Theodore v. State

798 So. 2d 465, 2001 WL 495738
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 10, 2001
Docket1998-KA-01588-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 798 So. 2d 465 (Theodore v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Theodore v. State, 798 So. 2d 465, 2001 WL 495738 (Mich. 2001).

Opinion

798 So.2d 465 (2001)

Roderic Leon THEODORE
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1998-KA-01588-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 10, 2001.

*466 Donald A. Smith, Gulfport, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, Attorneys for Appellee.

Before BANKS, P.J., SMITH and MILLS, JJ.

*467 SMITH, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. Roderic Leon Theodore was tried before a Harrison County Circuit Court jury for the murder of Rodney Crenshaw. Theodore was found guilty of murder and was given a life sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved by that judgment, Theodore appeals to this Court.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

¶ 2. In the early morning hours of July 11, 1997, Gulfport Police Officer Robert Curry, was called to the scene of a motor vehicle accident. When Officer Curry arrived, he found a wrecked Geo Tracker flipped on its driver's side. A black male was lying in the vehicle across the door frame. Officer Curry testified that another officer checked the man for a pulse. The man did not have one. Officer Curry also observed what appeared to be a bullet hole in the man's left arm around the elbow area.

¶ 3. Kevin Howard, a paramedic for American Medical Response, arrived at the scene. He also noticed a Jeep that was flipped on the driver's side with a partially ejected man. The man was identified as Rodney Crenshaw. Howard testified that the man was "pulseless, anaptic, and was not breathing." Crenshaw was lying in a pool of blood and was pronounced dead at the scene.

¶ 4. Keith Johnson, a forensic crime scene analyst for the Gulfport Police Department, was also called to the scene. He testified that he photographed the scene with a 35mm camera. One of Johnson's fellow officers completed a rough sketch diagram which gave the measurements and actual locations of items that were identified at the scene. Officer Johnson also testified that he made a videotape of the scene for the purpose of providing a three-dimensional view of the crime scene. The defense objected to the video footage that showed the body of the deceased in a gruesome position. The defense argued that this portion of the tape was also cumulative because still pictures of the same scene were already admitted into evidence. To this objection, the State argued that the scene was only a few seconds in length and that it was not particularly gruesome. It argued that the purpose of the video was to orientate the jury as to the scene of the crime. The court held that the video tape was admissible because it was the best way to depict the scene of the crime. During the testimony of Officer Johnson, the videotape was played for the jury.

¶ 5. Officer Johnson also examined the vehicle and identified some of the damage as bullet holes. Also, a projectile was found underneath the carpeting of the vehicle on the driver's side.

¶ 6. Erica Brock testified that she had been a passenger in the vehicle with Crenshaw. She testified that another woman, Renee Williams, snatched some CDs from Crenshaw and ran up the stairs of the apartment. This is when the dispute over these CDs began.

¶ 7. Joyce Bell, a resident in an apartment over Martin's Lounge, testified that someone known as "Baby Boy" was sitting outside on the balcony. Bell then identified Roderic Theodore in the courtroom as the man she referred to as "Baby Boy." She testified that Renee Williams, another young man, whom she could not identify, and Dave the butcher were arguing over CDs on the balcony outside her apartment door. She did testify that the young man, whom she could not identify, was not Theodore, but someone else.[1] She testified that this dispute continued downstairs *468 and that Theodore was not a part of this argument. Theodore remained on the balcony. She then testified that Crenshaw walked around the side of the building and then pulled his jeep to the front of the building. There were still words being exchanged between Renee, Dave, and Crenshaw.

¶ 8. At this point, Crenshaw, who was in his jeep, stated "I want my disks back. Y'all are going to give me my disks. You can bet this everything and you can bet it on the six. Y'all going to give me my disks." After the young man stated this, Theodore pulled out a gun and started shooting from the balcony into the top of the jeep. Bell testified that Crenshaw was not talking to Theodore nor was he looking in the direction of Theodore. She also testified that she never saw Crenshaw with a weapon.

¶ 9. Dr. Paul McGarry, a forensic pathologist, performed an autopsy on Rodney Crenshaw's body on July 13, 1997. He testified that Crenshaw's death was caused by a gunshot wound that went in his back, through his left lung, through his heart, made large holes in the heart and in the blood vessels of the lungs. This caused a massive internal hemorrhage.

¶ 10. A stipulation was entered into the record. That stipulation was that the casings and projectiles were examined by forensic scientist John Franovich. The casings and the projectiles were fired from the gun that was found in the place where Theodore was staying.

¶ 11. Theodore testified on his own behalf. He stated that he obtained the gun on the day of the accident from a white male. He testified that he heard a lot of arguing going on and then saw a Geo Tracker approach. Theodore stated that he asked Crenshaw, who was driving the Tracker, to leave from in front of the building. Theodore testified that Crenshaw accused him of having his CDs and making threats about them. According to Theodore, Crenshaw told him that he was going to "straighten him." In this area, Theodore stated that means he was going to kill him. Next, Crenshaw told Theodore that he would put that "on the six." According to Theodore, that means that Crenshaw made the threat "on this oath." In other words, after he said this, he would have to kill Theodore. At this point, Theodore testified that Crenshaw reached under his hat. According to Theodore's testimony, he thought Crenshaw had a gun. Theodore watched Dave back up which made him very afraid and added to his suspicion that Crenshaw had a gun.

¶ 12. At this point, Theodore pulled a gun from his pants and begin shooting in the direction of Crenshaw. He testified that he never intended to kill him, he was only trying to scare him. After Theodore shot at Crenshaw, Crenshaw attempted to drive away but wrecked. Theodore ran down the stairs, got into his father's car, and drove away. The gun was found behind a water heater in a storage room in the home of Theodore's father. Theodore testified that he was staying with his father at this time. The gun had been wrapped in a plastic baggy.

¶ 13. When Theodore was first questioned by the police, he denied knowing anything and told them that he was not involved. He later changed his story and told the police that it was all a big accident.

¶ 14. A jury found Roderic Theodore guilty of the murder of Rodney Crenshaw. He was given a life sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

¶ 15. Theodore raises the following issues on appeal:

*469 I. WHETHER THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN GRANTING AN INSTRUCTION ON DELIBERATE DESIGN?
II. WHETHER THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN ALLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ACCIDENT SCENE VIDEOTAPE IN ITS ENTIRETY?
III. WHETHER THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE JURY TO FIND THE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF MURDER?
IV.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
798 So. 2d 465, 2001 WL 495738, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/theodore-v-state-miss-2001.