IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2022-KA-01042-COA
TIMOTHY DEWAYNE TAYLOR A/K/A APPELLANT TIMOTHY D. TAYLOR A/K/A TIMOTHY TAYLOR
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 09/09/2022 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. PRENTISS GREENE HARRELL COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: JEFFERSON DAVIS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: GEORGE T. HOLMES ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: SCOTT STUART DISTRICT ATTORNEY: HALDON J. KITTRELL NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 11/14/2023 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
BEFORE BARNES, C.J., McDONALD AND SMITH, JJ.
McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Timothy Taylor appeals his Jefferson Davis County Circuit Court jury convictions of
attempted murder in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-1-7(2) (Rev. 2014)1
1 “Every person who shall design and endeavor to commit an act which, if accomplished, would constitute an offense of murder under Section 97-3-19, but shall fail therein, or shall be prevented from committing the same, shall be guilty of attempted murder and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for life in the custody of the Department of Corrections if the punishment is so fixed by the jury in its verdict after a separate sentencing proceeding. If the jury fails to agree on fixing the penalty at imprisonment for life, the court shall fix the penalty at not less than twenty (20) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.” Miss. Code Ann. § 97-1-7(2). and two counts of possession of controlled substances: one for possession of cocaine in
violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-139(c) (Rev. 2016) and one for
possession of methamphetamine, also in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section
41-29-139(c) (Rev. 2016).2 For the attempted murder conviction, Taylor was sentenced to
a term of thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with
twenty years to serve and ten years of supervised post-release probation. Taylor was
sentenced to serve three years in custody for each of the two possession convictions.
Taylor’s sentences were ordered to run consecutively to each other. On appeal, Taylor
contends that the circuit court erroneously admitted evidence of prior bad acts that unduly
prejudiced the outcome of his trial. After reviewing the evidence, and considering the
arguments of counsel and relevant precedent, we affirm Taylor’s convictions and sentences.
Facts
¶2. On May 3, 2019, Betty Taylor called law enforcement and reported that her son,
Timothy Taylor, had threatened her and her daughter-in-law at her home in Jefferson Davis
County. Betty said that Taylor accused her of taking his billfold and threatened to kill both
women. Taylor left and went to the trailer on Betty’s property that Betty owned where,
2 “[I]t is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to possess any controlled substance . . . . The penalties for any violation of this subsection (c) with respect to a controlled substance classified in Schedules I, II, III, IV or V, as set out in Section 41-29-113, 41-29-115, 41-29-117, 41-29-119 or 41-29-121, including marijuana or synthetic cannabinoids, shall be based on dosage unit as defined herein or the weight of the controlled substance as set forth herein as appropriate[.]” Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-139(c) (Rev. 2022).
2 according to her, Taylor lived.
¶3. The first two law enforcement officers to respond to the domestic disturbance call
were Deputy Sheriffs Pat Barnes and Vernon Dampier. They had been manning a safety
checkpoint, i.e., roadblock, and left in different patrol cars. Barnes arrived first. As shown
on footage from Barnes’s body-camera, Barnes approached the trailer’s front door. Barnes
identified himself as law enforcement, and Taylor, who was standing slightly inside the open
doorway, asked who it was. Taylor then said, “I ain’t going to jail,” and he shot at Barnes,
hitting him in his right thigh. Barnes radioed that he had been shot and Dampier arrived
moments later. Although Dampier called for an ambulance, because of the severity of
Barnes’s injury, Dampier took Barnes to a hospital in Prentiss. Barnes was eventually air-
lifted to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg because he required a higher level of care.
¶4. Approximately half an hour after Barnes was shot, other officers, including
Investigator Tim Culpepper, arrived at the scene. Law enforcement surrounded the trailer
and tried to peacefully coax Taylor out. But again, Taylor opened the front door and fired
several shots. Law enforcement returned fire. After several hours, law enforcement from
Jones County arrived with an armored vehicle that was used to ram the trailer’s front door
open. More shots were fired from inside the trailer. The armored vehicle turned and, in
doing so, pulled out the front wall of the trailer. The vehicle then drove to the other end of
the trailer and opened that wall as well. After further negotiation, Taylor threw a pistol out
of the trailer and surrendered.
3 ¶5. During their search of the premises, law enforcement officers found a .357 Magnum
handgun on the kitchen table with seven spent rounds and one live round in the chamber.
