IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2022-KA-00607-COA
JAQUARUS LASHAWN WHITE APPELLANT
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/19/2022 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. DAL WILLIAMSON COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: JONES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: MOLLIE MARIE McMILLIN ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALEXANDRA LEBRON DISTRICT ATTORNEY: ANTHONY J. BUCKLEY NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/10/2023 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McDONALD AND LAWRENCE, JJ.
McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Jaquarus White appeals his Jones County Circuit Court conviction of armed robbery
and resulting sentence of thirty-three years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of
Corrections, with thirty years to serve and three years suspended, and three years of post-
release supervision. On appeal, White raises a single issue: whether the circuit court
erroneously admitted prior bad acts evidence that prejudiced the outcome of his case. Having
considered the arguments of the parties and the relevant caselaw, we affirm.
Facts
¶2. At 1:30 a.m. on the morning of October 16, 2020, Justin Huddleston, who worked at the Clark’s Gas Station in Laurel, Mississippi, saw a white Toyota Camry pull up to a gas
pump. A man wearing a Chicago Bulls shirt got out of the car, went in the store, and bought
a Black & Mild cigar.
¶3. A few hours later, the same white Toyota Camry returned. Shortly thereafter, a man
wearing a blue and gray striped sweater and a black ski mask went into the store,
brandishing a silver gun. The man pointed the gun at Huddleston and motioned toward the
cash register. Huddleston put the money from the till (approximately $400) in a plastic bag
and gave it to the man. Although the man was wearing a mask, Huddleston said he
recognized him from his eyes as the man who had come into the store earlier.
¶4. After the robber left, Huddleston locked the door and called the Laurel Police
Department and his supervisor, LaRhonda Page. Officer Justin Clifton responded to the call
and took Huddleston’s statement. Page arrived as well. and they viewed the store’s
surveillance tape. Page and Huddleston recognized the man who had entered at 1:30 as a
regular customer, but they did not know his name. Page knew the man had a twin sister and
that his stepfather worked as a pressure-washer. The next day, Investigator Jamison Crabtree
went to the store and retrieved the surveillance footage. Page told him that the employees
recognized the suspect as a customer, but again no one knew his name.
¶5. Over the next two days, Page asked different customers if they knew the suspect, and
she finally learned White’s name. She pulled up White’s Facebook page and gave
Investigator Crabtree the information she had gathered. When Lieutenant John Stringer came
to the store following up on the robbery, Page shared this information with him as well.
2 ¶6. Meanwhile, that same day, as Huddleston was arriving at his home at the Shadowood
Apartments, he saw the white Toyota Camry from the robbery. He took a picture of the
license plate and called Page. Stringer was still at the store, and Page relayed this
information to him. Stringer went to the apartments, saw the white Camry, and ran its tag.
He learned the vehicle was registered to White. White was among several men standing by
the car. When Stringer asked who owned the car, White said that he did, and Stringer
arrested him. The car was towed and searched, but police found no evidence in it related to
the robbery.
¶7. After White signed a Miranda waiver,1 Investigator Crabtree interrogated him on
October 19, 2020. Crabtree later explained that although the interview was videotaped, the
police department had issues with its computer system, and the tape was corrupted.
Nonetheless, Crabtree testified that during the interrogation, White admitted that he was in
Clark’s at 1:30 a.m. as shown on the store surveillance video. White also admitted that he
had robbed the store at 3:15 a.m. because his mother would not buy him any clothes.2
¶8. White was released on bond on October 27, 2020, and shortly thereafter, on November
7, 2020, the Alliance Energy convenience store was robbed. White was arrested for that
robbery and again waived his Miranda rights. During that custodial interrogation, White said
that he did not rob Alliance but that he had robbed Clark’s.
1 Under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 478-79 (1966), detainees are entitled to be advised of their rights to remain silent and be represented by counsel before law enforcement may interrogate them while in custody. 2 Twenty-year-old White lived with his mother.
