Williams v. State

971 So. 2d 581, 2007 WL 2948915
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 11, 2007
Docket2006-KA-00418-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 971 So. 2d 581 (Williams 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
Williams v. State, 971 So. 2d 581, 2007 WL 2948915 (Mich. 2007).

Opinion

971 So.2d 581 (2007)

John A. WILLIAMS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2006-KA-00418-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 11, 2007.
Rehearing Denied January 17, 2008.

*584 William C. Stennett, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Deirdre McCrory, attorney for appellee.

Before SMITH, C.J., DICKINSON and LAMAR, JJ.

LAMAR, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This appeal comes to us from the Circuit Court of Itawamba County, where John A. Williams was convicted on two counts: (1) manufacturing marijuana in a quantity greater than thirty grams, and (2) possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. For manufacturing marijuana, Williams was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. For being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, Williams was sentenced to three years imprisonment to run concurrently with the fifteen-year sentence. Williams alleges that: (1) the jury verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and contrary to the *585 law; (2) he did not receive a fair trial because some members of the jury knew the defendant and lawyers in this case; (3) the court erred in allowing a police surveillance tape to be shown to the jury; (4) the court erred in admitting evidence of his prior felony conviction; (5) his constitutional rights were violated because he was questioned without being advised of his rights; (6) he was prejudiced by improper statements made during the State's closing argument; and (7) his trial counsel was ineffective. Finding no reversible error, we affirm Williams's conviction.

FACTS

¶ 2. In March 2005, Chris Graham was surveying land around the Briar Creek area in Itawamba County when he discovered what appeared to be marijuana plants growing in small red cups.[1] Graham and his partner left the area immediately. Later that day, Graham called Chris Umfress, a narcotics agent with the Itawamba County Sheriff's Department and reported what he had discovered. He later took Umfress to the area where he had seen the cups.

¶ 3. Umfress testified that he suspected the plants in the cups were marijuana. The Sheriff's Department decided to conduct video surveillance on the plants using a waterproof, motion-detecting camera system. This camera was set up on April 7, 2005. Umfress testified that they returned to the camera every three days to change the tape and the batteries in the system. On April 27, Umfress monitored the footage and saw that someone had been recorded tending the plants. Although the tape showed someone tending the plants, the person's face was never revealed because the camera angle was too low. The tape clearly showed two dogs, a white German shepherd and a cocker spaniel, accompanying the person tending the plants.

¶ 4. Umfress surmised that since the dogs were accompanying the suspect on the videotape, it was likely that the suspect was walking to the plants from somewhere nearby. Acting on this belief, Umfress decided to do some "mobile surveillance," driving on some of the roads in the area looking for the dogs which were seen on the video. Umfress testified that he discovered the two dogs at the residence of John A. Williams. He decided to continue video surveillance in hopes of getting a positive identification of the suspect.

¶ 5. On June 6, 2005, Umfress returned to the surveillance area to check the camera and the plants. He testified that he could tell that the plants had been tended. He reviewed the videotape, and on this second video, the suspect's face was clearly shown. Umfress testified that Officer David Sheffield, who also was reviewing the tape, immediately identified the suspect as John Williams. Having a positive identification of the suspect, Umfress decided to collect the plants in the woods. However, when he attempted to do so, he realized that some of the plants were no longer there. Believing that Williams had harvested the missing plants, Umfress applied for and received a search warrant for Williams's residence.

¶ 6. Umfress and five other agents proceeded to search Williams's residence. According to Umfress's testimony, Williams was orally advised of his Miranda rights. Williams admitted to ownership of the plants which had been under surveillance in the woods. Agents found *586 two more plants at Williams's residence, along with dried marijuana in a Tupperware bowl and in a film canister. They also found at the residence a handgun in the drawer of a nightstand in the master bedroom, marijuana-growing literature and paraphernalia, a rifle, two shotguns, ammunition for the guns, and a buck knife. After being taken into custody, Williams signed a waiver of his Miranda rights, stating that he did not want a lawyer and that he would cooperate with the police and answer their questions.

COURSE OF PROCEEDINGS

¶ 7. On August 2, 2005, John A. Williams was indicted by a grand jury on one count of manufacturing marijuana in an amount greater than thirty grams and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On January 27, 2006, in a one-day trial, an Itawamba County jury convicted Williams on both counts. Williams did not testify, nor did he call any witnesses. Alleging numerous errors which he believes deprived him of a fair trial, Williams filed a timely appeal with this Court.

ANALYSIS

I. Williams's motions for directed verdict and JNOV

¶ 8. This Court reviews the denial of a motion for directed verdict under a de novo standard. Gilmer v. State, 955 So.2d 829, 833 (Miss.2007). The critical inquiry in deciding whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction in the face of a motion for directed verdict or for judgment not withstanding the verdict (JNOV) is whether the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed the act charged and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed. Ivy v. State, 949 So.2d 748, 751 (Miss.2007). If the evidence fails to meet this test, it is insufficient to support a conviction. Id. The legal sufficiency of the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the State. Dixon v. State, 953 So.2d 1108, 1111 (Miss.2007).

A. Count I, Manufacture of Marijuana

¶ 9. Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-139(a)(1) makes the manufacture of marijuana unlawful. Our law defines the term "manufacture" as:

the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container.

Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-105(q) (Rev. 2005).

¶ 10. Williams argues that the evidence against him was insufficient to support his conviction. During the testimony of Agent Umfress, it was established that someone had been videotaped by the surveillance camera tending the plants located in the woods. On the first video, which was admitted into evidence as State Exhibit 1, the suspect could be seen bending over, tending to the plants, and then walking away from the plants. Because of the low angle of the camera, the suspect could be seen only from the waist down.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
971 So. 2d 581, 2007 WL 2948915, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-state-miss-2007.