State v. Quinn

717 S.W.2d 262, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4755
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 30, 1986
DocketNo. 14703
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 717 S.W.2d 262 (State v. Quinn) 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 v. Quinn, 717 S.W.2d 262, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4755 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

CROW, Chief Judge.

Jimmie Quinn (“appellant”), tried by the court without a jury, was found guilty of the class C felony of assault in the second degree, § 565.060.1(3), RSMo Cum.Supp. 1984,1 and sentenced as a persistent offend[263]*263er, § 558.016.3, RSMo Cum.Supp.1984, to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Appellant, in his brief, relies on two points, the first of which is:

“The trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion for directed verdict at the close of all the evidence because there was insufficient evidence from which the trier of fact could find that appellant recklessly caused serious physical injury to Marvin Williams in that while the evidence established that Williams sustained a physical injury, it did not establish that the injury was serious as any alleged impairment was not shown to be of a protracted nature and any alleged disfigurement was not shown to be serious.”

Marvin Williams, the victim, was injured October 26, 1985, when a shotgun, held by appellant, discharged, the pellets therefrom striking Williams’ left foot. Inasmuch as appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to establish that he recklessly caused Williams’ injury, we limit our review to the issue whether the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that Williams’ wound was a “serious physical injury,” as defined by § 556.061(26), RSMo Cum.Supp.1984.2

In resolving that issue, we accept as true all evidence in the record tending to prove appellant’s guilt, together with inferences favorable to the State that can reasonably be drawn therefrom, and we disregard all contrary evidence and inferences. State v. Giffin, 640 S.W.2d 128, 130[2] (Mo.1982); State v. Hood, 680 S.W.2d 420, 423[4] (Mo. App.1984).

So viewed, the evidence establishes that the blast from the shotgun struck the center of Williams’ left foot. Williams’ testimony included this:

“Q Did you fall on the ground?
A At first, I didn’t. He shot me, then I started limping.
Q You didn’t know he shot you?
A No, really I didn’t feel it. Then I looked, I started limping, then I passed out.
Q Were you bleeding then?
A Yes.”

Williams explained that after he lost consciousness, a friend carried him some two and a half blocks to a house, where an ambulance was called. A police officer, who observed Williams at that location, testified: “He was obviously in quite a bit of pain. He was bleeding pretty bad from his left foot.”

Williams recalled being taken to a hospital by the ambulance. Williams’ testimony regarding his medical treatment included this:

“Q Did they take shot out of your foot?
A They took about 18 buckshot—
Q Do you have a scar on your foot today?
A Yes.
Q On the top of your foot?
A Top and on the side.
Q Do you have any pain in your foot today?
A Yes.
Q I noticed you were not limping when you went to the witness stand. Are you able pretty much to do what you could do before you got shot?
A No.”

Appellant points out that it was never contended that Williams’ wound created a substantial risk of death. Thus, says appellant, the inquiry focuses on whether there was serious disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of Williams’ left foot. Appellant maintains that the evidence failed to demonstrate that the shooting caused any of those conditions.

[264]*264In support of his contention, appellant relies on the following language in State v. Mace, 665 S.W.2d 655, 660 (Mo.App.1984): “[T]he quality of evidence required to prove ‘serious physical injury’ is more demanding than the quality of evidence required to prove ‘physical injury.’ ” That case, however, does not aid appellant. There, the accused assaulted a pregnant woman, causing fluid to leak from the external wall of her cervix. This made her reproductive system susceptible to infection, which, in turn, could have been fatal to the unborn child. To combat this danger, the victim, who could neither sit nor walk without pain, was put on bed rest and antibiotics. Ten days after the attack, the victim gave birth to a healthy child. The opinion, in holding that the evidence supported a finding of serious physical injury, stated: “When measured against the controlling time frame, the leakage of fluid and its propensity for making the victim’s reproductive system susceptible to infection with attendant danger to the unborn child, standing alone, demonstrates that the heinous attack portrayed by the victim’s testimony resulted in ‘protracted ... impairment of the function of [a] bodily ... organ.’ ” Id. at 662.

State v. Ellis, 639 S.W.2d 420 (Mo.App. 1982), the only other case cited by appellant, is likewise unavailing. There, the accused was charged with, and convicted of, assault in the first degree, § 565.050, RSMo 1978.3 The victim’s wounds were seven puncture wounds and two lacerations. All puncture wounds were superficial, as was one of the lacerations. The other laceration was an inch and a half scalp laceration, closed by suturing. Commenting on the wounds, a physician testified, “I think they possibly could (cause death or serious physical injury), especially the trauma to the head could have.”

The pivotal issue on appeal in Ellis was whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on assault in the second degree, § 565.060, RSMo 1978. By reason of the manner in which the assault was alleged to have been committed, a verdict of guilty of assault in the second degree would have been possible if the jurors had found that the victim sustained merely a “physical injury,” instead of a “serious physical injury.” The opinion in Ellis held that while the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the victim sustained a serious physical injury, the appellate court could not say that reasonable jurors might not have found that the injury caused or attempted was merely a physical injury. Id. at 422.

In the instant case, appellant, unlike Ellis, argues that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that Williams’ wound was a serious physical injury. In our view, Williams’ wound was at least as severe as the most serious wound in Ellis. Consequently, Ellis is of no value to appellant.

In

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
717 S.W.2d 262, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-quinn-moctapp-1986.