They also found two plastic bags containing white powdery substances that the Mississippi
Forensic Laboratory tested and found to be 1.37 grams of cocaine and 0.79 grams of
methamphetamine. The gun that had been thrown out of the trailer was a .25-caliber semi-
automatic pistol that was empty. Because the bullet that struck Barnes went through his leg,
the bullet was not retrieved from the scene; thus, it remained uncertain from which gun the
bullet was shot.
¶6. A Jefferson Davis County grand jury indicted Taylor for attempted murder,
aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of marijuana, possession of
methamphetamine, and possession of cocaine. The trial was continued several times because
of Taylor’s psychiatric evaluations at Whitfield3 and because Taylor’s initial counsel was
allowed to withdraw.
¶7. On August 5, 2022, prior to trial, the State moved to admit testimony that Taylor had
been previously arrested. The State did not plan to introduce the specifics about the charges,
what happened in those other cases, or any other details. The State only wanted to enter
evidence of the fact that Taylor had been arrested by the sheriff’s department in the past.4
3 Taylor was evaluated on August 17, 2020; September 22, 2021; and June 8, 2022. 4 In its motion, the State sought to enter evidence that at the time of the incident, Taylor had been arraigned for a felony but was released on bond. However, at trial, the State did not enter any evidence concerning this arraignment or bond.
4 The State contended that this evidence showed Taylor had been taken to jail before and that
he was released on bond, which he knew would or could be revoked if he were arrested. The
State argued that this evidence was admissible under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 404
because the evidence revealed Taylor’s motive for shooting Barnes.
¶8. On August 7, 2022, Taylor responded with his own motion in limine to preclude,
among other things, any reference to Taylor’s past criminal acts or convictions. Taylor
reiterated his opposition in another motion in limine that dealt solely with the admission of
prior-bad-acts evidence that he filed on September 7, 2022. On the second day of the trial,
September 9, 2022, before testimony began, the circuit court granted the State’s motion,
stating that the bad acts in question (i.e., the fact that Taylor had been previously arrested)
had a direct correlation to the events of this case.
¶9. At trial, the State called Culpepper, who confirmed what happened at the scene after
his arrival. He specifically identified Taylor as the individual who fired the second round of
shots at law enforcement officers who were trying to negotiate his surrender. Culpepper also
confirmed that no other individual was found in the trailer. Culpepper was asked about
Taylor’s prior contacts with law enforcement:
Q. And through the course of your investigation afterwards, did you ever determine that he had had contact with Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Department in the past?
A. From my understanding, he has been arrested numerous times in Jefferson Davis County.
On cross-examination, Taylor’s attorney followed up on this topic. Referring to Barnes’s
5 body-camera footage, defense counsel asked Culpepper:
Q. And the alleged shooter is commenting after the shot was fired that he is not going back to jail; is that correct?
A. That’s correct.
Q. Wouldn’t you say that’s indicative of his intent? He didn’t want to go back to jail?
A. Definitely didn’t want to go back to jail.
Culpepper acknowledged that he did not know who was in the trailer at the time Barnes was
shot because he and other law enforcement officers arrived over half an hour later.
¶10. Taylor’s mother, Betty, testified about the threats her son had made to her that night
and that he lived alone in the trailer on her property located across from her house. On cross-
examination by Taylor’s attorney, she also said that her son had been diagnosed with mental
disorders:
Q. Ms. Taylor, I know this must be very difficult for you, but I do have a couple of questions. Had Timothy Taylor ever been diagnosed with any mental disorders?
A. Yes, he’s been to Purvis three times. He was getting a check until he went to jail.
Q. So he’s adjudicated disabled, and he’s been committed to the state hospital?
A. Yes.
She further testified that her son was not the normal Timothy Taylor she knew “because he
was sick” and had been for a while.
6 ¶11. The State called Vernon Dampier, who joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s
Department in 2017. Dampier testified about his familiarity with Taylor and his family:
Q. Are you familiar with the Taylor’s?
A. Yes, ma’am.
Q. And how do you know -- do you know Timothy Taylor, or did you know him before this night?
Q. All right. And how did you know him?
A. I mean, just sometimes -- before I became a deputy, I knew him by seeing him around, and then when I became a deputy, he was incarcerated with us, and we spoke from time to time.
As the body-camera footage of Barnes’s shooting was shown, Dampier identified the voices
of Barnes and Taylor, identifying Taylor as the shooter.