3 ¶9. On February 3, 2021, a Jones County grand jury indicted White for the Clark’s armed
robbery in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-79 (Rev. 2020).3 At
White’s arraignment on February 18, 2021, trial was set for August 26, 2021. Because of
COVID-19, the trial was reset for February 2, 2022. White was separately indicted for the
Alliance robbery under a different case number.
¶10. Although the State provided discovery to White on February 17, 2021, nearly a year
later, on January 3, 2022, the State informed White that it had failed to produce the videotape
of White’s interrogation after the Clark’s robbery in which White allegedly confessed to the
crime. The State told White’s attorney that the videotape of that interrogation had been
irretrievably damaged and no longer existed. At the same time, the State provided White the
surveillance footage from Clark’s that also had not been previously provided. In his
conference with the State, White’s counsel also learned that the State intended to enter
statements White had made during his interrogation in the investigation of the Alliance
robbery. In that interrogation, a videotape of which did exist, White admitted to robbing
Clark’s.
3 Section 97-3-79 provides:
Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person in fear of immediate injury to his person by the exhibition of a deadly weapon shall be guilty of robbery and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for life in the state penitentiary if the penalty is so fixed by the jury; and in cases where the jury fails to fix the penalty at imprisonment for life in the state penitentiary the court shall fix the penalty at imprisonment in the state penitentiary for any term not less than three (3) years.
4 ¶11. Following these disclosures, on January 25, 2022, White filed a motion in limine to
exclude both the store surveillance video and any testimony concerning statements White
made during his interrogation concerning the Alliance robbery investigation. White also
sought a continuance to allow him to adequately prepare to defend himself in light of these
late disclosures. The circuit court heard both motions on January 26, 2022.
¶12. The State admitted that its disclosures were late, and as a result the circuit court
continued the trial to April 13, 2022. During the motions hearing, the court also viewed the
videotape of White’s interrogation concerning the Alliance robbery. The court entered a
separate order denying White’s motion in limine and ruled that the admissions White made
during that interrogation of his involvement in the Clark’s store robbery were admissible.
¶13. The case was tried on April 18, 2022, and the jury heard Huddleston, Page, and law
enforcement officers Clifton, Stringer, and Crabtree testify to the facts set out above. Over
White’s objection, the State was allowed to play Officer Clifton’s body-camera video of his
arrival at Clark’s just after the robbery. The body-camera footage included Clifton’s
interview of Huddleston at the scene that night, in which the store clerk recounted what had
happened. The court also admitted the Clark’s store surveillance video showing the suspect
robbing Huddleston at Clark’s, as well as White’s earlier entry into the store.
¶14. The State also played certain portions of White’s interrogation for the Alliance
robbery in which White admitted that he had robbed Clark’s. Before showing this video to
the jury, the circuit court gave the following limiting instruction:
THE COURT: Let me give the jury this limiting instruction with regard to a separate investigation. You are not to consider any testimony or any evidence
5 regarding a separate investigation of a separate crime or separate alleged crime for the purpose of the State trying to prove that if he committed that crime, then he must have committed this crime. It’s not to be used by you or considered by you for that purpose. The only purpose you are to consider is for - - is in regard to anything that defendant may say during this interview regarding this matter that is the subject of this trial today. Does everybody understand that instruction[?]
After the State rested and the court denied White’s motion for directed verdict, White elected
not to testify and presented no witnesses in his defense.
¶15. In its closing argument, the State pointed out, among other things, that the store
surveillance video showed the robber’s pants sagging, revealing blue plaid underwear. The
State noted that the surveillance video also showed that White, who had gone into the store
earlier that night to purchase a cigar, wore the same plaid underwear. During its
deliberations, the jury asked to view the surveillance video again “to look at the underwear,”
and the court obliged. Because the jury did not have equipment in the jury room to view the
videos, the court brought the jury into the courtroom and played the relevant portions of the
surveillance video. After viewing the surveillance video, the jury further deliberated and
then asked to view the interrogation video as well. Again, the court brought the jury into the
courtroom and played portions of the interview video for the jury. The jury retired,
deliberated further, and found White guilty of armed robbery. The circuit court sentenced
White on that same day, April 19, 2022, to thirty-three years in the custody of the Mississippi
Department of Corrections, with thirty years to serve and three years suspended, and three
years of post-release supervision.
