Scott v. State

965 So. 2d 758, 2007 WL 2770803
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided September 25, 2007·No. 2005-KA-02081-COA·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

965 So.2d 758 (2007)

Alfred SCOTT, Jr., Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2005-KA-02081-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 25, 2007.

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

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

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

CHANDLER, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Alfred Scott, Jr. was tried and convicted of murdering Allen Flore. Scott appeals, raising the following issues:

*760 I. WHETHER THE JURY'S VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE DUE TO THE STATE'S FAILURE TO MAKE A PRIMA FACIE CASE FOR MURDER.
II. WHETHER THE COURT ERRED BY FAILING TO ADVISE SCOTT OF HIS RIGHT NOT TO TESTIFY.
III. WHETHER SCOTT RECEIVED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.
IV. WHETHER THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF PERCEIVED ERRORS WARRANTS A REVERSAL OF CONVICTION AND SENTENCE.

¶ 2. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3. Alfred Scott, Jr., dated Layuri Washington until the relationship ended in March 2004. While they were a couple, Layuri gave birth to their son. Soon after the birth of their child, the couple broke up and Washington began dating Allen Flore in November 2004. Flore was a senior at West Bolivar High School.

¶ 4. On April 10, 2005, Scott went to Washington's home in Rosedale, Mississippi, to return their child after a visitation. Flore was present in the house when Scott returned the child, but they did not speak to one another. Shortly after, Washington and Flore went to the Double Quick convenience store to purchase snacks and gas. Flore remained outside to pump the gas while Washington went inside the store. Washington then saw Scott enter the store and buy a drink, but she did not speak to him. Washington was talking on her mobile phone when she heard gun shots from outside. When she went outside, she found that Flore had been shot. He died shortly after an ambulance transported him to the hospital.

¶ 5. Scott was charged with Flore's murder on August 29, 2005, and was tried before a Bolivar County jury on October 3, 2005. At trial, the state's pathologist, Dr. Stephen Hayne, testified that Flore died from four bullet wounds to his back and one to his chest. Dr. Hayne stated that the bullet trajectories were consistent with Flore being shot by someone standing over the victim and shooting down into his back.

¶ 6. Eyewitnesses confirm this account. Otis Anderson, Scott's cousin, testified that he and a few friends pulled up at the Double Quick right before the shooting occurred. They were outside the store, across the parking lot discussing motorcycles, when they heard something pop like firecrackers. Anderson looked in the direction of the sound when his friend, Derrick Lewis, stated, "Ronnie Poo's being shot." "Ronnie Poo" was Flore's nickname. Anderson saw Flore on the ground, with Scott standing over him, firing several shots. Lewis and Donnie Barnes also testified that they saw Scott repeatedly shoot Flore in the same manner.

¶ 7. Scott admitted shooting Flore, but argued that it was done in self-defense. He stated that Flore had threatened him before and that he had seen Flore with a gun a month before the night in question. When Scott left the store that night, he saw Flore standing by his car. Flore started an argument. The two exchanged words and Flore said, "I got something for you." Worried that Flore had a gun in his car, Scott shot him. However, Scott testified that he never actually saw a weapon in Flore's possession.

¶ 8. Robert Brown, Scott's cousin, also testified on Scott's behalf. Brown went to high school with Flore and claimed that Flore told him that Scott needed to "leave him alone." Brown did not tell anyone about this conversation when it occurred *761 and did not immediately inform the police about it after Flore's death.

¶ 9. At the conclusion of the State's case, the court denied Scott's motion for a directed verdict. The court then inquired whether Scott would be testifying on his behalf, to which his counsel stated that Scott had "always maintained" that he would testify. The trial judge noted that unless Scott changed his mind, he would not make a Culberson statement concerning Scott's right to testify.

¶ 10. The jury was given instructions for murder, manslaughter, and justifiable self-defense. Scott was convicted of murder on October 6, 2005, and sentenced to life in prison. Scott filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a motion for a new trial on October 18, 2005. The court denied the motion. Scott then perfected a timely appeal.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. WHETHER THE JURY'S VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE DUE TO THE STATE'S FAILURE TO MAKE A PRIMA FACIE CASE FOR MURDER.

¶ 11. Scott first argues the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and the evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict.

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 12. In reviewing a denial of a motion for a JNOV, this Court must consider all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993). The credible evidence consistent with Scott's guilt must be accepted as true. Id. If the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the act charged, with every element of that charge being met, then the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843(¶ 16) (Miss.2005).

¶ 13. The evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, was sufficient to convict Scott of murder. In Mississippi, murder is the unlawful killing of a human being "with deliberate design to effect the death of the person killed." Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-19(1)(a) (Rev. 2006).

¶ 14. Flore was shot four times in the back and once in the chest. Three eyewitnesses testified they first heard a "pop" which sounded like fireworks. When they turned toward the direction of the noise, they saw Scott standing over Flore, shooting him repeatedly. The state pathologist's testimony corroborated that the cause of death was multiple gun shots, consistent with shots being fired from above while the victim was on the ground.

¶ 15. Both parties stipulated that two of the bullets that were found in Flore's body during the autopsy came from a Larson .380 automatic pistol. Scott admitted at trial that the gun introduced into evidence was the one he used to shoot Flore. Scott also admitted to shooting Flore, but maintains that it was done purely in self-defense.

¶ 16. Layuri Washington testified that she never heard Flore have cross words with Scott when Scott exercised visitation with their son. She also recounted that several months prior to the night in question, she filed papers with the court after Scott came to Washington's house for the baby and damaged her screen door while trying to get into the house. For a period of time, Scott was not allowed to come to Washington's home to pick up the boy for visitation. However, she and Scott

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Scott v. State, 965 So. 2d 758, 2007 WL 2770803 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

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