¶12. The State also called Erick Frazure of the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory to identify
the controlled substances that officers found at the scene, and Catrina Lockhart, the
emergency room nurse at Jefferson Davis County Hospital who helped treat Barnes on the
night of the shooting, to describe Barnes’s wound and authenticate his medical records that
were placed into evidence.5
¶13. The State rested, and after the court denied Taylor’s motion for directed verdict, the
only witness the defense presented was Taylor. He testified that he did not shoot Barnes.
5 Although Barnes survived the incident, he did not testify because he died of other unrelated causes while the case was pending.
7 He said that he had no drugs in his personal possession that night and that law enforcement
never dusted his hands for gunpowder residue, though he requested that they do so. Taylor
claimed that he was asleep in the back room of the trailer when Barnes was shot and that he
did not live there even though his mother said he did. Taylor also denied threatening his
mother with a gun.
¶14. When asked about any interaction with Vernon Dampier, Taylor said:
A. I mean, I seen him around, but I ain’t never known [him].
Q. You never interacted with him?
A. No, sir, never interacted with any police.
Q. He’s never arrested you?
A. No, sir, I never been to jail. I never been in trouble my whole life.
Q. You have never been in trouble your whole life?
A. No, I’m 42-years old. I got a clean record.
At that point, the prosecutor approached the court and argued that Taylor had opened the
door to questioning about prior arrests. The judge stated:
He did ask him a question, but it’s a legitimate question. The honest answer would have been to say yes, but he didn’t. So he’s opened the door when he said, “No, I haven’t.” So he’s got to put it on the record now. I will allow it.
The defense objected, and the jury was excused. The judge wanted to hear Taylor’s
explanation to his answer of never being arrested before the jury heard it. The court also
indicated that it assumed the State would be entering Taylor’s entire criminal record.
8 However, the State decided not to ask Taylor anything further or enter any evidence of
Taylor’s criminal record.6 Thus, the specific criminal conduct or “bad acts” that resulted in
the arrests was never entered into evidence or presented to the jury. When the court brought
the jury back in, the judge told them that Taylor wanted to explain his response to the
question, “Have you been arrested before?” Taylor responded:
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir, I have a clean record. I have been arrested on misdemeanors and false accusations, but I have never been convicted of any crime, is what I meant to explain to the jury.
THE COURT: Thank you. Proceed with your cross examination, please.
Q. Just so I’m clear, you are telling this jury that you have been arrested by Jefferson Davis County Sheriff’s Department in the past?
A. Yes, sir, mostly on writs and false accusations, but I never been convicted of any crime. I have a clean record.
¶15. The defense called no other witnesses, and the State called none in rebuttal. The court
instructed the jury, including giving a limiting instruction that they were not to consider any
testimony of previous arrests or bad acts as guilt of the charges for which Taylor was
presently on trial. The parties presented their closing arguments, and the jury proceeded to
deliberate. The jury found Taylor guilty of attempted murder and of possession of two
controlled substances.
6 Although the State said that it would only call Culpepper in rebuttal to establish that Taylor had been arrested on several occasions, it later decided not to call any rebuttal witnesses.
9 ¶16. The Court then instructed the jury that they needed to deliberate further to determine
if they wanted to sentence Taylor to life imprisonment. Before deliberating, however, the
court allowed Taylor’s mother, Betty, to testify for mitigation purposes. She stated that
Taylor was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been to several hospitals for that condition.
He had been prescribed medicine but was not taking it. The State called Felecia Barnes as
an aggravation witness. She was married to Deputy Barnes, who since the incident had died
of other causes. She testified that law enforcement was her husband’s passion. She said
Barnes knew Taylor because both of their families attended the same church, and Taylor
often came and sat in the back. Barnes would frequently go and talk to him. Felecia said her
husband was off work for six weeks because of his gunshot injury. The State also called
Keedriona Barnes, Deputy Barnes’s daughter. She was twenty-five years old and living in
Hattiesburg when her father was shot. Her testimony was much the same as her mother’s,
saying how Barnes loved law enforcement work and knew Taylor’s family.
¶17. The jury deliberated but could not reach a unanimous verdict as to imprisonment for
life. The court then sentenced Taylor to thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi
Department of Corrections for the attempted murder conviction, with twenty years to serve
and ten years of post-release supervision. For the convictions of counts two and three, the
possession of a controlled substance counts, the court sentenced Taylor to serve three years
in custody on each conviction. All sentences were set to run consecutively.
¶18. On September 12, 2022, Taylor filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the
10 verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. He raised several generic claims, such as
allegations that the court erroneously overruled his motion for a directed verdict, that the
court erroneously overruled his objections and motions and refused his jury instructions, and
that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. That same day, the
circuit court denied Taylor’s motions.