¶16. On April 28, 2022, White filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or
6 for a new trial. In addition to arguing that the jury’s verdict was not supported by the
evidence, White contended that the circuit court erred by denying his motion in limine.
White also claimed that the circuit court had erroneously overruled his objections to
evidence, but he did not identify the specific objections or evidence to which he was
referring. On May 2, 2022, the circuit court summarily denied White’s post-trial motion.
White filed his notice of appeal on June 10, 2022.4
¶17. On appeal, White raises the sole issue of whether the circuit court erred in allowing
into evidence the admissions of guilt for the Clark robbery that White made during his
interrogation for the Alliance robbery. White asserts that this constituted inadmissible “prior
bad acts” evidence that was more prejudicial than probative and warrants reversal of his
conviction.
Standard of Review
¶18. “The standard of review for admission of evidence is abuse of discretion.” Amos v.
State, 360 So. 3d 323, 330 (¶25) (Miss. Ct. App. 2023) (citing Taylor v. State, 330 So. 3d
758, 761 (¶7) (Miss. 2021)). “The relevancy and admissibility of evidence are within the
discretion of the trial judge and will not be reversed unless that discretion has been abused.”
Id.
¶19. When reviewing the court’s exercise of discretion in admitting evidence, “we first
4 Despite the date, White’s appeal was timely filed because the circuit court granted him an extension. The circuit court had allowed White’s trial counsel to withdraw and had appointed the Office of State Public Defender to represent White. On June 7, 2022, the Public Defender’s Office filed a “Motion to Proceed on Appeal Out of Time” because it did not learn of its appointment to represent White until June 7, 2022. The circuit court granted the motion on June 8, 2022, and White appealed on June 10, 2022.
7 inquire whether the trial court applied the correct legal standard.” Griffin v. McKenney, 877
So. 2d 425, 433 (¶22) (Miss. Ct. App. 2003). If the trial court applied the correct legal
standard, we can only find it abused its discretion if our review of the record leads us to “a
definite and firm conviction that the court below committed a clear error of judgment in the
conclusion it reached upon weighing of relevant factors.” Id.
Discussion
¶20. White argues that the evidence elicited during law enforcement’s interrogation of him
for the Alliance robbery was inadmissible because it constituted evidence of other bad acts,
which he argues was prohibited under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 404(b)(1) and was more
prejudicial than probative.
¶21. Relevant evidence is that which “has any tendency to make a fact more or less
probable than it would be without the evidence” and “is of consequence in determining the
case.” MRE 401. Although Rule 401 “favors the admission of evidence with any probative
value at all,” Giles v. State, 187 So. 3d 116, 123 (¶25) (Miss. 2016), under Rule 403, “[t]he
court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a
danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading
the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.” MRE
403.
¶22. The admission of evidence of a defendant’s prior bad acts is further governed by Rule
404(b):
(b) Crimes, Wrongs, or Other Acts.
8 (1) Prohibited Uses. Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person’s character in order to show that on a particular occasion the person acted in accordance with the character.
(2) Permitted Uses. This evidence may be admissible for another purpose, such as proving motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.
MRE 404(b). But “even if admissible, the court must weigh whether the probative value of
the evidence of the other bad acts is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair
prejudice to the defendant.” Anderson v. State, 354 So. 3d 411, 418 (¶21) (Miss. Ct. App.
2023); accord MRE 403. “If the [prior bad acts] evidence is determined to be more
probative than prejudicial, it may be admitted, with the trial court’s giving an instruction to
the jury explaining the limited purposes for which the evidence may be considered.”
