Roberson v. State

838 So. 2d 298, 2002 WL 2005900
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 3, 2002
Docket2001-KA-00874-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 838 So. 2d 298 (Roberson 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
Roberson v. State, 838 So. 2d 298, 2002 WL 2005900 (Mich. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

838 So.2d 298 (2002)

Anthony ROBERSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2001-KA-00874-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 3, 2002.
Rehearing Denied November 12, 2002.
Certiorari Denied February 13, 2003.

*299 Johnnie E. Walls, Jr., Greenville, Steven W. Pittman, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General, By: W. Glenn Watts, attorney for appellee.

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

KING, P.J., for the court.

¶ 1. Anthony Roberson was convicted of manslaughter in the Circuit Court of Quitman County and sentenced to serve a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with four years suspended. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentence, Roberson has appealed and raised the following issues which we quote verbatim:

*300 I. Did the trial court err by overruling the defendant's objection to the testimony of Officer Sims, recounting an oral statement given to him by the defendant in response to questioning, on the ground that there was no evidence of a valid waiver of rights by the defendant?
II. Did the trial court err by overruling the defendant's objection to the testimony of Teresa Ruth, recounting an oral statement given to her by the defendant in response to questioning, on the ground that there was no evidence of a valid waiver of rights by the defendant?
III. Did the trial court err by denying the defense requested jury instruction D-8, and by granting the prosecution requested jury instruction number S-3?
IV. Did the trial court err by instructing the jury in accordance with both the defense requested instruction number D-2 and with prosecution requested jury instruction number S-2?
V. Did the trial court err by overruling the defendant's motion for directed verdict made at the close of all the proof?

FACTS

¶ 2. On September 4, 2000, Charles Sims, Chief of Police for the City of Marks, Mississippi (also an officer with the Town of Falcon Police Department), responded to a call from Ms. Shirley Cotton's trailer home in Falcon, Mississippi regarding a shooting which occurred at approximately 10:39 p.m. Upon arriving at the trailer, Officer Sims found "a body lying on the west side of the road next to a ditch." As the officer shone his flashlight on the body, he recognized it as that of Tommy Cotton, Ms. Cotton's ex-husband. He then contacted the Quitman County Sheriff's Department for an ambulance. Officer Sims saw Anthony Roberson (Ms. Cotton's son) and his wife, Vivian Roberson, on the front porch of the trailer.

¶ 3. Prior to asking Roberson about the incident, Officer Sims orally advised Roberson of his Miranda rights. Officer Sims testified that Roberson then told him that "he and his wife was [sic] in bed, and she woke and told him that someone was in there. She heard some noises in the house. he got up—he got up and got his gun and started down the hall. He saw someone run out the door. He proceeded behind them and he fired one shot in the air, and he said the second shot he leveled off and shot the person."

¶ 4. According to Roberson's wife, she put the gun under the steps when a crowd of people gathered. At Officer Sims' request, Roberson retrieved and gave the gun to the officer. Officer Sims indicated that he collected two shell casings. "One was located on the porch of Shirley Roberson's trailer. The other one on the ground just east of the steps."

¶ 5. After gathering information at the scene, Officer Sims asked Roberson, his wife, and his mother to come to the town hall and put their statements in writing. While at the town hall, Roberson executed a written waiver of rights form, which was witnessed by Officer Sims. Roberson then gave a handwritten statement to the officer.

¶ 6. The county coroner, Teresa Ruth, testified that upon examining the body, she noticed a bullet hole located in the center of the deceased's back. As part of her investigation, she attempted to determine if there was a trail of blood between the trailer and the spot where the body was located. She saw no such blood trail. She stated that the deceased had a white bank envelope which contained a twenty dollar bill clutched in his hand. Ruth asked Roberson *301 to tell her what had happened. Ruth testified that while standing on the porch of the trailer, Roberson stated that "he and Vanessa [sic] were waked [sic] up when they heard somebody coming into the trailer. And they got up and the intruder ran. He went to get the gun out of the cabinet.... He went on the porch with the gun and fired two shots."

¶ 7. Dr. Steven Hayne performed an autopsy on the body of Tommy Cotton. He testified that "there was an entrance gunshot wound being located over the mid-part of the back 17½ inches below the top of the head, one inch to the right or the mid-part of the back." Dr. Hayne determined that the cause of death was a "gunshot wound to the back, distant or near contact and perforated."

¶ 8. At trial on May 1, 2001, Anthony Roberson was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to serve a term of twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with four years suspended.

¶ 9. On May 31, 2001, Roberson filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or alternatively a new trial. This motion was denied.

ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
I.
Did the trial court err by overruling the defendant's objection to the testimony of Officer Sims, recounting an oral statement given to him by the defendant in response to questioning, on the ground that there was no evidence of a valid waiver of rights by the defendant?

¶ 10. Roberson contends that the trial court erred by overruling his objection to Officer Sims' testimony. Roberson claims Officer Sims recounted an oral statement given to him without evidence having been presented of a valid waiver of his Miranda rights. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Roberson maintains that the State did not provide evidence of a waiver of his rights during the initial talk with Officer Sims at the scene.

¶ 11. When the circuit court expressly or implicitly resolves the issue of admissibility of a confession against a defendant, this Court's scope of review is confined to established limits. Greenlee v. State, 725 So.2d 816(¶ 21) (Miss.1998). This Court has held that, "[w]here the trial court has overruled a motion to suppress the confession of a defendant, this Court will reverse the trial court's decision only if the trial court's ruling `is manifestly in error or contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence.'" Id. (quoting McGowan v. State, 706 So.2d 231, 235 (Miss.1997)).

¶ 12. Officer Sims testified that he gave Roberson an oral Miranda warning prior to talking with him. Officer Sims asked Roberson if he understood his rights to which the reply was affirmative. Officer Sims testified that after the Miranda rights were given to Roberson, Roberson told him what happened.

¶ 13. The testimony during the suppression hearing reveals the following:

Q. Did he make a statement to you at the scene?
A. Yes, sir, he did.
Q.

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Bluebook (online)
838 So. 2d 298, 2002 WL 2005900, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberson-v-state-missctapp-2002.