Johnson v. State

816 So. 2d 436, 2002 WL 798558
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 30, 2002
Docket2000-KA-01954-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 816 So. 2d 436 (Johnson 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
Johnson v. State, 816 So. 2d 436, 2002 WL 798558 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

816 So.2d 436 (2002)

Jessie Dewayne JOHNSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2000-KA-01954-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

April 30, 2002.

*437 William Wayne Housley, Jr., Tupelo, for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Scott Stuart, for Appellee.

Before KING, P.J., BRIDGES, and CHANDLER, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the court.

¶ 1. Jessie Johnson was indicted on charges of capital murder in Lee County Mississippi. Trial was held in Tishomingo County after Johnson's motion for change of venue was granted. The trial was conducted in the presence of a sequestered jury and resulted in a guilty verdict. The case was returned to Lee County for sentencing. Johnson was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without hope of parole or probation. He filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative for new trial which was denied by the circuit court.

¶ 2. Feeling aggrieved, Johnson appeals his conviction and alleges seven assignments of error. First, he argues that the trial court did not present sufficient evidence to support the underlying kidnaping charge. Next, he argues that he was deprived of his right to effective assistance of counsel, due process, and a fair trial because the State disclosed allegedly exculpatory *438 evidence on the day of trial. Johnson also argues that the trial court erred in failing to quash the indictment. He further argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce items of physical evidence for which the State did not satisfy the chain of custody of said evidence. Next, Johnson asserts that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for a directed verdict and in the alternative for a new trial. He also argues that the trial court erred in admitting certain photographs of the victim into evidence. Lastly, he makes a general statement that the cumulative effect of the above errors resulted in great prejudice and denied him a fair trial.

¶ 3. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 4. On or about December 10, 1998, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Johnson, Dale Bishop, Marcus Gentry, Corey Johnson, and Charles Rakestraw came to the apartment of Ricky Myhand in the town of Saltillo, Lee County, Mississippi. The men were invited into the apartment where they drank beer and visited for a time.

¶ 5. A short time later Johnson, Myhand, Bishop, and Gentry left the apartment to purchase more beer. Gentry drove and they rode in his vehicle. While on the return trip to Myhand's apartment, Johnson confronted Gentry about identifying Johnson's younger brother as a participant in criminal activities. Johnson hit Gentry in the head with a hammer located on the passenger side floor board of the car. Bishop grabbed Gentry and hit him twice in the face. Johnson then got out of the car and walked around to the driver's side. He got back in the car and pushed Gentry over to the passenger side. Johnson drove the car along the country road while hitting Gentry twice more with the hammer.

¶ 6. Johnson stopped the car after a short distance and Gentry was able to escape from the car and run into the woods. Johnson told Bishop to catch Gentry and bring him back to the car. Johnson and Myhand remained with the car while Bishop went after Gentry. A short time later, Bishop returned pulling Gentry along with him. Johnson told Gentry to kneel down in front of the car. He ordered Myhand to hold Gentry upright while he and Bishop hit and kicked Gentry. Johnson then hit Gentry about the head and throat multiple times with the blunt end and claw end of the hammer.

¶ 7. Johnson and Bishop carried Gentry's body into the bushes alongside the road. Gentry was still alive at this time. Testimony reflected that he died by suffocation caused by blood blocking his airway.

¶ 8. Johnson and the others returned in Gentry's car to Myhand's apartment. Because they were both covered in blood, Johnson and Bishop took showers and obtained clean clothes from Myhand. Johnson, Bishop, Corey Johnson, and Charles Rakestraw then left Myhand's apartment with a shovel they had taken from Myhand's apartment.

¶ 9. Myhand and his girlfriend left the apartment and went to the Saltillo Police Department. Finding no one there, they returned to Myhand's apartment and contacted 911 emergency services to report the murder. Police responded and Myhand led local law enforcement officials to where Gentry's body was located. After approximately three days on the run, Johnson was located and gave a statement to the police in which he admitted that he was angry with Gentry and hit him in the head with a hammer at least sixteen times.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. WAS THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED AT TRIAL LEGALLY *439 SUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN THE VERDICT?

¶ 10. Johnson filed two allegations of error challenging the weight and sufficiency of the evidence presented at trial. To avoid a duplicative review of these issues, they will both be discussed at this time.

¶ 11. Whether the evidence is legally sufficient is an argument that is raised by a motion for a directed verdict or a JNOV. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 781 (Miss. 1993). In deciding whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict, the Court should accept as true all credible evidence consistent with the defendant's guilt and the State must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. Id. A reviewing court should only reverse where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 812 (Miss.1987).

¶ 12. Johnson first argues that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support the underlying felony of kidnaping. Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-53 (Rev.2000) sets forth the requirements for a finding of kidnaping as, "[a]ny person who shall without lawful authority forcibly seize and confine any other person, or shall inveigle or kidnap any other person with intent to cause such person to be secretly confined or imprisoned against his or her will."

¶ 13. Applying the above principles to the case at bar, there was testimony that Johnson hit Gentry in the head and took control of Gentry's vehicle. He then drove the vehicle a short distance and stopped on a country road. At that time Gentry escaped and Johnson instructed Bishop to catch Gentry and bring him back to the car. When Bishop returned to the car with Gentry, Gentry begged Johnson to let him go and not to hit him again. Johnson responded by continuing to beat Gentry with his fists and the hammer and then drug Gentry's body into the woods and left him for dead. Admitted into evidence was Johnson's statement in which he admitted to these acts and the eyewitness testimony of Myhand. The above facts are legally sufficient to support the underlying felony of kidnaping.

¶ 14. Johnson also argues that the trial court erred by not granting his motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative for a new trial. A motion for a new trial is used to challenge the weight of the evidence. McClain, 625 So.2d at 781. The decision to grant a new trial rests in the sole discretion of the trial court. Id. Such a motion should only be granted when the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that, to allow it to stand, would be to sanction an unconscionable injustice. Wetz, 503 So.2d at 812.

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Related

Jackson v. State
935 So. 2d 1108 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2006)
Bishop v. State
882 So. 2d 135 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2004)
Dale Leo Bishop v. State of Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2000

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Bluebook (online)
816 So. 2d 436, 2002 WL 798558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-state-missctapp-2002.