Hill v. State

774 So. 2d 441, 2000 WL 1880685
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 29, 2000
Docket1999-KA-01776-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 774 So. 2d 441 (Hill 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
Hill v. State, 774 So. 2d 441, 2000 WL 1880685 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

774 So.2d 441 (2000)

Lennis J. HILL a/k/a Lennis James Hill
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1999-KA-01776-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 29, 2000.

*443 Lisa D. Collums, Gulfport, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Dewitt T. Allred, III, Attorneys for Appellee.

Before PRATHER, C.J., McRAE and WALLER, JJ.

WALLER, Justice, for the Court:

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

¶ 1. Lennis James Hill was indicted in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Harrison County for the murder of Tracy Patton. The indictment was later amended to charge Hill as a habitual offender pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-83 (2000). After a trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, and Hill was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Having considered Hill's assignments of error on appeal, we find no error in the trial court's judgment and affirm the conviction and sentence.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

¶ 2. Jaton Issac drove Lennis Hill to Tracy Patton's residence to buy crack cocaine. During the transaction, Patton was shot and later died from his injuries. Issac, who fled outside after the transaction turned sour, heard shots fired and saw Hill flee from the scene. Hill fled on foot in one direction, and Issac left by car traveling in the opposite direction.

¶ 3. Nicole Pogue was sleeping in Patton's residence when she was awakened by gunshots. She testified, "I saw Tracy running through the bathroom, and I saw this man right here (pointing to Hill) following behind him." She followed Hill outside and saw him flee on foot and a female later determined to be Issac leaving in a vehicle. Even though Pogue had never seen Hill prior to the incident, she positively identified Hill as the shooter on the night in question.

¶ 4. Officer Alan Pohlman of the Gulfport Police Department went to Patton's residence after he received report of a shooting. By the time Pohlman reached the scene, Patton had died. After other officers arrived, a search conducted of the premises revealed two handguns, some cash and what was later determined to be crack cocaine. The gun used in Patton's murder was never recovered.

¶ 5. Detective Kenneth Davis testified that he was approached by a familiar individual who told him that "Capone" was the shooter. Davis later identified "Capone" to be Hill and the woman outside the house as Issac. He located and questioned Issac.

¶ 6. Issac, an admitted crack addict, told Detective Davis that she had only known Hill for a couple of days and knew him only by the name of "Capone." On the night in question, Issac met Hill at a gas station where he asked her for a ride. Later, Hill and Issac decided to get some cocaine at Patton's residence. Once inside, Issac and Hill negotiated with Patton. When Patton returned with the cocaine, Hill pointed a pistol at Patton and instructed him to hand it over. Patton refused and turned, running towards his bedroom. At this point, Issac became scared and ran towards the door. As she reached the door, she heard gun shots. By the time Issac reached her car, Hill came outside and directed her to pick him up down the street. According to Issac, she fled in a different direction and never saw Hill again.

*444 ¶ 7. A few hours after the shooting, Cotrell Holliday talked with Hill. Holliday had heard a rumor that Hill was responsible for the murder, and he asked Hill about it. Initially Hill denied any involvement, but when Holliday asked a second time, Hill responded, "Yeah, I smoked the buster."

¶ 8. A few days after the shooting, the patrol division of the Gulfport Police Department made a routine traffic stop. One of the passengers exited the car and began to flee. Once apprehended, the fleeing individual was identified as Hill. The officers took him into custody because they had received a bulletin that Hill was wanted for questioning.

DISCUSSION OF LAW

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN DENYING HILL'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PROHIBIT ALL REFERENCES TO HIM AT TRIAL BY HIS STREET NAME "CAPONE"?

¶ 9. Hill moved in limine to prohibit any references to his nickname, "Capone." The court granted the order in part and denied it in part, ordering that only witnesses who knew Hill as "Capone," and not as "Hill," could use his nickname. The State was instructed not to use the nickname for the sole purpose of drawing attention to Hill. The court refused to find prejudice in referring to Hill as "Capone," but it did grant Hill a continuing objection when witnesses used the nickname. Hill claims that by allowing witnesses to refer to him as "Capone," he was unduly prejudiced and did not receive a fair trial.

¶ 10. We have held, "A trial judge enjoys a great deal of discretion as to the relevancy and admissibility of evidence. Unless the judge abuses this discretion so as to be prejudicial to the accused, the Court will not reverse this ruling." Gilley v. State, 748 So.2d 123, 126 (Miss.1999) (citations omitted). Prejudice under these facts will not be assumed, but must be proven.

¶ 11. Hill contends he was prejudiced four times when the name "Capone" was mentioned at trial: twice during direct examination by the State and twice during the State's closing argument. During the State's direct examination of Detective Davis, the following exchange took place:

BY STEPHEN B. SIMPSON (Assistant District Attorney):
Q: I don't want you to go into what was said, I just want to know from what source or how did Lennis Hill first become a suspect?
BY DAVIS:
A: I was told that "Capone" was the person doing the shooting. And I later identified the person known as "Capone" as Lennis Hill.
* * * *
Q: Not at that time. What did you do subsequent to that?
A: We conducted numerous interviews with different people on the street who all subsequently gave us the same information, that "Capone" did the shooting of Tracy Patton.

Hill was not prejudiced by this exchange. The detective was merely responding to questions concerning how Hill was determined to be a suspect. Nothing in the State's questions can be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to elicit a reference to Hill by his nickname.

¶ 12. Hill's second claim of prejudice occurred when Issac took the stand:

BY STEPHEN B. SIMPSON:
Q: Do you know the defendant Lennis Hill?
BY ISSAC:
A: No. I knew of him.
* * * *
Q: Well, you were told who he was?
A: Yes.
Q: All right. And did you know him as Lennis Hill or some other name?
A: "Capone."
* * * *
*445 Q: Tell us what happened.
A: "... Capone still hadn't got out of the car yet."
* * * *
Q: What did you do?
A: "... I said, Capone, please don't hurt me."

Hill argues that it is clear that Issac knew him by his birth name and had no reason to refer to his nickname, and, contrary to the trial court's direction, the State elicited a reference to Hill's nickname.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 So. 2d 441, 2000 WL 1880685, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-state-miss-2000.