¶19. On September 30, 2022, Taylor appealed, and he raises a single issue: whether the
circuit court erroneously allowed evidence of prior bad acts that so prejudiced his case that
a new trial is warranted.
Discussion
¶20. “A trial judge has considerable discretion as to relevancy and admissibility of
evidence and unless this judicial discretion is so abused as to be prejudicial to the accused
we will not reverse on these grounds.” Harvey v. State, 365 So. 3d 218, 224 (¶43) (Miss.
2023). “The relevancy and admissibility of evidence are within the discretion of the trial
judge and will not be reversed unless that discretion has been abused.” Amos v. State, 360
So. 3d 323, 330 (¶25) (Miss. Ct. App. 2023) (citing Tidwell v. State, 806 So. 2d 1146, 1148
(¶7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2002)). Thus, “unless the trial court abused its judicial discretion to the
point of prejudicing the accused, this Court must affirm the trial court’s ruling.” Id.
¶21. Rule 404(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence addresses the admissibility of past
crimes or other bad acts of a defendant:
(1) Prohibited Uses. Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person’s character in order to show that on a particular occasion the
11 person acted in accordance with the character.
(2) Permitted Uses. This evidence may be admissible for another purpose, such as proving motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.
MRE 404. “As clearly stated by M.R.E. 404(b), evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts
is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in
conformity therewith.” Al-Fatah v. State, 856 So. 2d 494, 500 (¶9) (Miss. Ct. App. 2003).
However, such evidence may be admissible for other purposes. Id. An example of a
permitted use is Williams v. State, 919 So. 2d 250, 255 (¶¶18-19) (Miss. Ct. App. 2005),
where we held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion in a burglary trial by admitting
evidence that the defendant had been previously arrested because the testimony of previous
arrests was presented for the purpose of showing why the defendant’s fingerprints were in
the police department’s fingerprint database. “Trial judges also have the discretion to admit
evidence of other crimes or bad acts for reasons not listed in Rule 404(b)(2), like telling the
complete story so as not to confuse the jury.” Amos, 360 So. 3d at 332 (¶30).
¶22. “However, prior to admitting the other-bad-acts evidence, a trial judge must filter the
evidence through Mississippi Rule of Evidence 403.” Id. Rule 403 provides:
The court may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence.
MRE 403. “Under Rule 403, when weighing admission of relevant evidence, a trial judge
may exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the
12 danger of unfair prejudice.” Amos, 360 So. 3d at 332 (¶30). But “we may reverse only if the
admission or exclusion of evidence results in prejudice and harm or adversely affects a
substantial right of a party.” Page v. State, 269 So. 3d 440, 448 (¶18) (Miss. Ct. App. 2018);
Weeks v. Weeks, 989 So. 2d 408, 413 (¶21) (Miss. Ct. App. 2008).
I. Applicability of Rule 404
¶23. The threshold question in this case is whether the testimony that Taylor had been
previously arrested constitutes prior-bad-acts evidence subject to Rule 404. As noted above,
prior-bad-acts testimony first must be evidence of “crimes, wrongs, or acts” introduced “for
the purpose of showing that a person acted in conformity therewith.” 4A Jeffrey Jackson,
et al., Encyclopedia of Mississippi Law § 33:18 (3d ed. updated Oct. 2023). “[T]he
prosecution may not introduce prior bad acts for the purpose of showing that the defendant
has a propensity to engage in such conduct, that is, because he had done things like this
before, he probably did it this time.” In Cole v. State, 126 So. 3d 880, 884-85 (¶20) (Miss.
2013), the Mississippi Supreme Court noted:
With only three exceptions not applicable in this case, a person’s prior bad acts are not admissible for the purpose of proving that he acted in conformity therewith on a particular occasion. Stated another way, the prosecutor in this case was prohibited from using Cole’s prior bad acts [(sexual misconduct with other victims)] to suggest to the jury that Cole had a bad character or bad character trait; and that he was acting in conformity with that bad character when he committed the acts for which he was on trial [(another sexual misconduct charge)]. Stated still another way, the prosecution may not introduce prior bad acts for the purpose of showing that the defendant has a propensity to engage in such conduct, that is, because he had done things like this before, he probably did it this time.
13 (Internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added).
¶24. Taylor contends that we should evaluate the “prior arrest” testimony in his case like
we did the evidence of prior misconduct in Campbell v. State, 750 So. 2d 1280 (Miss. Ct.
