Washington v. State

800 So. 2d 1140, 2001 WL 1198966
Mississippi Supreme Court·Decided October 11, 2001·No. 1999-KA-00522-SCT·Published·Cited by 37 cases

Opinion

800 So.2d 1140 (2001)

Roosevelt WASHINGTON
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 1999-KA-00522-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 11, 2001.
Rehearing Denied December 13, 2001.

*1141 Roosevelt Washington, Appellant, Pro Se, Lesa Harrison Baker, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.

Before PITTMAN, C.J., COBB and DIAZ, JJ.

DIAZ, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. In September 1994, Roosevelt Washington (Washington) was indicted in the Lincoln County Circuit Court for armed robbery and burglary of an inhabited dwelling. These charges were actually Count 3 and Count 6, respectively, of a multi-count indictment. Washington waived arraignment, and Jack Ainsworth, Washington's attorney at the time, subsequently filed numerous motions on Washington's behalf, including motions to suppress evidence, sever trials, and a motion in limine. An omnibus hearing and a suppression hearing were conducted. The motions to suppress were overruled, but the motion to sever trials was granted. On June 28, 1995, a jury trial was held on Counts 3 and 6, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts.

¶ 2. On June 30, 1995, the trial court sentenced Washington, as a habitual offender, to a term of forty-five (45) years for armed robbery and fifteen (15) years *1142 for burglary of an inhabited dwelling in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) to run consecutively, as well as to run consecutively with any other sentences.

¶ 3. Subsequently, Washington filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. Ainsworth then withdrew as Washington's counsel, and Jack Price was appointed to handle the appeal. Washington later filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to overturn his conviction, which this Court granted in March 1999. Later that same month, the trial court entered an order denying the motion for jnov or new trial, but the court did grant Washington an out-of-time appeal. Around this time, Price also withdrew as counsel for Washington. Lesa Baker of the Lincoln County Public Defender's office was then appointed as new counsel. On January 12, 2000, a notice of appeal was filed and later amended on March 14, 2000. Finally, in response to a pro se supplemental brief filed by Washington, the State was granted time to file a response to Washington's supplemental brief. Now, the case is properly before this Court on appeal, and Washington raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial due to State's witness testifying that when she identified Washington, she was sitting with another woman who had been robbed; (2) whether the trial court erred in denying the motion for a directed verdict or the motion for jnov; (3) whether the trial court erred in allowing testimony at trial which did not conform to the indictment without amending the indictment to conform to the evidence, when such evidence was alleged prejudicial; (4) whether Washington was denied effective assistance of counsel; (5) whether the exclusion of testimony by a defense witness is reversible error; and (6) whether Washington was tried and convicted on a "multiplicitous" and duplicitous indictment in violation of his constitutional rights.

¶ 4. As for the other counts of the indictment, Washington was tried and convicted of burglary of a dwelling, Count 4, on January 24, 1995. The Count 4 conviction was affirmed by the Mississippi Court of Appeals on December 17, 1996. As for Count 2, Washington was found not guilty of armed robbery on January 24, 1995. Counts 1 and 5 have not been tried.

FACTS

¶ 5. Washington was indicted for several separate incidents occurring in 1994. However, the present appeal deals solely with those facts that form the bases for Counts 3 and 6. The pertinent facts are set out below.

¶ 6. On September 9, 1994, Leo Nettles (Leo) was busy mowing the front lawn of his home on Auburn Drive in Bogue Chitto. His wife, Mildred Nettles (Mildred), was inside and did not feel well. She retired to the front bedroom where she lay down to rest. While lying down, Mildred heard the front door slam shut and assumed it was her husband. Curious why Leo would leave the lawn mower running, she called out to him. In response, a man armed with a silver pistol ran up to the bed and demanded money. The assailant threatened Mildred numerous times during the incident. Struck with fear, Mildred handed over roughly $210. After finding the backdoor nailed shut, the intruder made his escape out a side window.

¶ 7. During trial, Mildred positively identified Washington as the person who robbed her that September. Leo never saw anyone enter or leave the house; however, several other witnesses testified to seeing a suspicious looking man driving around the area about the same time. In *1143 addition, through the testimony of Officer Robert Berry, a written statement and an oral recorded statement, made by Washington, were introduced into evidence. The statements were essentially confessions to the crime; each giving varying detail.

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO GRANT A MISTRIAL DUE TO STATE'S WITNESS TESTIFYING THAT WHEN SHE IDENTIFIED WASHINGTON, SHE WAS SITTING WITH ANOTHER WOMAN THAT HAD BEEN ROBBED.

¶ 8. Washington argues against nearly every aspect of Mildred's identification of him. He spends much time in his brief discussing the fact that Mildred said she remembered his face from dreams and that she could not remember whether the intruder had facial hair. Washington argues that such an identification is not appropriate evidence for a conviction. However, the weight and sufficiency of the evidence will be dealt with under the next issue. On the other hand, Washington feels that an inadvertent statement made by Mildred, one of the State's witnesses, unfairly prejudiced the jury, violated a motion in limine, and warranted a mistrial. Washington argues that the failure of the trial judge to grant a mistrial amounts to reversible error. The specific statement that Washington takes issue with is an exchange between the State and Mildred concerning her identification of Washington:

Q: All right. [Defense] [c]ounsel asked you if someone assisted you when you came here, did they point the defendant. Just tell us in your own words, as best you can, where were you at and just the circumstances surrounding you seeing the defendant the first time after you said he came into your house.
A: I was sitting back here and he was over here, and when I got a good look at him, and then one time he was sitting over there, and he turned back and looked toward me, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was him.
Q: Was there a police officer or somebody from the District Attorney's Office out there helping you, pointing toward him, showing you who he was?
A: No. One of the other ladies—one lady was sitting with me that he robbed.

(emphasis added). Washington promptly objected, and the trial judge heard arguments at the bench. Washington contends that the statement implies that Mildred received guidance in her identification. In addition, Washington argues that not only is the statement in violation of the pretrial order disallowing mention of any other crimes, it is also

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