Triplett v. State

840 So. 2d 727, 2002 WL 31830401
Court of Appeals of Mississippi·Decided December 17, 2002·No. 2002-KA-00015-COA·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

840 So.2d 727 (2002)

Antoine TRIPLETT, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2002-KA-00015-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 17, 2002.
Rehearing Denied March 18, 2003.

*729 Ross R. Barnett, Jr., Jackson, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, attorney for appellee.

Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., THOMAS and CHANDLER, JJ.

CHANDLER, J., for the court.

¶ 1. On November 8, 2001, Antoine Triplett was convicted of sale of cocaine in the Circuit Court of Winston County. Triplett was sentenced to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. In this appeal, Triplett raises three assignments of error. Firstly, Triplett challenges the weight and sufficiency of the evidence. Secondly, Triplett argues that he received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel. Thirdly, Triplett argues the sentence of twenty years is unconstitutionally excessive and disproportionate to the crime of sale of cocaine.

FACTS

¶ 2. On December 20, 2000, Detectives Young and Cotton, from the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, met informant Margaret Henderson at a predetermined location in Winston County. Henderson was to attempt to purchase illegal drugs from Antoine Triplett. The detectives gave *730 Henderson $270 in official state funds, an evidence bag, and a jacket containing a wire and buttonhole camera for making a video recording of the drug transaction. They searched Henderson and her vehicle to be sure there was no contraband on Henderson or in her vehicle.

¶ 3. Following the search, Henderson drove directly to Triplett's trailer. The detectives followed, and parked about one mile from Triplett's home for surveillance of the transaction. When Henderson arrived, Triplett showed her into his living room. Henderson said she had $150, and asked Triplett if she could buy an "eight ball" (an eighth of an ounce of cocaine) from him. Triplett replied that he had an "eight ball," and went to another room to get it. On his return, Henderson gave Triplett $150 and he handed her a package. Then, Henderson left the trailer. She put the package Triplett had given her into the evidence bag.

¶ 4. At the post-buy location, Henderson gave Detective Young the evidence bag. The detectives again searched Henderson's car, and found no contraband. Young brought the evidence bag to the district office, secured it, and delivered it the next day to the crime lab. Testing showed that the package inside contained 2.10 grams of crack cocaine. On April 24, 2001, Triplett was indicted for sale of cocaine in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-139(a)(1) (Rev. 2001).

¶ 5. At trial, Henderson identified Triplett as the person who had sold her cocaine. The State introduced the videotape, which showed the interior of a trailer and a man with braids. An exchange of cash for a package was visible, though the audio portion was unintelligible. Detective Young testified that over the monitoring wire, he heard Henderson ask for an "eight ball" before the exchange occurred. Young also testified that Henderson was not hired as an informant in exchange for forgiveness of past crimes, and that she had no criminal record. Officer Eichelberger, a personal acquaintance of Triplett's, testified that Triplett was the man depicted on the tape.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR BY DENYING TRIPLETT'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT NOTWITHSTANDING THE VERDICT OR, ALTERNATIVELY, A NEW TRIAL?

¶ 6. Triplett argues he was entitled to judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). A motion for JNOV challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss. 1993). A reviewing court must consider as true all credible evidence consistent with the defendant's guilt, and the State must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may reasonably be drawn from the evidence. Id. This Court may only reverse where, with respect to one or more of the elements of the offense, the evidence so considered is such that reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty. Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss.1987).

¶ 7. Alternatively, Triplett argues that he was entitled to a new trial. A motion for a new trial challenges the weight of the evidence, and implicates the discretion of the trial court. McClain, 625 So.2d at 781. The trial court should only grant a new trial motion when the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that, to allow it to stand, would be to sanction an unconscionable injustice. Wetz, 503 So.2d at 812. This Court, on appeal, will reverse and order a new trial only upon a determination that the trial court abused its discretion, accepting *731 as true all evidence favorable to the State. Id.

¶ 8. Triplett supports both these arguments with the same allegations. He contends that Henderson's status as a paid informant renders her testimony inherently unreliable. He argues that Henderson was insufficiently searched by the police and that she could have had cocaine in her possession before meeting Triplett. Triplett also argues the poor quality videotape was unreliable. Triplett's position is that, based on these facts, a jury could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that a cocaine sale took place, or, that the facts are such that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.

¶ 9. Our review of the evidence indicates that Triplett's contentions are without merit. The State presented credible evidence on every element of sale of cocaine from which a reasonable jury could conclude a sale occurred; therefore, the evidence was legally sufficient. The verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. It is the role of the jury to weigh conflicting evidence and evaluate the credibility of witnesses. Conley v. State, 790 So.2d 773, 807 (¶ 138) (Miss.2001). At trial, Henderson testified as an eyewitness to the cocaine sale. Detective Young testified that, via the monitoring wire, he heard Henderson initiate the sale. The jury viewed the videotape and it is reasonable to conclude the jury determined Triplett was the person who gave Henderson the "eight ball." Triplett offered no rebuttal evidence. There is no merit to Triplett's arguments regarding weight and sufficiency of the evidence.

II. DID TRIPLETT RECEIVE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE FROM TRIAL COUNSEL?

¶ 10. Triplett argues that trial counsel failed to provide effective and adequate representation. He cites six alleged errors of trial counsel, and argues these errors meet the two-part test for ineffective assistance of counsel from Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Under Strickland, the defendant must show 1) that counsel's performance was deficient, and 2) that the deficiency prejudiced the defendant. Leatherwood v. State, 473 So.2d 964, 968 (Miss.1985). There is a strong but rebuttable presumption that counsel's decisions were sound trial strategy. Id. at 969. To overcome the presumption, the defendant must show that but for counsel's deficiency, a different

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