App. 1999). We disagree. In Campbell, we reversed and remanded a defendant’s conviction
for the sale of cocaine because extensive testimony of Campbell’s specific prior crimes was
presented to the jury. Id. at 1283 (¶13). For example, when asked how Campbell became
a target of the drug sale operation, one witness testified that he had made a previous drug
purchase from Campbell. Id. at 1282 (¶5). Another witness testified that a photograph of
Campbell had come from “the other case file,” “[the case file on] the other charge we have.”
Id. at (¶6). On redirect examination of that witness, the State went even further:
Q. Mr. Jones used the word “target” several times in his cross-examination, that y’all had targeted Frederick Campbell. Why was Frederick Campbell being targeted?
A. We had complaints and had one other purchase, one other sale.
Id. at (¶7). In Campbell, the jury heard testimony of specific criminal acts (other drug sales)
that related to the charge for which Campbell was being tried (selling drugs). But the facts
of Taylor’s case are clearly distinguishable from those in Campbell. In Taylor’s case, the
jury only heard that Taylor had been previously arrested. No details of the prior arrests were
presented. The State did not introduce evidence that Taylor had been arrested for previously
shooting anyone or that he had a propensity to shoot to avoid being arrested. The testimony
elicited gave the jury no details about the nature of the crimes for which Taylor had been
14 arrested. As previously noted, “prior bad acts” evidence is discussed in the context of
evidence being used to show that a defendant acted in conformity with his prior conduct. In
this case, no evidence of Taylor’s prior bad acts was entered—only the acts of law
enforcement in arresting him. A review of the admissibility of evidence under Rule 404 is
fact-specific and necessarily case-by-case. In this particular case on these particular facts,
simply telling the jury that Taylor had previously been arrested when that information formed
the foundation for Taylor’s identification by Dampier as discussed below is not the kind of
“prior bad acts evidence” envisioned by Rule 404.
II. Application of Rule 404(b)
¶25. Even if the testimony that Taylor had been previously arrested were considered Rule
404(b) “prior bad acts” evidence, the State argues that it falls within the exceptions of Rule
404(b)(2). First, the State contends that the testimony proves Taylor’s motive for shooting
Barnes, i.e., that because of prior arrests, Taylor was so intent on not going to jail that he shot
at Barnes. However, Taylor argues that the crime of attempted murder as defined in
Mississippi Code Annotated section 91-1-7(2) only requires a showing of “design and
endeavor to commit an act which, if accomplished, would constitute an offense of murder
. . . .” Because motive is not an element of the crime of attempted murder, Taylor contends
that any questions about his prior arrests were irrelevant and inadmissible.
¶26. The State replies that the prosecution is always permitted to put on evidence of
motive. It cites De La Beckwith v. State, 707 So. 2d 547, 579 (¶127) (Miss. 1997), where the
15 Mississippi Supreme Court held that Beckwith’s letters showing support for segregation,
hostility toward blacks, and involvement with the Ku Klux Klan were admissible to show
Beckwith’s intent or motive for his murder of Medgar Evers. The Supreme Court there
stated, “Although the prosecution is not required to show motive, it is certainly entitled to do
so in order to paint a clearer picture of the crime.” Id. at 580 (¶130). Although we agree
with this general principle, we are more persuaded by the State’s alternative purpose for
eliciting testimony of Taylor’s prior arrests, namely that Dampier’s prior arrest of Taylor
supported Dampier’s ability to recognize Taylor’s voice on Barnes’s body-camera and
identify him as the shooter.
¶27. Mississippi recognizes that the testimony of a person who hears a voice is competent
and legitimate to establish the identity of the speaker, especially when there is substantial
other evidence of guilt. Warren v. State, 456 So. 2d 735, 737 (Miss. 1984). In Lindsey v.
State, 279 So. 2d 913, 914 (Miss. 1973), the supreme court affirmed the admission of a
victim’s voice identification of her assailant even though the room was dark, and she could
not recognize him by his physical appearance. She recognized his voice because he lived
near her home, and she had heard him talk with others on several occasions over a period of
two years. Id. In the case at hand, Taylor denied that he shot Barnes. But because Dampier
knew Taylor’s voice from the times he had arrested him, Dampier could identify Taylor as
the individual shown on the body-camera as the individual shooting at Barnes.
Consequently, the testimony was used to identify Taylor and is an exception to the Rule 404
16 prohibition of prior bad acts evidence.
