Williard v. State

94 So. 3d 343, 2012 WL 1085854, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 190
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedApril 3, 2012
DocketNo. 2010-KA-00927-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 94 So. 3d 343 (Williard 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
Williard v. State, 94 So. 3d 343, 2012 WL 1085854, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 190 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

CARLTON, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Adrian Williard appeals his conviction and sentence for capital murder and aggravated assault from the Hinds County Circuit Court. Williard was sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Williard appeals, claiming that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements he allegedly made prior to receiving Miranda1 warnings. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

[344]*344FACTS

¶ 2. On March 16, 2008, Officer Samuel Gardner of the Jackson Police Department (JPD) arrested Williard in connection with the stabbing death of Janice Cotton and the alleged kidnapping and aggravated assault of Crystal Latham, Cotton’s daughter.2

¶ 3. Responding to call for assistance regarding a possible violent altercation, Officer Gardner arrived at the home of Cotton and Latham in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early morning hours of March 16, 2003. Officer Gardner testified that when he arrived at the crime scene, he saw what appeared to be someone, whom he later identified as Williard, dragging a female, later identified as Latham, across the street. Officer Gardner testified that when he exited his vehicle and attempted to separate Williard from the female, Willi-ard immediately started talking to Officer Gardner and boasting that he harmed two people. Officer Gardner testified that Wil-liard told him “I got two of them.” Officer Gardner proceeded to handcuff Williard and transported him to the downtown headquarters of the JPD, located in the Standard Life Building.

¶ 4. Officer Carolyn Kirkland of the JPD testified that she arrived at the crime scene after Officer Gardner, and she found Latham lying in the street, covered in blood and having difficulty breathing. La-tham was subsequently transported to University Medical Center to receive treatment for her injuries. Upon entering Cotton’s residence, Officer Kirkland found Cotton’s body lying on the floor in the kitchen.

¶ 5. Officer James Roberts of the JPD testified that he proceeded to read Williard his Miranda rights once Williard arrived at the Standard Life Building. Officer Roberts testified that Williard acknowledged his understanding of his rights, and he voluntarily waived them by signing a Miranda waiver form and initialing the line for each of his rights. Officer Roberts also took Williard’s statement, in which Williard admitted to breaking into Cotton’s home, stabbing Cotton, and assaulting La-tham. Williard also admitted that he went to Cotton’s house with the intent to kill Latham, and that he stabbed her in an attempt to kill her.

¶ 6. A Hinds County grand jury indicted Williard for the murder of Cotton and for the kidnapping and aggravated assault of Latham. Prior to the commencement of Williard’s April 10, 2006 trial, the circuit judge held a suppression hearing regarding Williard’s statements to Officer Gardner upon Williard’s arrest. The circuit judge found that Williard had made the statements to Officer Gardner prior to being fully detained, arrested, or handcuffed. The circuit judge also denied Williard’s motion for a directed verdict at the conclusion of the State’s case-in-chief.

¶ 7. Williard testified in his own defense, claiming that Latham stabbed her mother. Williard also claimed that he accidentally stabbed Latham when trying to take the knife away from her.

¶ 8. The jury convicted Williard of capital murder pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97 — 3—19(2)(e) (Rev. 2006) and aggravated assault under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-7(2) (Supp.2011), but the jury acquitted him of kidnapping. The circuit judge sentenced Williard to life without the possibility of parole for his murder conviction, and to twenty years for aggravated assault, to be [345]*345served consecutively in the custody of the MDOC.

¶ 9. Williard filed a motion for new trial or, in the alternative, for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), which the circuit judge denied. Willard now appeals, claiming that the circuit judge erred in denying his motion to suppress due to the arresting officer’s failure to give Miranda warnings.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 10. When this court reviews a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress, we must determine whether the trial court’s finding are supported by substantial evidence considering the totality of the circumstances. Reid v. State, 825 So.2d 701, 702 (¶ 5) (Miss.Ct.App.2002); Nicholson v. State, 523 So.2d 68, 71 (Miss.1988) (An appellate court may disturb suppression hearing findings made by the circuit court “only where there is an absence of substantial credible evidence supporting [them].”). The admissibility of evidence lies within the trial court’s discretion and the trial court will only be reversed for an abuse of discretion. Wade v. State, 583 So.2d 965, 967 (Miss.1991); Lewis v. State, 573 So.2d 719, 722 (Miss.1990).

¶ 11. In determining whether a confession was freely and voluntarily given the circuit court sits as the factfinder. The circuit judge first must determine whether the accused has been adequately warned, and, under the totality of circumstances, the court then must determine if the accused voluntarily and intelligently waived his privilege against self-incrimination. McCarty v. State, 554 So.2d 909, 911 (Miss.1989). On the issue of voluntariness, the standard of proof for admissibility is beyond a reasonable doubt. Davis v. State, 551 So.2d 165, 169 (Miss.1989).

DISCUSSION

¶ 12. On appeal, Williard submits that the circuit judge committed reversible error in denying his motion to suppress statements he made after Officer Gardner handcuffed him, because Officer Gardner’s failed to read Williard his rights as required by Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602. Williard contends that he was “in custody,” for the purposes of Miranda, from the moment Officer Gardner arrived at the crime scene and exited his patrol car with his gun drawn and aimed at Willi-ard. Williard claims that as Officer Gardner handcuffed him, Officer Gardner asked why Williard had “done it.” Williard argues that the circuit judge erred in admitting his statements in response to Officer Gardner’s alleged interrogation, and Willi-ard asserts this error requires reversal.

¶ 13. In Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, the United States Supreme Court established that during a criminal trial:

[T]he prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or incul-patory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. By custodial interrogation, we mean questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way. As for the procedural safeguards to be employed, unless other fully effective means are devised to inform accused persons of their right of silence and to assure a continuous opportunity to exercise it, the following measures are required. Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement [346]

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Related

Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Nicholson v. State
523 So. 2d 68 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1988)
Lewis v. State
573 So. 2d 719 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1990)
Wade v. State
583 So. 2d 965 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1991)
Reid v. State
825 So. 2d 701 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2002)
McCarty v. State
554 So. 2d 909 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1989)
Stallworth v. State
797 So. 2d 905 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Tatum v. Barrentine
797 So. 2d 223 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2001)
Alexander v. State
736 So. 2d 1058 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 1999)
Carpenter v. State
910 So. 2d 528 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2005)
Watson v. State
835 So. 2d 112 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2003)
Ricks v. State
611 So. 2d 212 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1992)
Davis v. State
551 So. 2d 165 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
94 So. 3d 343, 2012 WL 1085854, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williard-v-state-missctapp-2012.