SUPPRESS

¶ 4. Evans asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress *312 certain evidence obtained from his home and statements made by him. He asserts that the evidence was illegally obtained without a warrant and the statements were a product of the illegal search and seizure. Additionally, Evans asserts that he is not mentally competent and was unable to appreciate his right to refuse a search of his home. Evans argues that suppression was necessary because the evidence and statements were tainted as a fruit of the poisonous tree and that the trial court's failure to suppress necessitates reversal. The State argues that the trial court was correct in denying Evans' motion for suppression because Evans signed a consent to search the home and voluntarily spoke to the police.

¶ 5. The admissibility of evidence lies within the trial court's discretion and will only be reversed if this discretion is abused. Crawford v. State, 754 So.2d 1211, 1215(¶ 7) (Miss.2000). When reviewing a trial court's ruling on a suppression hearing, we must assess whether substantial credible evidence supports the trial court's finding, considering the totality of the circumstances. Price v. State, 752 So.2d 1070(¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.1999) (citing Magee v. State, 542 So.2d 228, 231 (Miss. 1989)).

¶ 6. At the hearing on Evans' motion to suppress, two sheriff's deputies testified that Evans gave free and voluntary consent to search his home.[2] A signed and executed consent to search form was introduced into evidence at trial purporting this voluntary consent. When a question arises concerning whether a defendant properly consented to a search, the burden lies with the defendant to show that he was impaired or suffered from diminished capacity. Moore v. State, 933 So.2d 910, 916 (¶ 20) (Miss.2006). Evans presented no evidence regarding his mental capability at the suppression hearing. We cannot find that the trial court erred in finding that Evans voluntarily and knowingly consented to the search of his home.

¶ 7. Furthermore, an argument for the suppression of a defendant's statement as a fruit of the poisonous tree can only be predicated upon statements made after an unlawful arrest, rather than statements made based on an unlawful search. Conerly v. State, 760 So.2d 737, 741 (¶¶ 10-11) (Miss.2000). In this case, Evans does not argue that he was unlawfully arrested and we forgo discussion of that argument, as well. The trial court did not err in denying Evans' motion for suppression.

B. COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL

¶ 8. Evans argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a competency hearing to determine whether he was fit to stand trial. Evans argues that because the judge suggested that a psychiatric evaluation be performed, he was entitled to a competency hearing pursuant to Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court Practice 9.06. The State argues that Evans was not entitled to a competency hearing because Evans did not make the requisite showing at the evidentiary hearing on the matter that a psychiatric evaluation was warranted, and although the trial court suggested the performance of an psychiatric evaluation, that a competency hearing was not required.

¶ 9. Uniform Rule of Circuit and County Court Practice 9.06 requires that a *313 trial court order a psychiatric evaluation if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial. The Rule further requires that if a reasonable ground exists to believe the accused is incompetent, then the trial court must also order a competency hearing. URCCC 9.06. However

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Evans v. State, 984 So. 2d 308, 2007 WL 2771001 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

984 So. 2d 308 (Evans v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Sandra Morgan v. State of Mississippi
230 So. 3d 748 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2017)
Donald Keith Smith v. State of Mississippi
149 So. 3d 1027 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2014)
Smith v. State
149 So. 3d 1048 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)