Hughey v. State

512 So. 2d 4
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 2, 1987
Docket56308
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 512 So. 2d 4 (Hughey 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
Hughey v. State, 512 So. 2d 4 (Mich. 1987).

Opinion

512 So.2d 4 (1987)

Alvie Charles HUGHEY
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 56308.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

September 2, 1987.

*5 Mary Ann Smith, Corinth, for appellant.

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Atty. Gen. by Wayne Snuggs, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before WALKER, C.J., and PRATHER and SULLIVAN, JJ.

WALKER, Chief Justice, for the Court:

In the Circuit Court of Alcorn County, Alvie Charles Hughey was convicted of armed robbery. The jury being unable to fix his penalty, the trial court sentenced him to a term of fifteen (15) years. Hughey appeals that conviction and sentence. Finding no error, we affirm.

On the afternoon of April 29, 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Haley Haney were working in the small grocery store they owned on Proper Street in Alcorn County. At 4:00 p.m., two (2) men came into the store, but left without making any purchase. Approximately an hour later, they returned to the store, accompanied by a woman. While the woman asked to purchase some bologna, the two (2) men closed the doors to the store, which had been propped open because of the warm weather. After the doors were closed, one of the men demanded that Mrs. Haney give him her ring, which she did, and that Mr. Haney give him the money from the cash register. When Mr. Haney hesitated, one of the men, later identified as Alvie Hughey, threatened to shoot and kill Mrs. Haney. Hughey had "what appeared to be a gun", under his shirt, and Mrs. Haney saw "the prints of a gun" under his shirt, although Hughey "never took the gun out." Before Mr. Haney could remove the money from the cash register, Tommy Williams, a frequent customer, came to the door of the grocery store, intending to enter. While moving toward the other door along with his two (2) companions, Hughey again threatened to shoot Mrs. Haney unless someone gave him the money from the cash register. Mrs. Haney opened the door which Tommy Williams was approaching, informed him that the store was being robbed, and asked him to "call the law." Mr. Haney then took the money from the cash register and gave it to Hughey. As Williams left to call law enforcement officers, the trio exited the store with $200.00 in cash and the ring, which was a diamond cluster.

As he drove away to call the police, Williams encountered a red light and had to stop because of approaching vehicles which had the right of way. While Williams was stopped at the intersection, Hughey opened the door to Williams' car and got in. Hughey stated that he had robbed the store and that he had a gun. When Hughey instructed Williams to drive to "the projects," Williams did so. Hughey then got out of the car.

Before he could be apprehended, Hughey fled to New York state, where he was arrested for criminal possession of a weapon. After being convicted on that charge, he entered a New York prison in March of 1982.

In 1984, Hughey was tried on the armed robbery charge in the Circuit Court of Alcorn County; the jury returned a verdict of guilty, but could not reach an agreement as to penalty. The trial court then sentenced Hughey to serve a term of fifteen (15) years. He appeals, assigning three (3) errors.

*6 I. WAS THE EVIDENCE INSUFFICIENT TO CONVICT FOR ARMED ROBBERY?

Hughey argues that there was no evidence to prove that he exhibited a gun, and that he therefore could not be convicted of armed robbery. This argument is without merit. Hughey had under his shirt an object which looked like a gun. Mrs. Haney testified that she saw "the prints of a gun." Immediately after the robbery, Hughey himself told Tommy Williams that he had a gun. This evidence, along with the reasonable inferences flowing therefrom, was sufficient to present a jury question as to whether Hughey exhibited a deadly weapon. Valentine v. State, 415 So.2d 687, 689 (Miss. 1982).

II. DID THE COURT ERR IN CAUSING HUGHEY TO GO TO TRIAL ON THE DAY HE WAS ARRAIGNED, AND IN CAUSING HUGHEY TO GO TO TRIAL ON A DATE NINE DAYS AFTER HIS COUNSEL WAS NOTIFIED THAT SHE WAS APPOINTED TO REPRESENT HIM?

Hughey moved for a continuance, alleging that he needed more time to prepare his claim of a violation of his right to a speedy trial. Although the trial court denied the continuance, an evidentiary hearing on Hughey's speedy trial claim was conducted after trial. The merits of that claim are discussed with regard to the next assignment of error. The grant or denial of a continuance lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Gates v. State, 484 So.2d 1002, 1006 (Miss. 1986); Carter v. State, 473 So.2d 471, 475 (Miss. 1985). We find no abuse of that discretion in the instant case.

III. WAS THE DEFENDANT DENIED HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL?

The following is a chronology of the events involved in this claim:

April 29, 1981          The robbery with which Hughey was
                        charged occurred.
May, 1981               Hughey was indicted for armed robbery.
September 9, 1981       Hughey was arrested in New York state on
                        a weapons charge.
March 5, 1982           Hughey entered a state prison in New York
                        to serve two to six (2-6) years for the weapons
                        conviction.
April 22, 1982          New York correctional officer notified Mississippi
                        Assistant Attorney General by mail
                        that the Mississippi detainer lodged against
                        Hughey had been received, that Mississippi
                        authorities would be notified before Hughey
                        was released, and that the Mississippi "warrant
                        [was] not eligible for speedy trial."
                        That same day Hughey executed a document
                        entitled "Agreement on Detainers:
                        Form II," which contained a notice of place
                        of imprisonment, request for disposition of
                        indictments, and waiver of extradition. Had
                        Mississippi been a party to the Interstate
                        Agreement on Detainers, then Mississippi
                        would have been required, within 180 days
                        of Hughey's waiver, to try him or remove
                        the detainer. Mississippi, however, is not a
                        party to the IAD. The document was not
                        effective to waive extradition. It is not
                        clear whether this document was sent to
                        Mississippi officials.
September, 1982         Hughey, having been informed by legal services
                        that Mississippi was not a party to
                        IAD, wrote to a Mississippi Assistant Attorney
                        General and to the Chief Judge of the
                        Circuit Court of Alcorn County, asking that
                        he be tried at the earliest possible date.
October 21, 1982        District Attorney John R. 

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Bluebook (online)
512 So. 2d 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hughey-v-state-miss-1987.