State of Missouri, Plaintiff/Respondent v. Dranel Clark

488 S.W.3d 150, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 143
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 23, 2016
DocketED102088
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 488 S.W.3d 150 (State of Missouri, Plaintiff/Respondent v. Dranel Clark) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Missouri, Plaintiff/Respondent v. Dranel Clark, 488 S.W.3d 150, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 143 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

SHERRI B. SULLIVAN, J.

Introduction

Dranel Clark (Appellant) appeals from the trial court’s judgment entered after a jury trial convicting him of assault in the second degree, armed criminal action, and resisting ¿rrest. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

The State charged Appellant, as a prior offender, with assault in the first degree (Count I), armed criminal action (Count II), attempted robbery (Count III), armed criminal action (Count IV),. unlawful use of a weapon (Count V), and resisting arrest (Count VI). The evidence adduced at trial, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, is as follows.

In October 2011, Edward White (White) worked at a bar doing odd jobs. At approximately 10 p.m. on October 1, 2011, White left the bar and walked to a check cashing place about two blocks away to get change for the bar. On his way there, White saw a group of young men on the street that made him nervous. After getting about $200 in change, White left the check cashing place and crossed the street to avoid the group of men he had seen earlier.

As he crossed the street, Appellant started walking, and then running, toward him. White was walking through a -White Castle parking lot when Appellant caught him and tried to push him into a car. White resisted.

Appellant put a gun to White’s head and told him to “up it” which White believed meant to give Appellant the money. ' Appellant put the gun to White’s temple and pulled the trigger but White “ducked real *152 quick” and the bullet missed him. White straggled- with Appellant and Appellant shot again, this time grazing the back of White’s head. Appellant fired a third shot, but the gun jammed. Appellant then- began hitting White in the back of the head with the gun.

Officer Aaron Quarles (Quarlep) was driving in his patrol car when he, heard a gunshot at the White- Castle approximately 100 feet away. Quarles saw two people fighting and a muzzle flash, then heard another gunshot. Quarles pulled into the lot and saw Appellant beating White. When Quarles told Appellant to stop, Appellant looked at him and ran away. Quarles pursued Appellant in his vehicle, with the lights and siren' activated. Quarles saw the , magazine fall out of the gun Appéllant was carrying and then saw Appellant throw the gun. Once Appellant threw thie gun, Quarles exited his vehicle and pursued Appellant on foot. Quarles ordered Appellant to stop but Appellant continued to run until -Quarles drew his firearm. Appellant then stopped and put his hands up. When Quarles-holstered his weapon, Appellant turned toward Quarles and assumed a “fighting stance.” Quarles took out his baton and, while attempting to strike Appellant’s arm, hit Appellant in the head as Appellant bent over. Appellant then complied with Quarles’ orders and was placed under arrest.

After the altercation, White returned to the bar where someone - called the police. White received stitches for lacerations on the side of .his head and over his right eye.

The jury found Appellant guilty of the lesser-included offense of second-degree assault (Count I), armed criminal action (Count II), unlawful use of a weapon. (Count V), and resisting arrest (Count VI). The trial court sentenced Appellant to sev-. en. years for second-degree assault, three years for armed ’criminal action, and four years each for unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently except the three-year sentence for armed criminal action, which was ordered to run consecutively to the assault charge, for a total sentence of ten years. Following sentencing, the trial court vacated the conviction for unlawful use of a weapon by agreement of the .parties. This appeal follows.

Points on Appeal

In his first point, Appellant argues the trial court abused its discretion in failing to grant a mistrial because the jury panel saw Appellant in restraints, without good cause, which made Appellant appear to be dangerous and destroyed the presumption of innocence to which he was entitled.

' In his second point, Appellant contends the trial court abused its discretion in limiting Appellant’s defense by allowing the State to redact pages of White’s medical records admitted into evidence which contained the results of blood tests performed on White because the positive alcohol and cocaine blood test results were relevant and admissible evidence and corroborated Appellant’s defense that White was intoxicated arid attacked Appellant.

In his third point, Appellant asserts the trial court abused its discretion in submitting July Instruction 6 for assault in the second degree, in that Appellant was not assured a unanimous verdict because the submitted instruction did not specify the “assault” charged and did not ensure the jury would unanimously convict Appellant of the same conduct, in that it was a disputed fact at trial whether Appellant shot at or struck White.

Discmsion

Point I — Restraints

Before jury selection -began, the court sent the venire panel to lunch. After ad *153 dressing several pretrial matters, the court told the deputies that if any jurors were in the courtroom following the lunch break, the deputies should allow Appellant to walk into the courtroom ahead of them so it would not appear that they were escorting him into the room. After the lunch recess, defense counsel advised the court the deputies may have escorted Appellant into the courtroom in front of the jurors:

[Defense Counsel]: Judge, it’s been brought to my attention they may have walked my client in in front of everybody. I wasn’t here so I don’t know.
The Court: I told them specifically ■how to do it before I left.
[Defense Counsel]: I wasn’t here.
The Court: I wasn’t specifically in the room, but I told them how to do it and I trust my deputies to do what I tell them to do.
[Defense Counsel]: Okay. I guess I don’t know how it was done, I’m just going by what- he’s telling me, they walked in side by side with him. If that is the case I would request a mistrial at this point.
[Prosecutor]: I wasn’t. here. I do know the court was very specific in the court’s instruction. . I do know those deputies well, I would be shocked if it is anything other than what the court instructed them to do.
The Court: Your request is denied.

On appeal, Appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to grant his request for a mistrial because he was denied his rights to due process of law and a fair trial before an impartial jury, in that the venire panel knew Appellant was incarcerated and Appellant appeared in re-steaints without good cause, destroying the presumption of- innocence to which he was entitled.

Granting a mistrial is a drastic remedy employed only in the most extraordinary circumstances. State v. Whitt, 461 S.W.3d 32, 37 (Mo.App.E.D.2015).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
488 S.W.3d 150, 2016 Mo. App. LEXIS 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-missouri-plaintiffrespondent-v-dranel-clark-moctapp-2016.