Lee v. State

733 So. 2d 336, 1999 WL 27586
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 26, 1999
Docket97-KA-01513 COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 733 So. 2d 336 (Lee 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
Lee v. State, 733 So. 2d 336, 1999 WL 27586 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

733 So.2d 336 (1999)

Brian LEE a/k/a Brian Neill Lee a/k/a `Neill Lee' a/k/a `Moonshadow', Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 97-KA-01513 COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

January 26, 1999.
Rehearing Denied May 18, 1999.

*340 S. Christopher Farris, Hattiesburg, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, Attorneys for Appellee.

BEFORE McMILLIN, P.J., DIAZ, AND KING, JJ.

DIAZ, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Brian Lee appeals the decision of the Forrest County Circuit Court convicting him of conspiracy to sell lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Lee raises the following issues in his appeal: (1) the weight and sufficiency of the evidence; (2) the admissibility of external offense evidence involving his prior sales of LSD; (3) a ruling allowing a State witness to testify concerning a transfer of drugs for which she was not present; (4) an alleged gap in the chain of custody of an audiotape recorded over a wiretap; (5) an amendment of the indictment improperly deleted two of the co-conspirators; (6) the granting of jury instructions S-1A, S-2A, and S-6; (7) the granting of jury instruction S-3, and (8) the denial of the circumstantial evidence instructions. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the circuit court.

FACTS

¶ 2. In April of 1996, Karlton and Sarah Bradley met the defendant, Brian Lee, who is also known as "Moonshadow" or "Shadow." During April and May of 1996, Karlton Bradley bought LSD from Brian Lee on approximately six occasions. Thereafter, Karlton would trade the LSD with David Watkins for cocaine.

¶ 3. On May 28, 1996, Karlton Bradley purchased LSD from Lee. Watkins then arrived at the Bradleys' apartment to trade the LSD purchased from Lee for two ounces of cocaine. Karlton counted the LSD when Watkins arrived and after Lee left. Karlton discovered that the LSD that he purchased from Lee was missing a page, so he called Lee to complain. Lee challenged the truthfulness of Karlton's claim that the LSD had a shortage. Watkins left the Bradleys' apartment for approximately 30 minutes while Karlton attempted to correct the alleged shortage. Lee went to the Bradleys' apartment to see whether a shortage of LSD existed. Watkins later returned to the Bradleys' apartment, and Karlton told Watkins that the LSD was short and that he would have to take a loss. According to Watkins's testimony, Lee and he have never met, spoken, or been together when drugs were exchanged with Karlton.

¶ 4. Unknown to all of the participants in this scenario, the Mississippi Bureau of *341 Narcotics had conducted wiretaps and set up a surveillance videotape of the events that transpired on this occasion. Thereafter, in November of 1996, Brian Lee was indicted for conspiring and agreeing with four others to sell LSD to another person. The indictment, omitting its formal parts, alleged that

Brian Lee, on or about May 1 through May 30, 1996, in Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi, in violation of MCA section 97-1-1 (1994), did knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully conspire and agree with Karlton Bradley, David Watkins, Dan Campbell, and Chris Boulette and other persons unknown to the grand jury, to commit a felony crime ... namely: to willfully, unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally sell Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) (a Schedule II controlled substance) to another person the subject of said conspiracy being a violation of M.C.A. section 41-29-139(a)(1), (1996) of the Mississippi Uniform Controlled Substances Law....

¶ 5. Following a trial by a jury conducted on November 3-4, 1997, Lee was found guilty of the crime of conspiracy. He was subsequently sentenced on November 10, 1997, to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with five years suspended and fifteen years to serve. Feeling aggrieved, Lee now perfects this appeal.

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN REFUSING TO GRANT A DIRECTED VERDICT, A PREEMPTORY INSTRUCTION, OR ERRED IN OVERRULING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR JNOV OR A NEW TRIAL

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 6. A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence requires an analysis of the evidence by the trial judge to determine whether a hypothetical juror could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty. May v. State, 460 So.2d 778, 781 (Miss.1984). If the judge determines that no reasonable juror could find the defendant guilty, then he must grant the motion for a directed verdict and JNOV. Id. If he concludes that a reasonable juror could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, then he must deny the motion. Id. This Court's scope of review is limited to the same examination as that of the trial court in reviewing the motions for directed verdict and JNOV; that is, if the facts point in favor of the defendant to the extent that reasonable jurors could not have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, viewing all facts in the light most favorable to the State, then it must sustain the assignment of error. Blanks v. State, 542 So.2d 222, 225-26 (Miss.1989). Of course, the opposite is also true. We may reverse the trial court's ruling only where one or more of the elements of the offense charged is lacking to such a degree that reasonable jurors could only have found the defendant not guilty. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993).

¶ 7. In the case sub judice, legally sufficient evidence existed to find Lee guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for conspiracy to sell LSD. The State made out is prima facie case by showing that Lee knowingly traded LSD to Karlton Bradley who in turn traded it to Watkins in exchange for cocaine for distribution. Furthermore, the police officers and Bureau of Narcotics officers testified that they saw and heard Lee's participation in the conspiracy by virtue of their surveillance equipment. Additionally, Sarah Bradley testified that Lee and Karlton exchanged LSD for cocaine, and then the LSD was sold to Watkins and distributed in Louisiana. Finally, the State submitted as evidence video and audio tapes of Lee's participation in the conspiracy. Since the State put forth sufficient, credible evidence, the trial judge was required to leave the final decision of guilt or innocence *342 to the jury. We affirm the trial judge's ruling with regard to the motion for a directed verdict.

B. Weight of the Evidence

¶ 8. The next motion we will review is that for a new trial. This goes to the weight of the evidence and not its sufficiency. In reviewing this claim, this Court must examine the trial judge's denial of Lee's motion for a new trial. Jones v. State, 635 So.2d 884, 887 (Miss.1994). The decision of whether or not to grant a motion for a new trial rests in the sound discretion of the trial judge and should only be granted when the judge is certain that the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that failure to grant the motion would result in an unconscionable injustice. May, 460 So.2d at 781. In making the determination of whether a verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, this Court must view all evidence in the light most consistent with the jury verdict, and we should not overturn the verdict unless we find that the lower court abused its discretion when it denied the motion. Veal v. State, 585 So.2d 693, 695 (Miss. 1991).

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Related

Brooks v. State
788 So. 2d 794 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2001)
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756 So. 2d 744 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1999)
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753 So. 2d 489 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 1999)
Brian Lee v. State of Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court, 1997

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Bluebook (online)
733 So. 2d 336, 1999 WL 27586, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lee-v-state-missctapp-1999.