Shell-Blackwell v. State, 305 So. 3d 1211, 1219 (¶24) (Miss. Ct. App. 2020) (citing Derouen
v. State, 994 So. 2d 748, 756 (¶20) (Miss. 2008)). However, even “if a trial court determines
that the prejudicial effect of evidence substantially outweighs its probative value, it is not
obligated to exclude the evidence, but may do so at its discretion.” Stone v. State, 94 So. 3d
1078, 1085 (¶20) (Miss. 2012) (emphasis added); accord Ross v. State, 954 So. 2d 968, 993
(¶45) (Miss. 2007).
¶23. At issue in this case are White’s admissions that he was guilty of the Clark’s robbery
made during law enforcement’s interrogation of him on the Alliance robbery. The circuit
court found that these statements were admissible because White made them voluntarily and
without coercion. “This Court will not reverse a trial court’s finding that a confession was
voluntary and admissible as long as the trial court applied the correct principles of law, and
9 the finding is factually supported by the evidence.” Pinter v. State, 221 So. 3d 378, 387
(¶21) (Miss. Ct. App. 2017) (citing Greenlee v. State, 725 So. 2d 816, 825 (¶21) (Miss.
1998)). “Further, where there is conflicting evidence about a confession’s admissibility, this
Court ‘will not disturb the trial court’s finding unless it appears clearly contrary to the
overwhelming weight of the evidence.’” Id. (quoting Wiley v. State, 465 So. 2d 318, 320
(Miss. 1985)).
¶24. The circuit court denied White’s motion to exclude these statements of guilt and cited
Odom v. State, 769 So. 2d 189 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000), which we also find applicable. In that
case, a jury convicted Odom of a murder that occurred in May 1978. Id. at 192 (¶2). The
trial court granted him a new trial because the State had used too many preemptory
challenges, but Odom chose to plead guilty. Id. Years later, in 1991, Odom escaped from
jail, was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, and charged with rape and murder. Id. at (¶3).
During law enforcement’s interrogation of Odom for that offense, Odom admitted to
committing the 1978 murder in Mississippi. Id. at 196 (¶22). In 1994, Odom filed a petition
for a writ of habeas corpus to set aside his Mississippi guilty plea for the 1978 murder, and
the federal court granted his petition. Id. At his new trial, the State entered not only
confessions Odom had given in the 1978 investigation but also Odom’s 1991 confession that
he made to Tennessee officials. Id. at 195 (¶15). In our decision on Odom’s appeal of his
conviction, we affirmed the trial court’s finding that the probative value of Odom’s 1991
confession in Tennessee outweighed any prejudice to Odom. Id. at 196 (¶22). We noted:
Before ruling that a confession is voluntary, the trial judge must determine whether the accused, prior to his confession, understood (a) the content and
10 substance of the Miranda warnings and (b) the nature of the charges of which he was accused.
Id. at (¶19) (internal quotation marks omitted). We held that Odom’s 1991 admissions to the
1978 murder were unequivocal, that the pre-requisites for voluntariness had been met, and
there was no mention to the jury about the circumstances surrounding Tennessee’s
interrogation. Id. at (¶22).
¶25. Similarly, in this case, the jury was shown portions of the videotape of White’s
interrogation for the Alliance robbery in which White admitted to robbing Clark’s. The
record includes the videotape of the entire interrogation that the State entered into evidence.
However, according to the trial transcript, only certain portions of the tape were played for
the jury. We know they only watched those portions of the video that were played in open
court, not the entire video of the interrogation, because the jury did not have the ability to
watch videos in the jury room. The trial transcript indicates the starting times of the various
segments, but it does not note the ending time, which makes it difficult for this Court to
know exactly what the jury heard White and his interrogators say. However, White made no
contemporaneous objection to any specific portion of the tape as it was being played, and he
made no record of what was said in the portions shown that establishes his claims of
prejudice or irrelevance. “[A]n appellant must present to us a record sufficient to show the
occurrence of the error he asserts and also that the matter was properly presented to the
[circuit] court and timely preserved.” Clayton v. State, 271 So. 3d 672, 678 (¶25) (Miss. Ct.
