Ezell v. State

956 So. 2d 315, 2006 WL 3593228
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 12, 2006
Docket2005-KA-00581-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 956 So. 2d 315 (Ezell 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
Ezell v. State, 956 So. 2d 315, 2006 WL 3593228 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

956 So.2d 315 (2006)

Jody EZELL a/k/a Jody M. Ezell, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-KA-00581-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 12, 2006.
Rehearing Denied May 1, 2007.

*316 David Fitzgerald Linzey, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jose Benjamin Simo, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and ROBERTS, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Jody Ezell was indicted on two counts of receiving stolen property with a value of over $500 in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-17-70 (Rev. 2006). A jury trial occurred in the Circuit *317 Court of Lincoln County on November 22-23, 2004. The jury found Ezell guilty on both counts, and the court sentenced him as a habitual offender to ten years on each count in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, to run consecutively. Ezell appeals, arguing in the alternative that (1) his conviction for receiving stolen property was improper because the evidence pointed to Ezell's having stolen the property himself and (2) there was insufficient evidence on the element of guilty knowledge to support his conviction.

¶ 2. We find that there was sufficient evidence to support Ezell's conviction of receiving stolen property and, therefore, we affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 3. Ezell is the nephew of Tracy Lofton. Tracy and his wife, Alicia, live on Lofton Trail in Brookhaven, Mississippi. On January 3, 2004, Alicia reported to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department that her black Yamaha motorcycle and Tracy's sixteen foot flat bed trailer had been stolen from outside their home. Before being taken, the trailer had been sitting in the yard at the end of the driveway, visible from the road. The motorcycle had been leaning against a shed in the yard. The motorcycle had a tag. The motorcycle's key was kept inside the house.

¶ 4. Stephanie Lofton testified that, in late December 2003, Ezell had briefly visited the Lofton residence. Only the Loftons' children, Stephanie and Don, were home at the time of Ezell's visit. Ezell spoke with Stephanie while standing in the driveway of the Loftons' property. Stephanie stated that, from Ezell's vantage point, the trailer and motorcycle were visible. Stephanie stated that Ezell commented that he had a motorcycle just like the one they had. At a family wedding on February 14, 2004, the Loftons saw Ezell and told him that their motorcycle and trailer had been stolen; Ezell said nothing in response.

¶ 5. On April 2, 2004, Ezell had a wreck while riding a motorcycle that was later identified by the vehicle identification number as the one stolen from Alicia. The officer from the Brookhaven Police Department who responded to the wreck observed that the motorcycle Ezell was riding had no tag. The officer did not ascertain if the motorcycle had been reported as stolen. The Brookhaven Police Department had the motorcycle towed to Highway 84 Chevron where it was stored. Later, Ezell went to Highway 84 Chevron and inquired about paying the storage fees in order to take the motorcycle out of storage. Ezell was unable to afford the storage fees and gave the motorcycle's key, which had been in his possession, to the owner of Highway 84 Chevron.

¶ 6. In June 2004, Tracy was parked at a red light in Brookhaven and saw his trailer connected to another vehicle on the road. Tracy was able to recognize the trailer as his own due to some modifications he had made to the trailer. Tracy followed the vehicle to its destination and then talked to the vehicle's driver, Rhett Gilcrease. Gilcrease informed Tracy that, sometime in February 2004, he had purchased the trailer from Ezell for $400. In response to Tracy's questions, Gilcrease told Tracy that Ezell had a motorcycle. On June 5, 2004, Tracy informed the sheriff's department that he had located the trailer. The trailer Gilcrease bought from Ezell was identified as the one stolen from Tracy. It was established that, at some point before Gilcrease bought the trailer from Ezell, the trailer's serial number had been removed.

¶ 7. Shortly thereafter, Ezell phoned the Loftons and spoke with Tracy. The Loftons' caller identification device showed *318 that Ezell was calling from the Spanish Inn in Brookhaven. While Tracy spoke with Ezell, Alicia called the sheriff's department and reported Ezell's location. Meanwhile, Ezell told Tracy that he knew the authorities were looking for him but that he had not stolen the motorcycle and trailer. Ezell stated that he had purchased the motorcycle in Tylertown, Mississippi for $3,000, using the proceeds from selling a fleet of trucks. Ezell stated that the seller of the motorcycle had asked him to sell the trailer for him, and that Ezell had agreed, had sold the trailer to Gilcrease, and had given the proceeds to the seller. Ezell also told Tracy that a battery charger had been stolen at the same time as the motorcycle and trailer. Tracy testified that, at that time, only his insurer had been told that the battery charger was missing.

¶ 8. On June 9, 2004, Ezell was arrested at the Spanish Inn. On June 14, 2004, Ezell waived his rights and gave a statement to Captain Steve Rushing. According to Ezell, around the end of February 2004 or March 1, 2004, he had seen the motorcycle sitting atop the trailer at the Super 98 Truck Stop at the intersection of Highway 583 and Highway 98 in Tylertown. A sign advertised the motorcycle and trailer for sale. Ezell called the phone number on the sign and contacted David Freeman, who was selling the motorcycle and trailer. Freeman sold Ezell the motorcycle for $3,000. Freeman did not give Ezell the title to the motorcycle or a sales receipt. Ezell stated that Freeman let him borrow the trailer to take the motorcycle home. Freeman asked Ezell if he would sell the trailer for him, and Ezell agreed. Ezell sold the trailer and gave the proceeds to Freeman. Ezell told Officer Rushing that he had not seen Freeman since giving him the proceeds from the trailer sale. Ezell stated that, on February 14, 2004, when the Loftons told him about the theft of their motorcycle and trailer, he had not realized that the stolen items were the very items he had obtained from Freeman.

¶ 9. Ezell told Officer Rushing that he could verify his story by giving him Freeman's phone number. However, Ezell never gave Officer Rushing the phone number. No one else was able to give Officer Rushing any information about Freeman. The managers of the Super 98 Truck Stop told Officer Rushing and testified at the trial that no motorcycle and trailer had ever been for sale there, that the truck stop did not allow the placement of vehicles for sale on the premises, and that employees continually monitored the truck stop premises and had any abandoned vehicles removed.

¶ 10. Ezell did not testify. The jury found Ezell guilty on both counts of receiving stolen property.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. THE STATE'S EVIDENCE POINTS TO THE DEFENDANT STEALING THE PROPERTY.

¶ 11. This issue attacks the sufficiency of the evidence of Ezell's guilt of receiving stolen property. This issue was preserved by Ezell's motion for a JNOV, which was denied by the trial court. On appellate review of the denial of a JNOV, "the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843(¶ 16) (Miss.2004) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
956 So. 2d 315, 2006 WL 3593228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ezell-v-state-missctapp-2006.