Travis v. State

13 So. 3d 320, 2008 Miss. App. LEXIS 776, 2008 WL 5220816
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 16, 2008
DocketNo. 2007-KA-00236-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 13 So. 3d 320 (Travis v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Travis v. State, 13 So. 3d 320, 2008 Miss. App. LEXIS 776, 2008 WL 5220816 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Bobby L. Travis was convicted of burglary of the home of a Jackson resident and sentenced to a term of twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with fifteen years to serve, ten years suspended, and five years of supervised probation.

¶ 2. He raises two issues on appeal: (1) that the trial court erred in denying his [322]*322motion to dismiss for failure to provide a speedy trial and (2) that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a new trial as the weight of the evidence was insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict.

¶ 3. Finding no error in the proceedings below, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 4. Boris Hines, the manager of the Green Hill Apartments at 355 Green Hill Place in Jackson, was brutally attacked in his apartment following a home invasion on May 6, 2003. His arms and legs were bound, and a plastic bag was placed over his head by two men who pushed their way into the apartment when his roommate, Quala Watson, opened the door. Watson was lured to the door by a telephone call from an unknown female who told Hines that someone was trying to break into Watson’s car. The men wore ski masks and wielded guns. Hines was thrown on the bed by the men, who stated that he “owed the boss” $5,000. Hines denied owing anyone money. Hines said that he was struck and was beaten by the men with their fists and guns. Hines said that as he lay helpless and in fear of his life, he heard the men ransacking his apartment. The men took him to the living room, sat him down, wrapped him in a sheet or a blanket, and put a laundry basket over his head. They led him outside and stuffed him in the trunk of a car and drove away. They rode for less than an hour and then stopped. Hines said he could hear the two men talking while they were riding around, but he was unable to recognize the voices or tell what they were saying. When the car stopped they took Hines out of the trunk. One of the men again told Hines that he owed the boss money and said, “we’re going to show you how we do it in New Orleans.” At that point a gun was fired. Hines testified that he was not hit by the gunshot. Hines testified he was terrified because he was still bound, completely covered, and was having difficulty breathing. The men then placed him in another vehicle along with Watson. They rode for a short time and then the men left Hines alone in a car on Redwood Avenue in Jackson. Having waited long enough to insure that the men were gone, Hines broke free and went to a nearby home and called the police. The police arrived and took him back to his apartment; Watson was there. Hines found that the apartment was in shambles and that his computer, DVD/VCR, thirty-four videotapes, and some crystal had been stolen. The robbers had taken his keys, which included the keys to all of the apartments in the complex, and they had taken Watson’s keys. Hines described his injuries as broken teeth and a “busted” lip from being hit, and a cut in the back of his head. Hines was never able to identify the assailants. They wore ski masks, and they covered his head during the entire ordeal. He did note that one was tall and one was short.

¶ 5. Hines testified that, as the apartment manager, he was having problems with Travis regarding his payment of rent. Travis and his girlfriend moved into the apartment complex about two to three months before the incident. They paid the deposit and moved into the apartment. Hines told Travis that he would pro rate his rent. When it came time to pay the rent, Hines said that Travis would not pay it. Hines said that he started leaving notes asking Travis to see him. After Travis ignored the notes, Hines decided rather than lose his job as the apartment manager it was necessary to evict Travis. Hines testified that he gave Travis a final notice, and approximately the first of the next week, the home invasion happened.

[323]*323¶ 6. Jackson Police Officer Letisha Gibbs was dispatched to Hines’s apartment as a result of Hines’s call. As she entered the complex, she saw an oncoming red extended cab pickup truck slow its speed and then shut off its headlights. The driver slumped down into the seat so as not to be seen. Deeming this suspicious, the officer ordered the driver to put his hands out of the window. As she approached the car, she saw a handgun on the seat beside the driver. The driver was identified as seventeen-year-old Earltavious Markee Jones. Jones was dressed in a black jumpsuit; the officer found a blue ski mask and a cell phone in Jones’s pockets. After ordering Jones out of the truck, Officer Gibbs discovered that he had been sitting on top of a second handgun. In securing the weapon, the officer found five bullets and one spent cartridge. The officer then noticed a pillowcase filled with VCR tapes on the floorboard of the truck. She also found a computer hard drive. Another officer arrived on the scene and advised Officer Gibbs that the items found in the truck had been reported stolen by Hines. Back at his apartment, Hines identified the recovered items. Officer Gibbs described Hines as shaky. She said that he looked frightened, and he was so upset “he really didn’t know how to talk.” She described him as bloody all over, with a “busted” lip, a cut on his back, and bruises on his wrists and back.

¶ 7. Jones, Travis’s cousin, was indicted along with Travis for burglary of a dwelling and kidnaping in connection with the incident. Jones lived on Redwood Avenue in Jackson with his aunt. Jones pled guilty to the charge of burglary of a dwelling and was awaiting sentencing at the time of Travis’s trial. For his guilty plea to the house burglary charge and his testimony against Travis, the kidnaping charge against Jones was dropped.

¶ 8. Jones testified that on the night of the incident he, Travis, and an individual named David, whom he did not know, were going to spend the night with Travis at his apartment, which was in the Green Hill apartments-next door to the victim, Hines. The three left Travis’s sister’s house to go to Travis’s apartment in a red Nissan truck that Travis drove. He said when Travis got to his apartment, he found that the electricity was off. Travis told Jones he would get some items from his apartment and go back to his sister’s house. According to Jones, Travis got out of the truck, pulled a .38 caliber pistol from under the seat, and, along with David, went to the apartment that was later identified as that of Hines. Jones stated when someone came to the door, Travis and David ran in with the weapon and stayed inside the apartment for about fifteen minutes.

¶ 9. Jones stated that he remained in the truck. Jones said that Travis and David were dressed in all black clothing and were escorting a man and.a woman out of the apartment. He said the hands of the man and woman were tied, and there was something across their eyes. Jones said he did not see Travis and David put a mask on before entering the apartment, nor did he see them wearing masks when they came out with the couple. According to Jones, the man was put on the back seat of the truck, and they attempted to put the female in the back of the pickup with Jones, so he got out. Jones said he was unaware that they were going to kidnap people that night, and it was only when Travis and David brought the two people out that he realized what was going on. Jones said after placing them in the truck, Travis and David took off leaving him standing on the side of the apartment building.

¶ 10. After about an hour, Jones said Travis, David, and the female came back. [324]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
13 So. 3d 320, 2008 Miss. App. LEXIS 776, 2008 WL 5220816, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/travis-v-state-missctapp-2008.