State v. Payne

135 S.W.3d 504, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 595, 2004 WL 883545
Missouri Court of Appeals·Decided April 27, 2004·No. Nos. WD 62104, WD 62231·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

RONALD R. HOLLIGER, Presiding Judge.

Leonard Payne appeals his convictions for second-degree felony murder in violation of section 565.021 RSMo 2000,1 first-degree attempted robbery in violation of sections 564.011 and 569.020, first-degree assault in violation of section 565.050, and three related counts of armed criminal action in violation of section 571.015. The convictions stemmed from two attempted robberies committed as part of a daylong crime spree. The crime spree actually consisted of four robberies. Payne was also charged and tried for another attempted robbery that occurred during that spree, but the trial court granted a judgment of acquittal on that charge. No charges were filed in relation to the first of the four robberies, a “snatch and run” conducted at a local Hypermart.

In his sole point, Payne asserts that the trial court erred by allowing Sean King, another participant in the robberies, to testify about the Hypermart “snatch and run.” We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing King to give such testimony because the evidence was admissible to provide the jury with a complete and coherent picture of the events that transpired. The evidence was logically relevant to whether Payne was guilty of the three other robberies for which he was charged, and its probative value was not outweighed by its prejudicial effect.

Facts and Procedural History

A jury convicted Leonard Payne of second-degree felony murder, first-degree attempted robbery, first-degree assault, and three related counts of armed criminal action relating to two of the robberies. Payne was acquitted of two additional charges, first-degree robbery and the related armed criminal action relating to the fourth robbery.

Payne’s convictions were based on a lengthy series of events that began on the morning of September 30, 2000. Between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., Leonard Payne arrived at Sean King’s house where King and Montino Walker had been awake all night. The three men smoked marijuana and took Valium before leaving on a joy ride. Walker and King left in Walker’s car and Payne went alone in his own car. Soon after the three men left King’s house [506]*506they decided to conduct a “snatch and run.” King and Payne entered a Hyper-mart near Bannister Mall and proceeded to the jewelry counter. Payne asked to see a ring, and the clerk handed it to him. He put it on his finger, gave it back to the clerk, and asked for another ring. This time when he put the ring on his finger, he and King ran out of the store. King got in Walker’s car, and Payne got back in his own car.

The three men left Hypermart and drove several miles' to Extreme Audio on Wornall Road, which was still closed. Whole waiting for the store to open, King stole a minivan, and Payne and Walker left their cars and got in the minivan with King. The three men returned to Extreme Audio, which was now open. Payne and King entered the store together, and Payne asked the store’s owner, Hossein Zarjam, to show him something in the display case. Payne noticed a security monitor above the display case, pulled out a gun, and fired at the monitor.

Meanwhile, upon entering the store and seeing Payne fire his gun, Walker left and returned with another gun. He went up to Zarjam who was lying on the floor behind the counter, pulled him up by his collar, and led him toward the front door where he fatally shot him. Payne, Walker, and King ran out of the store without actually taking anything, but they had not finished their crime spree. They returned to their cars, abandoned the stolen van, and headed toward Ward Parkway Mall.

Payne and King entered the mall intending to commit another “snatch and run,” but they were not sure which store they wanted to rob so they walked around the mall a few times. After passing a jewelry counter set up in the middle of the mall the first time around, Payne and King returned and asked the clerk, Nahal Es-maeili, to show them an item in the display case. Esmaeili refused because she found the two men suspicious. To keep from opening the case, Esmaeili lied and told Payne and King she did not have the key. Payne pulled a gun on Esmaeili. Fearing a repeat of the events that occurred at Extreme Audio, King began walking away from the counter and toward the mail’s exit. Payne came running past King, and the two men left the mall, once again, without taking anything. They sped away in the same manner as before with King in Walker’s car and Payne driving his own vehicle.

At this point, Walker had to return the car he was driving to his girlfriend so he took King back to his house. Ten to fifteen minutes -after returning home, Payne showed up at King’s house, and the two decided to commit yet another “snatch and run.” They went to The Jones Store located in Bannister Mall and began moving merchandise around so that it would be easier to grab and run out of the store. A loss prevention security guard noticed their suspicious activity, and when King ran out of the store carrying seven or eight coats, three security guards stopped him. While the guards had King down on the ground handcuffing him, Payne walked up, pointed a gun at them, and ordered that they let King go. The guards freed King, and he and Payne ran out of the store, yet again, without actually taking any merchandise.

When the two reached Payne’s car, they were unable to get it started. They ran across Interstate 435 into the woods where the police apprehended them a short time later.

On appeal, the State originally asserted error in relation to Payne’s acquittal on the first-degree robbery and armed criminal action charges that were filed in connection with the events that occurred at The Jones Store. The State voluntarily dismissed this appeal so that Payne’s [507]*507cross-appeal is all that remains to be decided. The cross-appeal concerns the admission of testimony relaying to the jury the events that transpired at Hypermart. Payne was not charged with an offense in relation to these events, and he argues that the testimony was, therefore, inadmissible as evidence of prior uncharged crimes.

Standard of Review

In deciding whether to admit or exclude evidence, the trial court is vested with broad discretion. State v. Pennington, 24 S.W.3d 185, 189 (Mo.App.2000) (citation omitted). We will not overturn such a decision unless we find that the trial court clearly abused its discretion, and the abuse resulted in prejudice to the defendant. Id.

Discussion

“ ‘Criminal defendants have the right to be tried only for the offense for which they are charged.’ ” State v. Skilli-com, 944 S.W.2d 877, 886 (Mo. banc 1997) (quoting State v. Hombuckle, 769 S.W.2d 89, 96 (Mo. banc 1989)). Pursuant to this right, a general rule has developed that evidence of prior uncharged crimes is inadmissible to show the defendant was predisposed to commit similar crimes. Id. (citation omitted). Such evidence is admissible, however, if it is both logically ánd legally relevant. Pennington, 24 S.W.3d at 189. Evidence of uncharged crimes is logically relevant if it carries a legitimate likelihood of proving the defendant guilty of the charged crime. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Payne, 135 S.W.3d 504, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 595, 2004 WL 883545 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004).

135 S.W.3d 504 (State v. Payne) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State of Missouri v. Jeffrey P. Thompson
489 S.W.3d 312 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2016)
State v. Slaughter
316 S.W.3d 400 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2010)