App. 2018) (citing Byrom v. State, 863 So. 2d 836, 853 (¶35) (Miss. 2003)).
¶26. The videotape clearly shows that at the beginning of the interrogation, White was
11 given his Miranda rights—the interrogator is heard on tape actually reading them to White.
White signed a waiver with no coercion or promises made. In the segments of the videotape
shown, White distinctly says that he had “pleaded guilty” to the Clark’s robbery, meaning
that he had previously admitted to law enforcement that he had robbed Clark’s. When
specifically asked if he had robbed Clark’s, White admitted that he had, and he further
admitted that he had used a gun in that robbery that he had borrowed from a friend. The
video reflects that these statements were voluntary and not coerced in any way. Moreover,
White’s admissions were clearly probative and relevant to the issue of his guilt. See Ragin
v. State, 724 So. 2d 901, 906 (¶21) (Miss. 1998) (holding that defendant’s statement that he
just smoked crack but did not sell it was relevant to his prosecution for sale of a controlled
substance). Accordingly, we find no error by the circuit court in allowing portions of
White’s interrogation concerning the Alliance robbery as evidence in the case against White
for the Clark’s robbery.
¶27. White contends that the probative value of this evidence was outweighed by the
prejudicial effect, arguing that the State could not present the video of the Alliance
interrogation without informing the jury that White had been accused of and arrested for
another burglary. However, the record reflects that the State did not tell the jury that White
had been arrested for a second burglary. The State introduced the subject of a second
interview by asking Investigator Crabtree the following:
Q. Okay. Did you have any other occasion to speak to the defendant, not specifically in reference to this armed robbery?
A. I did.
12 Q. And was that an interview?
A. It was an interview, and it was recorded.
Q. Okay.
A. That recording was able to be captured, and there was no issues with that interview.
Q. Okay. So just the same as the first time that you had occasion to interview him, did you offer the defendant his Miranda rights and ask him whether he intended to consent to being interviewed that day?
Q. And just the same, did he sign a waiver stating that he agreed to waive his rights and speak with you?
A. Yes, he did.
There is no mention in this line of questioning that another crime had been committed.
White’s Miranda waiver for that interrogation was entered. That waiver contains no
information about the reason for the interrogation or the charge White was facing—nothing
to indicate to the jury that he was being charged with a different crime. Out of an abundance
of caution, the circuit court promptly gave the jury a limiting instruction concerning the
relevance of the evidence.5 Moreover, White made no objections to what was shown to the
5 Before the tape was shown, the court gave the following instruction:
Let me give the jury this limiting instruction with regard to a separate investigation. You are not to consider any testimony or any evidence regarding a separate investigation of a separate crime or separate alleged crime for the purpose of the State trying to prove that if he committed that crime, then he must have committed this crime. It’s not to be used by you or considered by you for that purpose. The only purpose you are to consider [it] is for - - is in regard to anything that the defendant may say during this interview regarding this matter that is the subject of this trial today. Does
13 jury. Consequently, because White’s admissions of guilt as to the Clark’s robbery were
voluntarily made, they were without question probative. Since White points to nothing
specific that was said in the Alliance interrogation that was prejudicial, we find no basis to
disturb the circuit court’s Rule 403 analysis.
Conclusion
¶28. Because White’s admissions of guilt for the Clark’s store robbery made during his
interrogation for another robbery were freely and voluntarily made, and because we find no
abuse of discretion in the circuit court’s determination that the probative value of the
evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, we find no error
in their admission, and we affirm White’s conviction and sentence.
¶29. AFFIRMED.
BARNES, C.J., CARLTON AND WILSON, P.JJ., GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS, LAWRENCE, McCARTY, SMITH AND EMFINGER, JJ., CONCUR.
everybody understand that instruction[?]
(Affirmative responses.)