Logan v. State

987 So. 2d 1027, 2008 WL 852655
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 1, 2008
Docket2006-KP-01790-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 987 So. 2d 1027 (Logan 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
Logan v. State, 987 So. 2d 1027, 2008 WL 852655 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

987 So.2d 1027 (2008)

William James LOGAN, Jr., Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KP-01790-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

April 1, 2008.
Rehearing Denied August 12, 2008.

*1028 William James Logan, Jr., pro se, appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deshun Terrell Martin, for appellee.

Before MYERS, P.J., IRVING and ISHEE, JJ.

IRVING, J., for The Court.

¶ 1. William James Logan Jr. was convicted of two counts of burglary by a Covington County jury and was sentenced, as a habitual offender, to serve concurrent terms of twenty-five years on each count in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved, Logan appeals and assigns the following issues for our review: (1) that the trial court erred in allowing the State to amend the indictment and that the indictment was impermissibly vague, (2) that the trial court erred in allowing certain evidence to be admitted at trial, (3) that he was denied the right to an attorney in violation of the Sixth Amendment and Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution, and (4) that he received ineffective assistance of counsel.[1]

¶ 2. We find no merit to Logan's assertions of error; therefore, we affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 3. On the morning of January 5, 2004, Ruby and Earl Benson, after a trip to Mount Olive, Mississippi, returned to their home on Highway 35 in Collins, Mississippi.[2] The couple observed a vehicle parked in their driveway and witnessed Logan exit their home carrying a money box which belonged to Earl. Logan then got *1029 into his vehicle and left. Ruby went inside the house while Earl pursued Logan. In addition to the money box, a blue jewelry box, a necklace, Sacajawea golden dollar coins, and $2,300 in cash were missing from their home. The Covington County Sheriff's Department was notified.

¶ 4. After the Benson burglary was reported, Carol Sue Wise came home to find her front door open and the door's glass casing on the floor. Carol cautiously entered her house and immediately noticed that two of her piggy banks were missing. She then called 911 and reported that her home had been burglarized. Upon closer examination, Carol noticed that her jewelry box was also missing.

¶ 5. Deputies Wayne Harvey and Chris Newman went to investigate the Benson burglary. While en route to the Bensons' residence, dispatch alerted the deputies that a second home (Carol's residence) had been burglarized. Shortly after getting the call from dispatch, the deputies stopped a vehicle matching the description of the car which had been driven by the burglar fleeing the Bensons' residence. The driver, Logan, exited the vehicle; however, after he learned why he had been stopped, he got back into the vehicle and fled. The deputies gave chase, and Logan pulled over shortly thereafter.

¶ 6. Deputy Newman approached the vehicle and saw, in plain view, two piggy banks and gold coins. An inventory search of the vehicle was conducted, and deputies also recovered other items, including approximately $2,300 in cash.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Indictment

¶ 7. "The question of whether an indictment is fatally defective is an issue of law and deserves a relatively broad standard of review by this Court." Jones v. State, 912 So.2d 973, 975(¶ 8) (Miss.2005) (citing Peterson v. State, 671 So.2d 647, 652 (Miss.1996)). Mississippi appellate courts employ a de novo standard of review for questions of law. Id. (citing UHS-Qualicare, Inc. v. Gulf Coast Cmty. Hosp., Inc., 525 So.2d 746, 754 (Miss. 1987)).

¶ 8. Logan makes two arguments regarding his indictment. First, Logan contends that the trial court erred in allowing the State to amend the indictment.[3] The final amendment was made on July 13, 2006, eleven days before Logan went to trial. Logan argues that he was not given an "opportunity to agree or disagree [with] a critical decision [, the amendment of the indictment]." The indictment, as amended, reads in pertinent part:

THE GRAND JURORS for the State of Mississippi, taken from the body of good and lawful men and women of Covington County, Mississippi, elected, impaneled, sworn and charged to inquire in and for said County and State aforesaid, in the name and by the authority of the State of Mississippi, upon their oath presents that:
COUNT I: WILLIAM JAMES LOGAN, JR. in said County and State on or about the 5th day January, A.D., 2004, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and burglariously break and enter the dwelling of Ruby Benson, said Williams [sic] James Logan, Jr., having the intent to steal therein, in violation of Section 97-17-23 of the Miss.Code of 1972, annotated, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided and against the *1030 peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi.
And the Grand Jurors do further present on their oaths as aforesaid that the said WILLIAM JAMES LOGAN, JR., as a part of a common scheme or plan, COUNT II: WILLIAM JAMES LOGAN, JR., in said County and State on or about the 5th day of January, A.D., 2004, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously and burglariously break and enter the dwelling of Sue Wise, said Williams James Logan, Jr., having the intent to steal therein, in violation of Section 97-17-23 of the Miss.Code of 1972, annotated, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi.

¶ 9. It is well established that "indictments may be amended as to form but not as to the substance of the offense charged." URCCC 7.09. Amendments as to form do not prejudice the defense. Jones, 912 So.2d at 976(¶ 9). "The test for whether an amendment to the indictment will prejudice the defense is whether the defense as it originally stood would be equally available after the amendment is made." Id. Moreover, "[a]mendment shall be allowed only if the defendant is afforded a fair opportunity to present a defense and is not unfairly surprised." URCCC 7.09.

¶ 10. Logan contends that his defense was prejudiced because, prior to the amendments, he could have shown that he was incarcerated on June 5, 2004, the date originally provided in the indictment as the date the homes were burglarized. According to Logan, his defense as it stood prior to the amendments was no longer available after the amendments were made. We recognize that the amendments precluded Logan from making that particular argument; however, we have scoured the record and cannot find where Logan ever attempted to assert an alibi defense.[4] Nevertheless, an alibi defense, though not asserted, remained available even after the last amendment.[5] In Baine v. State, 604 So.2d 258, 261 (Miss.1992), the Mississippi Supreme Court held that: "Unless time is an essential element or factor in the crime,... an amendment to change the date on which the offense occurred is one of form only." Furthermore, Rule 7.06(5) provides that "[f]ailure to state the correct date shall not render the indictment insufficient." (Emphasis added). Thus, we are not persuaded by Logan's argument that the changes constituted "critical decisions." Logan suffered no prejudice as a result of the amendments because they were merely amendments as to form.

¶ 11.

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Bluebook (online)
987 So. 2d 1027, 2008 WL 852655, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/logan-v-state-missctapp-2008.