Rickman v. State

150 So. 3d 983, 2014 WL 1777993, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 249
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided May 6, 2014·No. No. 2013-KA-00388-COA·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Matthew Rickman was convicted of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer after he severely beat a jailer with a sock full of bars of soap, then repeatedly kicked the unconscious man, breaking his hip and pelvis. Rickman now appeals challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Based on video-surveillance footage and Rickman’s in-court admission to beating the jailer, as well as testimony from the victim and that of another witness who discovered the bloody crime scene, we find the evidence indisputably and overwhelmingly supports Rickman’s aggravated-assault conviction. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

¶ 2. On February 20, 2012, Rickman was detained in the Millard Correction Center in Pearl River County awaiting trial on several felony charges.1 While in [985] jail, Rickman deliberately jammed the locking mechanism on his cell with a toothbrush and piece of a t-shirt. When night-shift supervisor Enos Van Amburgh, a corrections officer with the Pearl River County Sheriffs Department, walked past Rick-man’s jail cell, Rickman opened the door and hit Van Amburgh over the head with a long sock containing solid bars of soap. Van Amburgh fell to the ground, losing consciousness, and Rickman continued hitting and kicking him.

¶ 3. On June 14, 2012, Rickman was indicted, as a habitual offender,2 for aggravated assault on an officer. At trial, which began on January 9, 2013, Captain Butch Raby, the chief of security, testified that when he arrived shortly after the attack, he saw a trail of blood on the floor and blood splattered on the walls and ceilings. Van Amburgh’s left eye was blue and swollen shut. He also had abrasions and scratches on his head and hands and was bleeding from his nose. Photographs confirming Van Amburgh’s injuries and blood loss were admitted into evidence. A jailhouse video capturing the violent assault was also admitted and played for the jury.

¶ 4. Van Amburgh testified at trial. He remembered being taken to the hospital after the assault but was unsure how long the assault lasted because he blacked out after the first blow to his head. His left eye was permanently damaged, his nose was broken, and he had several cuts. While X-rays were negative, he explained an MRI later confirmed he had a fractured hip and pelvic bone. Van Amburgh used crutches for four months and missed five months of work. And he testified to having chronic pain in his right hip and pelvis and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after the assault.

¶5. Rickman elected to testify in his defense.3 He admitted devising a plan to assault Van Amburgh because he did not like the jailer. According to Rickman, he attacked Van Amburgh hoping he would quit his job.

■ ¶ 6. The jury found Rickman guilty of aggravated assault, on a law enforcement officer. After an unsuccessful motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial, the judge sentenced Rickman, as a habitual offender,4 to serve thirty years without the possibility of parole.

¶ 7. Rickman now appeals challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his aggravated-assault conviction.

Discussion

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence A. Standard

¶ 8. When assessing the legal sufficiency of evidence, we consider all evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005). Credible evidence consistent with guilt must be accepted as true. Day v. State, 126 So.3d 1011, 1014 (¶ 9) (Miss.Ct.App.2013). We give the State the benefit of all favorable inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence. Jones v. [986] State, 20 So.3d 57, 64 (¶ 16) (Miss.Ct.App. 2009) (citing ■ Hughes v. State, 983 So.2d 270, 275-76 (¶¶ 10-11) (Miss.2008)). And the jury résolves matters of weight and credibility. Day, 126 So.3d at 1014 (¶ 10). Reversal is only proper if reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Jones, 20 So.3d at 64 (¶ 16).

B.The Assault

¶ 9. To prove aggravated assault on a law ■ enforcement officer, in the manner charged here, the State had to show Rick-man purposefully and knowingly caused serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer. Miss.Code Ann. § 97 — 3—7(2)(a)(i)— (b)(i) (Supp.2013). We point out that Rick-man does not challenge the fact that he assaulted the jailer. Indeed, he admitted assaulting Van Amburgh, who he also does not dispute was a law enforcement officer under section 97 — 3—7(2)(b).

¶ 10. When explaining his “personal motivations” for attacking the jailer, Rick-man told the jury his “sole purpose” was to “scare [Van Amburgh] enough to make him quit. That’s the whole purpose of the whole incident.” So combining Rickman’s testimony with Van Amburgh’s and the security chiefs and also considering the surveillance video, the fact that Rickman assaulted the jailer is completely undisputed.

C.Serious Bodily Injury

¶ 11. What Rickman does dispute is that the State proved he caused “serious bodily injury” to the jailer — a necessary element when aggravated assault is charged under section 97 — 3—7(2) (a) (i). He insists, because of this failure, he was only guilty of simple assault, which requires proof of mere “bodily injury.” See Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-7(l)(a)(i).

¶ 12. “Serious bodily injury” has been defined as “bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” Fleming v. State, 604 So.2d 280, 292 (Miss.1992) (emphasis added)' (quoting Model Penal Code § 210.0 (1980)). Viewing the evidence in the State’s favor, we find Van Amburgh’s bodily injuries certainly qualify as serious.

¶ 13. A surveillance video captured Rickman knocking the jailer unconscious with a makeshift weapon, then repeatedly hitting and kicking him. Photographs show Van Amburgh lost significant blood. Van Amburgh’s left pupil was permanently damaged, his nose was broken, and his hip and pelvic bone were fractured, causing him chronic pain and requiring him to miss five months of work. So there is obviously sufficient evidence of serious bodily injury.

D.Medical Evidence Not Required

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Rickman v. State, 150 So. 3d 983, 2014 WL 1777993, 2014 Miss. App. LEXIS 249 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

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