Patton v. State

987 So. 2d 1063, 2008 WL 2806095
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 22, 2008
Docket2006-KA-01019-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 987 So. 2d 1063 (Patton 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
Patton v. State, 987 So. 2d 1063, 2008 WL 2806095 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

987 So.2d 1063 (2008)

Robert PATTON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-01019-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

July 22, 2008.

*1064 Johnnie E. Walls, Greenville, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Laura Hogan Tedder, attorney for appellee.

Before KING, C.J., IRVING AND CHANDLER, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Robert Patton (Patton) and his brother, Hezekiah Patton (Hezekiah), were tried together in the Circuit Court of Bolivar County for the crime of bribery of a public official. The jury acquitted Hezekiah, but it found Patton guilty. The trial court sentenced Patton to five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with one year to serve and four years suspended.

¶ 2. Patton appeals. He challenges the weight and sufficiency of the evidence supporting the bribery conviction and contends that the facts show he was entrapped by State officials. He also argues that errors occurred at his trial, which considered cumulatively, warrant a reversal.

¶ 3. Finding no error, we affirm Patton's conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 4. Patton was the mayor of Shelby, Mississippi. On the night of March 4, 2005, Officers Marion Bedford and Ricardo Tell, with the Shelby Police Department, responded to a burglary reported by an employee at Minnie's Café in Shelby. Minnie's was a juke joint owned and operated by Patton's brother, Hezekiah. Upon entering Minnie's, Officers Bedford and Tell discovered six illegal gaming machines located in a back room. Officer Bedford radioed dispatch for assistance from his supervisor, Eddie Shannon, who was serving as the interim police chief. Officer Tell left the scene to apprehend the suspected burglar. At some point, Hezekiah and Patton arrived at Minnie's. Then, Chief Shannon arrived.

¶ 5. Chief Shannon testified that Patton, as the mayor, was his boss. Chief Shannon testified that when he arrived at Minnie's, Patton asked if he could ride around the block with him in Chief Shannon's vehicle. According to Chief Shannon's testimony, during the ride, Patton asked Chief Shannon to leave the gaming machines at Minnie's. When they returned to Minnie's, Chief Shannon instructed the officers not to seize the machines. Shortly thereafter, Patton and Chief Shannon rode around the block again. Chief Shannon testified that, during this ride, Patton told him that the gaming machines belonged to Hezekiah, and Patton would give Chief Shannon some money if he would inform the brothers when the Mississippi Gaming Commission was coming to Shelby to remove the gaming machines.

*1065 ¶ 6. On March 5, 2005, Chief Shannon reported these incidents to the Mississippi Gaming Commission and the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi. These agencies commenced an investigation into the allegations of bribery. As part of the investigation, Chief Shannon had several conversations with Patton while wearing a body wire. Many of these conversations were recorded on microcassette tapes, which Chief Shannon turned over to investigators with the Attorney General's Office. The following is a chronology of the evidence gathered during the investigation and admitted at the trial:

March 8, 2005 — Patton and Chief Shannon met to take pictures of an abandoned house as a part of city business. Patton asked Chief Shannon if everything was quiet. Chief Shannon told Patton that an officer was not pleased about leaving the gaming machines at Minnie's. Patton responded that the officer just wanted money, and he would pay the officer $20 or $30. This conversation was recorded on a cassette tape that was admitted into evidence.
March 9, 2005 — Chief Shannon met with agents from the Attorney General's Office and from the Gaming Commission. They formulated a plan for Chief Shannon to inform Patton that the Gaming Commission was coming to seize the gaming machines.
March 10, 2005, morning — Chief Shannon went to Patton's home and told him that the Gaming Commission, in response to an anonymous tip, was coming to Minnie's around noon that day. Because Chief Shannon's body recorder malfunctioned, no tape recording of this conversation was made; the only evidence of it was Chief Shannon's testimony. Chief Shannon testified that Patton seemed nervous and that Patton called Hezekiah. Then, Chief Shannon raised the issue of Patton's promise to pay him in exchange for the tipoff. Patton stated that Hezekiah would bring him money that weekend. A short time later, Investigator Bert Wallace with the Attorney General's Office videotaped Hezekiah and other men moving six gaming machines out of the rear door of Minnie's and loading them into the bed of a pickup truck, which they then drove away. These gaming machines were large, freestanding machines. The videotape was admitted into evidence.
March 10, 2005, 11:15 a.m. — Gaming Commission agents searched Minnie's for the gaming machines, but none were found.
March 10, 2005, afternoon — Chief Shannon called Patton and told him that the Gaming Commission had come. Patton thanked Chief Shannon for the tipoff and said that he would like to know if Chief Shannon heard they were coming back. A tape recording of this conversation was admitted into evidence.
March 25, 2005 — Chief Shannon and Patton talked in the courtroom located in the police department building. Chief Shannon told Patton that he had not received anything and that he needed money to pay a bill. Patton asked him if fifty dollars would suffice, and Chief Shannon assented. Patton said he would get back with him. A tape recording of this conversation was admitted into evidence.
April 12, 2005 — Chief Shannon spoke with Patton at the police department and told Patton he had not received anything, though he had taken a big risk. Patton replied that they had both taken a big risk. Patton said that all he could do was set up the payment, but he would make sure Chief Shannon got the fifty dollars the next day. A tape recording *1066 of this conversation was admitted into evidence.
April 13, 2005 — Chief Shannon again told Patton he had not received anything. Patton said that he had made arrangements for the payment that morning and that Chief Shannon would receive the money that day. A tape recording of this conversation was admitted into evidence.
April 13, 2005, afternoon — Hezekiah came to the door of the police department and nodded at Chief Shannon. Chief Shannon went over to Hezekiah, who handed Chief Shannon fifty dollars in cash, and said, "Robert told me to give this to you." Chief Shannon placed the money into his safe, and then he gave it to Investigator J.W. Watkins with the Attorney General's Office. Later that afternoon, Patton asked Chief Shannon if anyone had shown up, and Chief Shannon said yes, and the person had given him fifty dollars as promised. Chief Shannon did not record his interactions with Hezekiah or with Patton on that afternoon.
April 20, 2005 — Investigator E.W. Williams with the Gaming Commission seized five illegal gaming machines from Minnie's.
April 26, 2005 — Chief Shannon called Investigator Watkins and reported that Patton had approached him twice at Chief Shannon's residence asking that Chief Shannon retract his statements to the authorities. No tape recording was made of these conversations.

¶ 7. Both Patton and Hezekiah testified in their own defense.

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Bluebook (online)
987 So. 2d 1063, 2008 WL 2806095, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/patton-v-state-missctapp-2008.