Luckett v. State

989 So. 2d 995, 2008 WL 4043781
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 2, 2008
Docket2007-KA-00982-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 989 So. 2d 995 (Luckett 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
Luckett v. State, 989 So. 2d 995, 2008 WL 4043781 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

989 So.2d 995 (2008)

Derrick LUCKETT, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2007-KA-00982-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 2, 2008.

Dan W. Duggan, Brandon, Glenn S. Swartzfager, Jackson, Phillip Broadhead, attorneys for appellant.

Office Of The Attorney General by Deshun Martin, Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorneys for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., CHANDLER and BARNES, JJ.

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Derrick Luckett was convicted in the Circuit Court of Rankin County of embezzlement and sentenced to serve ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Aggrieved, *996 Luckett appeals, raising three issues:

I. Whether the State failed to prove the elements of embezzlement and, therefore, the trial court erred by denying Luckett's motion for a directed verdict based on the legal insufficiency of the evidence.
II. Whether the trial court erred in admitting Luckett's prior felony conviction for automobile theft.
III. Whether the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and, therefore, the trial court erred by denying Luckett's motion for a new trial.

Finding that the trial court committed reversible error by denying Luckett's motion for a directed verdict, we reverse and render.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On April 10, 2005, Wilson Kia hired Luckett to work at the parts counter at its location on Highway 80 in Jackson, Mississippi. Thereafter, on May 22, 2005, Luckett made a trip to Mobile, Alabama with his friend Cecil Rouser and Cecil's girlfriend. Luckett testified that Rouser was driving, and he agreed to share the gas expenses with Rouser. They arrived in Mobile at approximately 3:00 a.m. and attempted to check into a hotel. The clerk informed them that if they checked in at that time, they would have to check out at 11:00 a.m. However, if they waited until 7:00 a.m. to check in, they could have the room for a full twenty-four hours. They decided to wait in the car until 7:00 a.m. Rouser and his girlfriend slept on the backseat, and Luckett slept in the driver's seat.

¶ 3. On that night, Officer Wade Fail with the Mobile Police Department was on patrol in the area of the hotel. Officer Fail explained that there had been many reported automobile thefts in the area and at that particular hotel. At approximately 3:30 a.m., Officer Fail approached the vehicle occupied by Luckett and Rouser because it looked suspicious. First, Officer Fail ran the license plate number and was informed that the license plate had been reported stolen in Mississippi. At that time, Officer Fail took both Luckett and Rouser into custody. Next, Officer Fail ran the vehicle's VIN number, but there was no indication that the vehicle was also stolen. After taking Luckett and Rouser into custody, Officer Fail conducted an inventory of the vehicle and found a checkbook in the car. Officer Fail called the person listed on the checkbook, who informed him that the checks were stolen in a burglary the previous day. Rouser was charged with possession of stolen property for the checkbook, and Luckett was charged with receiving stolen property for the license plate because he was in the driver's seat when Officer Fail approached the car. Luckett spent six days in jail for the charge.

¶ 4. On May 31, 2005, an Alabama police officer contacted Danny Jones, general sales manager for Wilson Auto Group, and asked if the dealership was missing a green Kia Sportage. Jones told the officer that the car in question belonged to the Wilson Kia location on Lakeland Drive in Flowood, Mississippi. The officer then informed Jones that the police found the vehicle in Luckett's and Rouser's possession in Mobile, Alabama and that the vehicle was placed in police custody after the two men were arrested on other charges. Until the call, the Lakeland location did not realize that the green Kia Sportage was missing. Afterward, Wilson Kia contacted local authorities and filed a report on a stolen vehicle. Wilson Kia fired Luckett for job abandonment, instructed him to pick up his last paycheck from the *997 Lakeland location, and informed authorities when he would be there. Upon going to get his paycheck at the Lakeland location, Luckett was arrested for the theft of the green Kia Sportage.

¶ 5. Luckett was indicted by a Rankin County grand jury for embezzlement. Before trial, Luckett filed a motion in limine to exclude evidence of a 2003 felony conviction for automobile theft on the ground that the charge was very similar to the embezzlement charge in this case and was highly prejudicial. The trial court denied Luckett's motion, stating that the prior conviction was admissible to show motive or absence of mistake. At the end of the prosecution's case-in-chief, Luckett moved for a directed verdict, claiming that the prosecution failed to prove embezzlement beyond a reasonable doubt. Although the trial judge expressed concern as to whether the embezzlement charge was appropriate, Luckett's motion was denied. Luckett renewed his motion for a directed verdict at the conclusion of the defense's case-in-chief, and again, the trial court denied the motion. The evidence produced during the trial will be discussed in greater detail below.

¶ 6. Luckett was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to serve a term of ten years in the custody of the MDOC and to pay court costs, fees, and assessments in the amount of $279.50. Luckett filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied. Subsequently, Luckett timely filed this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. "A motion for a directed verdict challenges the sufficiency of the evidence." Doss v. State, 906 So.2d 836, 838(¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (citing Williams v. State, 868 So.2d 346, 354(¶ 26) (Miss.Ct. App.2003)). In reviewing a denial of a motion for a directed verdict, this Court must view all evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Id. (quoting Jones v. State, 881 So.2d 209, 220(¶ 41) (Miss.Ct.App.2003)). This Court will not reverse unless, "with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense charged, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty." Johnson v. State, 885 So.2d 72, 81(¶ 40) (Miss.Ct.App.2004) (quoting Elder v. State, 750 So.2d 540, 545(¶ 23) (Miss.Ct. App.1999)).

ANALYSIS

Whether the State failed to prove the elements of embezzlement and, therefore, the trial court erred by denying Luckett's motion for a directed verdict based on the legal insufficiency of the evidence.

¶ 8. Luckett contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a directed verdict because the State failed to prove the elements of embezzlement beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, Luckett argues that the State failed to prove that he was entrusted with the green Kia Sportage by virtue of his employment. Conversely, the State maintains that Luckett, as an employee of Wilson Kia, was entrusted with everything he had access to through his employment.

¶ 9. Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-23-19 (Supp.2007) provides in pertinent part:

If any person shall embezzle or fraudulently secrete, conceal, or convert to his own use, or make way with, or secrete with intent to embezzle or convert to his own use, any goods, rights in action, money, or other valuable security, effects, or property of any kind or description which shall have come or been entrusted to his care or possession by *998

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Related

Blakeney v. State
39 So. 3d 1001 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2010)
Fulgham v. State
12 So. 3d 558 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
989 So. 2d 995, 2008 WL 4043781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luckett-v-state-missctapp-2008.