State Of Washington v. Jimmy Joseph Perkins

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided December 30, 2014·No. 44533-6·Unpublished

Opinion

f!LED COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION 11 2014 DEC 30 AM 9: 149

STATE OF WASHINGTON BY UTY

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II

STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 44533 -6 -II

Respondent,

v.

JIMMY JOSEPH PERKINS, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant.

LEE, J. — A jury found Jimmy Perkins guilty of second degree assault. Perkins appeals

his conviction and sentence, arguing that ( 1) the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing

arguments, and ( 2) the court miscalculated his offender score by adding 1 point for being on

community custody. Because the prosecutor did not commit misconduct and the trial court

properly calculated Perkins' offender score, we affirm.

FACTS

Jimmy Perkins and John Mayfield were cellmates in the Cowlitz County Jail. Perkins was

in custody for a probation violation, and Mayfield was in custody for an alleged assault. Mayfield

and Perkins had confrontations over various issues. In the common area of the cell unit, Mayfield

questioned Perkins about Mayfield' s missing candy and asked Perkins to leave his belongings No. 44533 -6 -II

alone. Perkins asked if Mayfield was insinuating that he was a " punk b *tch," to which Mayfield

responded that Perkins was a " punk b *tch." 1 Verbatim Report of Proceedings ( VRP) at 96.

Perkins approached Mayfield and punched him in the face. In response, Mayfield held Perkins in

a headlock until an inmate trustee broke up the fight.

After that fight, Mayfield walked around the cell unit common area insulting Perkins and

saying, "[ W] e [ can] take care of it ... when we get locked in." 1 VRP at 129. Perkins motioned

for Mayfield to come into their cell to fight again, but Mayfield continued to walk around the

common area. Perkins then crossed the common area and hit Mayfield. They fought until

correctional officers intervened. Mayfield was examined by a doctor, who determined that he had

a broken cheekbone and that he needed surgery.

The State charged Perkins with second degree assault for the second fight. The trial court

admitted a surveillance video of the cell unit showing the fight between Perkins and Mayfield that

resulted in the charge.

Perkins claimed self defense - and testified at trial that after the first fight, Mayfield

threatened to rape him when they were locked in their cell. Perkins also testified that " you can't

let somebody continue to talk like that without responding, saying something to him," and there' s

the code of the jail," that if an inmate allows someone to insult him without fighting or standing

up for himself, that insult becomes true. 2 VRP at 240; 3 VRP at 294. Perkins then testified that

he went into his cell to wait for Mayfield to fight.

On cross -examination, Perkins testified that Mayfield wanted to fight and that Mayfield

knew Perkins was coming after him. Specifically, in response to the State' s question as to whether

he wove through the seating area in the cell unit to sneak over to hit Mayfield,

2 No. 44533 -6 -II

A. There' s no sneaking. Q. Okay, so you were directly going after him? A. Well, he knew what I was doing the whole time. Q. He knew that you were going to come at him and beat him? A. The whole time he wanted to fight.

2 VRP at 250. Perkins further testified on cross -examination that Mayfield only hit him after

Perkins went after him.

During the State' s cross -examination, Perkins interrupted the prosecutor, stating that

Mayfield was standing outside the courtroom window trying to intimidate him. The prosecutor

said that he did not see Mayfield. The trial court directed Perkins to answer the pending question,

stating that the trial court would control the hallway. The prosecutor continued questioning

Perkins and defense counsel interrupted, asking the trial court if Mayfield was outside the

courtroom. Again, Perkins said that Mayfield was staring at him, and again, the prosecutor said

he did not see him. The trial court directed Perkins to answer the question and stated that it had

control of the courtroom.

In closing arguments, the prosecutor argued that Perkins did not have the right to hit

Mayfield based on Mayfield' s insults. The prosecutor referenced Perkins' testimony about " the

code of the jail." 3 VRP at 294. The prosecutor argued that the " code of the jail" did not make

Perkins' use of force reasonable or deprive Perkins of his free choice to exercise other options and

not fight Mayfield. 3 VRP at 294. The prosecutor argued that if Perkins was concerned for his

safety, " he had a number of options aside from [ fighting]. He could have gone to, you know,

exclusive custody... The Defendant did not have a right to defend himself because the Defendant

created both of those situations." 3 VRP at 294, 306. The prosecutor also suggested that Perkins

3 No. 44533 -6 -II

was trying to distract the jury when he complained that Mayfield was outside the courtroom

because Perkins had just gotten caught giving contradictory testimony.

During rebuttal argument, the prosecutor reminded the jury that they are expected to read

the jury instructions. The prosecutor then rebutted Perkins' assertion that being insulted was a

good enough reason to fight by arguing that Perkins did not have reasonable grounds for believing

that he was about to be attacked and that the expectation of a future fight does not create the right

to use force.

The prosecutor also argued that he felt threatened when he was examining Perkins and that

Perkins demonstrated aggressive tendencies on the stand. Perkins objected and moved for a

mistrial. The trial court denied the mistrial and instructed the jury to disregard the prosecutor' s

comments about his personal feelings.

The prosecutor' s rebuttal argument continued without additional objections. He argued

that Perkins " was and is the aggressor" and that the jury saw " how quickly he was to rise to anger,

and that is suggestive of someone who' s going to attack someone." 3 VRP at 346. The prosecutor

also suggested that Perkins and defense counsel used " diverting tactics" when Perkins could not

change his story or talk his way out of the situation. 3 VRP at 346. " That' s what his Defense

Counsel did here earlier. And that' s what they get paid to do. Come here and divert your attention

from what really happened." 3 VRP at 346.

The jury found Perkins guilty of second degree assault. Perkins stipulated to his criminal

history, stating that " he wants to be sentenced today and get it over with." 3 VRP at 368. During

sentencing, Perkins did not object to the prosecutor' s references to the applicable sentencing range

or Perkins' calculated offender score. The felony judgment and sentence showed that Perkins was

4 No. 44533 -6 -II

on community custody when the assault took place, and that 1. point was added to his offender

score as a result. The trial court sentenced Perkins to a mid -range sentence. Perkins appeals.

ANALYSIS

A. PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT

Perkins alleges that the prosecutor committed misconduct by ( 1) commenting on his

personal feelings about Perkins' demeanor while testifying, ( 2) arguing Perkins' propensity for

aggression, ( 3) misstating the law of self -defense and lowering the State' s burden of proof, (4)

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