Minter v. State

64 So. 3d 518, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 17, 2011 WL 71465
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJanuary 11, 2011
DocketNo. 2009-KA-00922-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 64 So. 3d 518 (Minter 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
Minter v. State, 64 So. 3d 518, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 17, 2011 WL 71465 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

IRVING, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. A jury in the Harrison County Circuit Court convicted Larry Tyrese Minter of two counts of capital murder and one count of robbery. The circuit court then sentenced Minter to two life sentences in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), without the possibility of parole or early release, for the capital murders and to fifteen years in the custody of the MDOC for the robbery. The circuit court ordered that the fifteen-year sentence run consecutively to Minter’s life sentences. Unhappy with the circuit court’s judgment, Minter appeals and asserts that he was prejudiced by the admission of hearsay, that his confrontation rights were improperly limited by the circuit court, and that the weight of the evidence is against his conviction.

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

FACTS

¶ 3. On the morning of December 15, 2006, Harold Joseph Levron Jr. walked into his home in Gulfport, Mississippi. A home invasion was in progress. According to the evidence at trial, Minter, Lazairian Murphy, Darryl Simmons, and Junior Green had broken into the home to steal the contents of a safe. Levron struggled with the four men in his home and was eventually shot and küled. Minter’s ac[520]*520complices consistently stated that Minter shot Levron with Levron’s own gun that was taken from him sometime during the struggle.

¶ 4. At some point during the burglary, Levron’s friend, Christiana Ann Súber, entered the home. It is not clear whether Levron was already dead when Súber arrived. When Súber saw the men in Lev-ron’s home, she attempted to flee. She was able to get out of the house, but one of the burglars captured her and took her into the house. Back inside, Súber was sexually assaulted by Green. She was then restrained with duct tape, which was wrapped around her head, arms, and legs. According to Green’s and Simmons’s pretrial statements, which were not admitted at trial, the burglars then discussed whether to leave Súber alive; Minter allegedly stated that she could not be left alive. The other men then went outside the house; shortly thereafter, they heard a single gunshot. Minter came outside and told them that he had killed Súber. Minter and the other burglars then left in Lev-ron’s truck, which they drove to a bridge where Minter threw away Levron’s gun.

¶5. Suber’s son, William, and her ex-husband, John Crittenden, arrived at Lev-ron’s home after Súber had failed to show up for a prearranged outing. Crittenden testified that the first thing he noticed upon approaching the house was a red and gold jacket that was lying outside on the ground; Crittenden recognized the jacket as one that Súber had gotten recently and was very proud of. Crittenden and William knocked on the front door of the home several times; when there was no answer, they opened the door and saw Levron’s body. Crittenden testified that they immediately left and called 911. Officers arrived at the scene and, after obtaining a search warrant, conducted a search.

¶ 6. When officers entered the home, they immediately observed Levron’s body near the front entryway of the home. The officers then searched the rest of the house. In a hallway, they discovered a large black safe which nearly blocked the hallway. Beyond that, they entered a back bedroom and found Suber’s naked and bound body. She had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head. Examination of the scene revealed a large hole that had been created in the exterior wall of Levron’s attached garage. Once in the garage, the burglars apparently had broken a window and unlocked a door that led into the rest of the home. The officers realized that Levron’s truck was missing. After obtaining a description of the vehicle, the officers disseminated a description of the truck, which was stopped by law enforcement later that evening. There were four occupants inside the truck at that time, including Minter’s brother.

¶ 7. Law enforcement officers eventually determined that Minter, Murphy, Green, and Simmons were the burglars. Although Simmons did not testify at trial, he gave a statement to police prior to trial wherein he claimed that Minter had shot both Levron and Súber. Green gave a similar statement before trial. Pretrial statements also indicated that Minter had sexually assaulted Súber with a pool stick. At trial, Green denied that Minter had sexually assaulted Súber.

¶8. Prior to trial, Green accepted a guilty plea and was sentenced to life imprisonment in return for the State not pursuing the death penalty against him. At his guilty-plea hearing, Green acknowledged that he, Murphy, Minter, and Simmons had broken into Levron’s home. Green stated at the hearing that Minter had fatally shot both Levron and Súber. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to two [521]*521consecutive twenty-year sentences. Both Green and Murphy agreed to testify against Minter as part of their plea agreements.

¶ 9. At trial, Green, Murphy, Crittenden, and various law-enforcement officers testified for the State. Minter did not take the stand, but his mother and stepfather testified that he was at home with them the morning of December 15, 2006. The State offered evidence that Minter’s fingerprints were found on glass left in the doorway between the garage and Levron’s house. Although Murphy’s and Green’s statements and testimonies contained numerous inconsistencies and disparities, both maintained that Minter shot both Levron and Súber.

¶ 10. Minter was convicted of two counts of capital murder and one count of robbery. The circuit court dismissed a sexual-battery charge after Minter requested a peremptory instruction on the charge. He was acquitted of a second sexual-assault count.

¶ 11. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our analysis and discussion of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Hearsay

¶ 12. Minter contends that Detective Charles Bodie Jr.’s testimony regarding a .880-caliber pistol was improper. Detective Bodie testified that the pistol was recovered from a creek, which had been searched because Minter’s accomplices had told the police that Minter threw Levron’s pistol in the creek. An underwater search team recovered the pistol. After several objections, Detective Bodie testified that the pistol was registered to Levron. We quote at length from Detective Bodie’s testimony regarding the pistol:

Q. As part of your investigation did you also conduct a firearms trace?
A. Yes, it was [sic].
Q. Through what agency would you have conducted that trace?
A. From the ATF, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Q. And on what weapon did you conduct a firearms trace?
[OBJECTION]: Your Honor, we’re going to object to this. It’s our understanding that Detective Bodie did not actually conduct this search himself. He had someone conducted [sic] it, and we have been notified that that person would testify. If Detective Bodie, in fact, performed this search himself then fine. You know, they can continue on -with [sic], but he hasn’t answered that part of the question yet.
[COURT]: I don’t think he’s asked that question yet. At this point I’m going to overrule that objection.

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Bluebook (online)
64 So. 3d 518, 2011 Miss. App. LEXIS 17, 2011 WL 71465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/minter-v-state-missctapp-2011.