Wright v. State

730 So. 2d 1106, 1998 WL 909529
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 31, 1998
Docket96-KP-00279-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 730 So. 2d 1106 (Wright 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
Wright v. State, 730 So. 2d 1106, 1998 WL 909529 (Mich. 1998).

Opinion

730 So.2d 1106 (1998)

Lonia A. WRIGHT, a/k/a Lonnie A. Wright
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 96-KP-00279-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 31, 1998.

*1107 Lonia A. Wright, pro se.

Office of the Attorney General by W. Glenn Watts, Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.

En Banc.

SMITH, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. In this appeal from a conviction of kidnapping, armed robbery, and sexual battery we must determine whether a defendant's statements made after arrest, which were not elicited by police action, should have been suppressed on the grounds that the defendant was under the influence of a controlled substance and therefore any waiver of Miranda rights was not voluntarily, knowledgeably and intelligently given. We must also determine whether a witness should be called to testify before the jury even though the court has been informed that the witness will only invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. We conclude that where statements are made voluntarily and are not the product of police action the fact that the defendant is under the influence of a controlled substance is irrelevant and the statements are admissible. We further conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to allow an irrelevant witness to be called to the stand, who would have refused to answer questions on Fifth Amendment grounds. Therefore, we affirm the circuit court's judgment.

I.

¶ 2. On or about October 8, 1991, the appellant Lonia Wright entered Donna Price's place of employment and kidnapped her at gunpoint. Over several hours, Wright forced Price to disrobe, perform oral sex on him and smoke crack-cocaine with him. He also forcefully performed oral sex on her. Wright admittedly was smoking crack-cocaine throughout the kidnapping.

¶ 3. After driving to his home and forcing Price to perform fellatio in a nearby shack, Wright took Price through the woods at gunpoint to the home of Alma Cash. Ms. Cash was in her car and about to go to the bank. Brandishing the gun in Ms. Cash's face, Wright forced her out of the car and made Price get in with him. He then fled the scene. Shortly after stealing the car, members of the Vicksburg Police Department apprehended Wright. At the time of Wright's capture he held a briefcase that contained a crack pipe, Price's bra and papers. A .38 caliber handgun was also found close to the area where Wright was placed under arrest.

¶ 4. After being Mirandized and placed in a patrol car, Wright asked for Leroy Williams, an officer with the Sheriffs Department. He told Williams that the crackcocaine had him doing crazy things and that he had messed up. The conversation with Williams did not last five minutes. On the way to the police station, Wright voluntarily stated that he did not know why he took the lady, that he had embarrassed his family and that he was wrong and needed help.

¶ 5. Wright was subsequently indicted for kidnapping, armed robbery and sexual battery. He testified in his own defense, contending that he knew Price before the incident and that she freely accompanied him to his home to smoke crack-cocaine. He denied having any sexual relations with Price. He also denied pulling the gun on Alma Cash to take her car, because, according to Wright, Cash was not in her car when he stole it.

¶ 6. Wright attempted to call Lorinzo Hull to the stand; however, Hull's counsel informed the trial judge that Hull did not wish to testify and would invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Wright proffered that Hull would testify that he saw Wright and a white female one day in the "Marcus Bottom" community (high crime and drug-infested area) and that Wright bought drugs. According to counsel for Wright, Hull would have also testified that the white female did not appear to be under any duress. The trial court did not allow Hull to come to the stand and assert his right before the jury because (1) Hull could not pinpoint on what day he saw Wright and a white female—indicating that it could have been any white female therefore making the *1108 testimony irrelevant and (2) the court felt it was more prejudicial than probative.

¶ 7. The jury found Wright guilty of kidnapping and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was also found guilty of armed robbery and sentenced to another term of life. The jury further found Wright guilty of sexual battery, and the trial court sentenced him to twenty-five years imprisonment to be served concurrently with the kidnapping sentence which runs consecutively to the armed robbery sentence.

¶ 8. Aggrieved by the convictions and sentences, Wright appealed to this Court for relief.

II.

a.

¶ 9. In his first assignment of error, Wright argues the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress the statements he made shortly after he was arrested. One statement he takes issue with was made to Deputy Sheriff Crevitt who transported Wright to jail. According to Crevitt, he did not ask Wright any questions or even talk to him. Still, Wright stated, "I don't know why I did this. I don't know why I took that lady. I've embarrassed my whole family. I guess it was the crack." Prior to being transported to jail, another officer testified that Wright asked to speak with him. Officer Leroy Williams approached the patrol car and immediately told Wright that he (Wright) did not have to talk to him. Wright continued to talk to Williams, stating "Le-Roy, I've got to talk to somebody. This thing is killing me. I know I've done wrong. I'm in trouble, big time trouble, with what I've done today. I'm sorry, but I've got to get some help."

¶ 10. The State asserts that Wright failed to raise his "cocaine confusion defense" with the trial court regarding the admissibility of his statements and therefore has waived this issue, citing Russell v. State, 607 So.2d 1107, 1117 (Miss.1992). The State further contends that Wright's statements were properly admitted into trial because they were "voluntarily given" after he was Mirandized.

¶ 11. The standard of reviewing the admission of a confession is well-settled. "`Determining whether a confession is admissible is a finding of fact which is not disturbed unless the trial judge applied an incorrect legal standard, committed manifest error, or the decision was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence.'" Hunt v. State, 687 So.2d 1154, 1159 (Miss. 1996) (quoting Lee v. State, 631 So.2d 824, 826 (Miss.1994)). The admission of a druginduced confession would clearly violate a defendant's right against self-incrimination guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution. Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 8, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964). However, a person's Miranda rights are not triggered by a voluntary statement. Hunt, 687 So.2d at 1159 (citing Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 477-78, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)). In Pierre v. State, 607 So.2d 43 (Miss.1992), this Court found no impropriety where an accused made an inculpatory statement while in custody that was not in response to custodial interrogation or any police action designed to elicit an incriminating response. This Court noted that the Fifth Amendment did not impose on the trial court any need to ascertain voluntariness, knowledge, and intelligence of waiver under those circumstances. Pierre, 607 So.2d at 52.

¶ 12. This is the case here.

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Bluebook (online)
730 So. 2d 1106, 1998 WL 909529, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-state-miss-1998.