Jenkins v. State

102 So. 3d 273, 2011 WL 4031204, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 551
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided September 13, 2011·No. No. 2010-KA-00203-COA·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

ROBERTS, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. On January 7, 2008, a Harrison County grand jury indicted Robert Jenkins for possession of a controlled substance, specifically, an amount of cocaine that was .1 gram or more but less than two grams in weight. Originally, Jenkins was indicted as a habitual offender pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev.2007); however, the State later moved to amend the indictment to charge Jenkins as a habitual offender pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-83 (Rev.2007). The Harrison County Circuit Court granted the State’s motion, and Jenkins’s indictment was amended. After several unsuccessful pretrial motions, Jenkins’s trial began on September 16, 2009. After hearing evidence and testimony, the jury found Jenkins guilty, and he was sentenced to serve life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Subsequent to trial, Jenkins filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a motion for a new trial. The circuit judge denied both motions on March 26, 2010. Feeling aggrieved, Jenkins perfected his appeal.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. This appeals stems from an incident that occurred on January 27, 2007. While working the midnight shift, Biloxi Police Officer Michael Brennan observed an African American male and three Hispanic males talking on Esters Boulevard near Bush Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. Upon seeing Officer Brennan, the three Hispanic males walked toward the park while the African American male began walking down Esters Boulevard alone. Officer Brennan observed the African American male stumbling and staggering. Believing him to be intoxicated, Officer Brennan approached the male, later determined to be Jenkins, to speak to him. During the course of the conversation, Officer Brennan noticed that there was a wad of white tissue paper in Jenkins’s mouth. Officer Brennan requested that Jenkins remove the tissue paper and place it on the hood of the patrol car. Jenkins complied, and upon placing the tissue paper on the hood of the patrol car, several white rocks fell out of the paper. Jenkins quickly picked up and swallowed one of the rocks. Officer Brennan placed the remaining rocks into an evidence bag and arrested Jenkins for public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance.

¶ 3. While Officer Brennan made contact with Jenkins, Officer Palmer, another officer in the area, made contact with the three Hispanic males to whom Jenkins was originally speaking.1 After Officer Palmer determined that the three Hispanic males did not need to be detained, he proceeded to meet at Officer Brennan’s patrol car. Standing at the rear door of the patrol ear, Officers Palmer and Brennan engaged in a conversation in which Officer Palmer suggested to Officer Brennan that Jenkins may have been attempting to sell cocaine to the three Hispanic males. Jenkins, who was standing a short distance away at the front of the car, overheard the officers’ conversation and stated, “how do you know I was selling to them, maybe I bought from them, maybe they’re selling.”

¶ 4. Jenkins was then taken to the police department where Investigator Lance Chi-sum gave him his Miranda rights. Inves[276]*276tigator Chisum asked Jenkins if he waived those rights; he answered in the affirmative. At that time, Investigator Chisum questioned Jenkins about the substance in the tissue. Jenkins said it was either crack cocaine or a Vitamin B pill. Jenkins was formally charged, and at that time, he asserted he was unaware he was being charged until that point. He also asserted that he did not understand his Miranda rights and did not understand what he was signing when he waived those rights. The interrogation promptly ended.

¶ 5. Jenkins was indicted by the grand jury on one count of possession of cocaine in an amount of more than .1 gram but less than 2 grams. He was also indicted as a habitual offender pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81. The State later moved to amend the indictment to reflect Jenkins’s status as a habitual pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-83 as opposed to section 99-19-81. The circuit court granted the State’s motion and amended the indictment to reflect the change. Jenkins filed multiple pretrial motions including a motion to suppress several pieces of evidence, in particular, his confession and statements given to the police. The circuit court overruled this motion.

¶ 6. Jenkins’s jury trial began in the circuit court on September 16, 2009. The State offered the testimony of four witnesses: Officer Brennan; Investigator Chisum; Investigator Michael Mason; and the Associate Director of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory, Timothy Gross. After presenting its witnesses, the State rested. Jenkins moved for a directed verdict on the ground that the State had failed to prove an element of the crime, specifically the weight of the cocaine. The circuit judge overruled Jenkins’s motion. Both sides then rested. After deliberations, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Jenkins. Pursuant to the enhanced sentencing structure found in Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-83, Jenkins was sentenced to life in the custody of the MDOC. Jenkins then timely filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and a motion for a new trial. On March 26, 2010, the circuit judge denied Jenkins’s post-trial motions.

¶ 7. On appeal, Jenkins raises three issues, which we recite verbatim:

I. Whether the trial court erred when it denied the Appellant’s motion [for a JNOV] for legal insufficiency in the prosecution’s case, or, alternatively, to grant the Appellant a new trial where the verdict [is] against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.
II. Whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress an un-Miran-dized statement made by the accused, who was in custody, handcuffed, and under arrest, when the police officers engaged in a conversation they knew the accused could hear, and that the police knew or should have known was reasonably likely to illicit an incriminating response from the accused.
III. Whether the trial court erred in permitting a Mississippi Crime Laboratory supervisor to substitute as a witness, for the actual analyst, who was allowed to present analysis results as testimonial evidence in the place of the crime laboratory analyst who actually performed tests on evidence central to the prosecution’s case in violation of the Appellant’s Sixth Amendment right[s] to confront the witnesses against him.

Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

[277]*277ANALYSIS

I. Denial of Post-Trial Motions

¶ 8. Jenkins first asserts that the circuit judge erred in denying both his motion for a JNOV and his motion for a new trial. We will address these issues separately.

A. JNOV

¶ 9. Following his trial, Jenkins promptly filed his motion for a JNOV, which the circuit judge denied. By appealing the denial of his motion for a JNOV, Jenkins is challenging the legal sufficiency of the evidence presented at trial. This Court’s standard of review when reviewing a challenge to the legal sufficiency is found in the often cited Mississippi Supreme Court case Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005).

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Jenkins v. State, 102 So. 3d 273, 2011 WL 4031204, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 551 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

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