Mooneyham v. State

842 So. 2d 579, 2002 WL 1969839
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 27, 2002
Docket2001-KA-00376-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 842 So. 2d 579 (Mooneyham 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
Mooneyham v. State, 842 So. 2d 579, 2002 WL 1969839 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

842 So.2d 579 (2002)

Howard MOONEYHAM, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2001-KA-00376-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

August 27, 2002.
Rehearing Denied October 29, 2002.
Certiorari Denied February 27, 2003.

*580 J. Edward Rainer, Brandon, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Charles W. Maris Jr., Jackson, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, P.J., LEE, and IRVING, JJ.

KING, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Howard Mooneyham was found guilty in the Circuit Court of Rankin County, Mississippi of the possession of more than thirty grams of methamphetamine and the sale of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to serve a term of ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on the possession charge and a term of fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on the sale of methamphetamine. The sentences imposed were to run consecutively. Aggrieved by his conviction, Mooneyham has appealed and raised the following issues which we quote verbatim:

I. The trial court erred in failing to grant a continuance and admitting the testimony of Officer Roy Dampier and Officer Edward Benton as their status as witnesses was not disclosed to defendant until less than three days before trial.
II. The trial court erred in receiving into evidence the photographs marked as State's exhibits S-1, S-2 and S-4.
III. The trial court erred in failing to grant defendant's motion to suppress all evidence gleaned from the execution of the search warrant as the warrant must fail for want of probable cause based on the insufficiency of the underlying facts and circumstances on which the warrant was based.
IV. The trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial based on the prejudicial *581 comments made by Officer Edward Benton in the presence of the jury.
V. The defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront a witness against him was violated when defendant was not allowed to confront the expert that did the actual analysis of the substance found in his home.
VI. The trial court erred in failing to give the accomplice cautionary instructions marked D-10 and D-11.
VII. The trial court erred in allowing the prosecutor to comment during closing argument about any fictional "business" that was being operated at defendant's home and the presence of a park across the street from defendant's home.
VIII. The length of the sentence in this case ensures that defendant will spend the rest of his natural life in prison and is therefore a life sentence which amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

FACTS

¶ 2. On May 12, 2000, Officer Edward Benton of the Pearl Police Department and a special contract agent with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics assisted Officer Roy Dampier (Pearl Police Department) in an "undercover buy" from Marcie Bowling. Bowling was subsequently arrested for selling methamphetamine to the officers. After which, Bowling agreed to make a "controlled buy" of more methamphetamine from her supplier, Howard Mooneyham.

¶ 3. In preparation for the "controlled buy," Bowling was taken to the Florence Police Department and searched to make sure that she did not have any narcotics or money on her at that time. Officer Benton then put a body wire on Bowling and gave her five one-hundred dollar bills (money from state funds) to purchase the narcotics. Officer Benton rode with Bowling to a pay phone where she paged Mooneyham. He called back and the transaction was arranged. Officer Benton lay in the car as Bowling approached Mooneyham's residence. Other officers were watching Mooneyham's house. Bowling exited the car and approached Mooneyham who was sitting on his front porch swing. Bowling laid the "marked money" beside her. Mooneyham picked up the money and gave her a bag, which contained a substance later determined to be methamphetamine. Bowling returned to the car and gave the bag to Officer Benton, who transported it to the crime lab the following day.

¶ 4. After Bowling purchased the substance, the assisting officers placed Mooneyham under arrest for the sale of a controlled substance. Mooneyham was advised of his Miranda rights and searched. In Mooneyham's pocket, Officer Benton found the "marked money" which was later confirmed to be the state funds given to Bowling for the buy (the money was compared with copies made prior to the buy).

¶ 5. After Mooneyham refused to allow the officers to search his house, Officers Edward Benton and Timothy Culpepper obtained a search warrant to search Mooneyham's house. The officers discovered additional amounts of a white substance thought to be methamphetamine in the attic of Mooneyham's house.

¶ 6. Prior to trial on February 8, 2001, there was a suppression hearing where Mooneyham's attorney requested that any written or oral statements given by Mooneyham and any physical evidence be excluded as being obtained in violation of his constitutional rights. After hearing the evidence presented, the trial court denied this motion. Mooneyham was found guilty of the possession of more than thirty grams of methamphetamine and guilty of *582 the sale of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to serve consecutive terms of ten and fifteen years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. The applicable standard of review regarding the admissibility of evidence is as follows:

Admissibility of evidence rests within the discretion of the trial court. However, this Court must also determine whether the trial court employed the proper legal standards in its fact findings governing evidence admissibility. If in fact the trial court has incorrectly perceived the applicable legal standard in its fact findings, the Court applies a substantially broader standard of review. However, a denial of a substantial right of the defendant must have been affected by the court's evidentiary ruling. Furthermore, the trial court's discretion must be exercised within the scope of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence and reversal will be appropriate only when an abuse of discretion resulting in prejudice to the accused occurs.

Hayes v. State, 803 So.2d 473 (¶ 4) (Miss.Ct.App.2001).

I.

Did the trial court err in failing to grant a continuance and admitting the testimony of Officer Roy Dampier and Officer Edward Benton as their status as witnesses was not disclosed to defendant until less than three days before trial?

¶ 8. Mooneyham contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a continuance based upon the State's failure to submit its list of witnesses until three days prior to trial. Mooneyham's attorney claims he did not have enough time to interview the State's witnesses. Mooneyham asserts that the State violated Uniform Circuit and County Court Rule 9.04(I)[1] by failing to provide the list in a timely manner.

¶ 9. The decision to grant or deny a continuance is left to the sound discretion *583 of the trial court, and this Court shall not reverse for the denial of a continuance unless it appears that manifest injustice resulted from the denial. Buckley v. State, 772 So.2d 1059(¶ 2) (Miss.2000).

¶ 10.

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Bluebook (online)
842 So. 2d 579, 2002 WL 1969839, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mooneyham-v-state-missctapp-2002.