¶28. We also note that although Taylor initially testified that he had never been arrested by
Dampier and that he had never been in jail, he later admitted that he had been arrested, but
only for misdemeanors and “false accusations.” Taylor’s explanation was the last word the
jury heard of the arrests, i.e. Taylor’s testimony that he had a clean record. The State
presented nothing in rebuttal, which supports the State’s contention that the prior arrest
testimony was intended only for limited permissible purposes.
III. Application of Rule 403
¶29. In addition, Taylor has not sufficiently shown that he was so prejudiced by the
admission of the prior arrest testimony that it outweighed the testimony’s probative value.
“In determining whether the prior-bad-acts evidence is admissible, a trial judge should filter
the evidence through Mississippi Rule of Evidence 403 and determine whether the
evidence’s probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.”
Friley v. State, 366 So. 3d 959, 964 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. 2023). Taylor’s cites Gallion v.
State, 469 So. 2d 1247, 1249-50 (Miss. 1985), for the proposition that “evidence which is
incompetent and inflammatory in character carries with it a presumption of prejudice.” We
agree, but in this case, the evidence does not rise to Gallion’s presumptively prejudicial level.
In that case, Gallion was charged and convicted of armed robbery. Id. at 1248. When
Gallion testified in his defense, the State questioned him at length about his prior illegal
activities, including prior convictions for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, possession of
17 marijuana, and gambling. Id. at 1249. The supreme court noted that because the jury, which
was charged with setting Gallion’s sentence, gave him life imprisonment, Gallion had shown
harm by the admission of the irrelevant information. Id. at 1250. In Taylor’s case, the
State’s questioning of prior bad acts was not as extensive or detailed as in Gallion, and was
limited to whether Taylor had ever been arrested. Taylor himself was able to testify, without
further impeachment or rebuttal, that his arrests were on minor matters and led to no
convictions. Moreover, the jury did not impose upon him a life sentence as did the jury in
Gallion. Thus, in this case, the limited questioning about Taylor’s prior arrests does not meet
the presumption-of-prejudice bar.
¶30. Even if the trial court determines that the prejudicial effect of certain evidence
outweighs its probative value “under Rule 403, the exclusion of prejudicial evidence is
permissive.” Ross v. State, 954 So. 2d 968, 993 (¶44) (Miss. 2007). The trial court “is not
obligated to exclude the evidence, but may do so at its discretion.” Id.
Unless the trial court based its decision on an erroneous view of the law, this Court is not authorized to reverse for an abuse of discretion absent a finding the trial court's decision was “arbitrary and clearly erroneous.” We will not reverse simply because we think “the trial court was ‘right or wrong’ in its response.”
Thompson v. State, 230 So. 3d 1044, 1054 (¶32) (Miss. Ct. App. 2017). In the case before
us, the circuit court did not base its decision on an erroneous view of the law and did not act
arbitrarily and capriciously. Accordingly, we find that the testimony of Taylor’s prior arrests
was more probative than prejudicial under Rule 403.
18 IV. Harmless Error
¶31. Finally, even though we find no error in the admission of questions limited to the fact
that Taylor had been previously arrested, if the mention of a prior arrest were considered
error, that error would be harmless. “An error is considered harmless when the weight of the
evidence against the defendant was sufficient to outweigh the harm done by allowing
admission of the evidence.” Bays v. State, 344 So. 3d 303, 307 (¶12) (Miss. Ct. App. 2022)
(internal quotation marks omitted). “An error is harmless when it is apparent on the face of
the record that a fair-minded jury could have arrived at no verdict other than that of guilty.”
Havard v. State, 928 So. 2d 771, 797 (¶54) (Miss. 2006). In Taylor’s case, the State
presented substantial evidence to support Taylor’s conviction, including the body-camera
footage, the testimony of Dampier who identified Taylor as the shooter, Betty’s testimony
that Taylor lived in the trailer alone, and the fact that no one else was found at the scene.
There is little likelihood that the outcome of the trial would have changed had no mention
of Taylor’s previous arrests been made. Thus, any error was harmless.
Conclusion
¶32. We find no abuse of discretion by the circuit court in the admission of the evidence
that Taylor had been previously arrested, and we affirm Taylor’s convictions and sentences.
¶33. AFFIRMED.
BARNES, C.J., CARLTON AND WILSON, P.JJ., GREENLEE, LAWRENCE, McCARTY, SMITH AND EMFINGER, JJ., CONCUR. WESTBROOKS, J., CONCURS IN PART AND IN THE RESULT WITHOUT SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION.