Naylor v. State

730 So. 2d 561, 1998 WL 839234
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 3, 1998
Docket97-KA-00686-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 730 So. 2d 561 (Naylor v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Naylor v. State, 730 So. 2d 561, 1998 WL 839234 (Mich. 1998).

Opinion

730 So.2d 561 (1998)

Daryl L. NAYLOR, a/k/a Daryl Love Naylor
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 97-KA-00686-SCT

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 3, 1998.
Rehearing Denied February 25, 1999.

*562 Donald W. Boykin, Jackson, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jean Smith Vaughan, Attorney for Appellee.

Before PITTMAN, P.J., and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr. and SMITH, JJ.

PITTMAN, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Daryl Naylor was indicted along with Jeff Jones on August 6, 1996, for the possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-139 (1993). The indictment was amended before trial enhancing the penalty under Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-152 (Supp.1994), which provides for a possible double penalty for violators of Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-139 (1993) who are in possession of a firearm at the time of the arrest. Naylor and Jones were tried together starting on March 20, 1997 in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, and the jury returned a guilty verdict. Naylor was sentenced on May 5, 1997 to a term of fifteen (15) years, with ten (10) years suspended and three (3) years of supervised probation.

¶ 2. Naylor filed a Motion for j.n.o.v. or in the alternative a new trial on May 6, 1997, which was denied by the trial court. Naylor timely filed his Notice of Appeal to this Court seeking a new trial or in the alternative a reversal and rendering of his conviction. He alleges the following errors for this Court's consideration:

I. THE VERDICT OF THE JURY WAS UNSUPPORTED BY AND CONTRARY TO THE EVIDENCE, AND THE COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED NAYLOR'S PEREMPTORY INSTRUCTION AND MOTIONS FOR DIRECTED VERDICT.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRONEOUSLY DENIED NAYLOR'S "TWOTHEORY" INSTRUCTION.
III. THE COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED NAYLOR'S CHALLENGES FOR CAUSE OF VENIRE MEMBERS, BOONE, EVERETT, WHITE, WILSON, AND HAYNES.
IV. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY REQUIRING NAYLOR AND JONES TO AGREE UPON SIX PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES.
V. THE TRIAL COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED JURY INSTRUCTION DN-6.
VI. THE TRIAL COURT SHOULD HAVE SUSTAINED NAYLOR'S MOTION OBJECTING TO REFERENCE TO DRUG PARAPHERNALIA DURING THE PROSECUTION'S OPENING STATEMENT.
VII. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING NAYLOR'S OBJECTION TO IMPROPER CLOSING ARGUMENTS BY THE ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

¶ 3. The State called Detective Steven E. Wilson of the Jackson-Hinds County Drug Enforcement Unit as its first witness. At the time of trial, Wilson had been employed with the Jackson Police Department for fourteen years, and had been working narcotics for approximately twelve of the fourteen.

¶ 4. On September 19, 1995, Detective Wilson and seven other officers served a search warrant at 2311 Woodlawn Street. Before arriving at the house, it was decided that four officers would approach the front of the house, while the other four attempted to enter from the back. This type of entry helps to ensure the element of surprise, preventing the occupants from arming themselves or destroying contraband.

*563 ¶ 5. On his approach to the house, Detective Wilson noticed that someone was peering out the front window through a slightly parted curtain. When that person saw the police, the curtain closed very quickly.

¶ 6. Detective Wilson, and three other officers proceeded to the rear of the house, and entered. As soon as he entered the house, Detective Wilson heard a toilet flushing. From his past experience, Detective Wilson assumed contraband was being destroyed. Detective Wilson found and entered the bathroom. When he entered, Naylor was jumping into the bathtub behind the partially open shower curtain and Jones was kneeling in front of the toilet. Jones was shaking a plastic bag into the toilet with his right hand, while frantically flushing the toilet with his left. Detective Wilson identified himself as a police officer, and attempted to pull Jones away from the toilet. Detective Wilson's hand slipped from Jones's shoulder, and Jones continued to try to flush the toilet and shake the bag.

¶ 7. Detective Wilson finally pushed Jones away from the toilet, and Jones jumped into the bathtub with Naylor. Jones dropped the plastic bag out of a small window located inside the bathtub area. Detective Wilson called for help, and Detective Nations entered the bathroom and helped Detective Wilson secure Jones and Naylor. Detective Wilson then instructed Sergeant Renfroe to go outside and retrieve the plastic bag that Jones had thrown out of the bathroom window.

¶ 8. Sergeant Renfroe did recover the plastic bag, and Detective Wilson identified it as the same bag that Jones had been shaking into the toilet. Detective Wilson testified that the plastic bag appeared to contain crack cocaine which had gotten wet.

¶ 9. After securing Jones and Naylor in the bathroom, Detective Wilson discovered that three other individuals had been secured by the officers who had entered the front entrance of the house. The individuals were a female, Tamika Wilson, and two males, Charles Bergess and Bill Howard.

¶ 10. The officers then conducted a search of the premises. Three loaded firearms were recovered from the bedroom. Unused ammunition for each of the guns was also recovered. In addition to the weapons, the officers also recovered a wallet from the bedroom closet which contained Naylor's identification. Detective Wilson recovered the driver's license, social security card, and birth certificate of Charles Bergess from the bedroom dresser.

¶ 11. On redirect, Detective Wilson testified that pocket scales were also recovered from the house. The scales recovered are common paraphernalia that narcotics users and dealers carry.

¶ 12. Sergeant Steve Renfroe had worked for the Jackson Police Department for twenty years, with six of those years spent in the narcotics unit. Sergeant Renfroe usually maintains the inventory of all evidence collected when a search warrant is served. Sergeant Renfroe was present when the search warrant in this case was served. He recounted the events of that search in the same manner as Detective Wilson.

¶ 13. Sergeant Renfroe identified the plastic bag containing white rocks that he recovered outside the bathroom window. Additionally, Sergeant Renfroe identified two walkie-talkies that were recovered from the top drawer of the bedroom dresser. Two other walkie-talkies were recovered from the middle drawer of the same dresser. Sergeant Renfroe testified that walkie-talkies are commonly used by sophisticated narcotics traffickers as a communication between the lookout and the narcotics vendors.

¶ 14. Sergeant Renfroe testified that the hand-held scales were recovered from atop the refrigerator in the kitchen. According to Sergeant Renfroe, hand-held scales are the most basic and essential tool used by narcotics sellers, and he had found them in almost every drug case he had worked.

¶ 15. Sergeant Renfroe also testified concerning identification found belonging to Jones. He identified a Capitol Cablevision bill addressed to Jones at 2311 Woodlawn Street.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
730 So. 2d 561, 1998 WL 839234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/naylor-v-state-miss-1998.