Fullilove v. State

Decision Date29 November 2012
Docket NumberNo. 2010–KA–01444–COA.,2010–KA–01444–COA.
Citation101 So.3d 669
PartiesAnthony FULLILOVE, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
CourtMississippi Court of Appeals

101 So.3d 669

Anthony FULLILOVE, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2010–KA–01444–COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

April 10, 2012.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 21, 2012.

Certiorari Denied Nov. 29, 2012.


[101 So.3d 671]


Allan D. Shackelford, Clarksdale, Leslie S. Lee, Jackson, Phillip Broadhead, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, Scott Stuart, attorneys for appellee.


EN BANC.

CARLTON, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Anthony Fullilove was convicted in the Coahoma County Circuit Court of conspiracy and sentenced as a habitual offender to five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Fullilove appeals and argues: (1) the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial; (2) the circuit court erred by allowing hearsay statements into evidence; (3) the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial due to the prosecutor making improper comments on his right not to testify; and (4) the circuit court erred in finding that his sentence satisfied the requirements of the habitual-offender statute. We find no error and affirm the circuit court's judgment.

FACTS

¶ 2. On February 9, 2010, Officer Rickey Bridges of the Clarksdale Police Department arrested Fullilove in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Officer Bridges responded to a call reporting a theft at Walmart, and he pulled over a car with a tag number matching that given him by Zachary Peyton, Walmart's local asset-protection manager. Peyton informed Officer Bridges that he had observed three men leaving Walmart earlier that day, and he had recognized the men after reviewing video-surveillance footage of the theft at Walmart two days earlier. Officer Bridges pulled over the car matching Peyton's description, and he arrested Fullilove for an outstanding warrant on an unrelated misdemeanor.

¶ 3. During a pretrial recorded interview at the police station with Investigator Kendrick Walker, Fullilove stated that Earl Baine and Gregory Harris had picked him up to go to Walmart, so he could purchase food for his family. Fullilove stated Harris had previously obtained a key to the iPod case from the electronics department at Walmart. Fullilove admitted in the recorded

[101 So.3d 672]

interview that while he was in the store, he had removed two iPods out of the iPod case and had given them to Harris. He also admitted Harris had handed him one of the iPods once they had exited Walmart and returned to the car. Fullilove claimed that he immediately had given the iPod to Baines, stating that he did not want it. Fullilove did, however, admit to asking Baines to sell the iPod for him.

¶ 4. A Coahoma County grand jury indicted Fullilove on the charges of conspiracy and grand larceny, and the indictment reflected his status as a habitual offender due to two previous non-violent felony offenses. Fullilove pled not guilty to all charges, and a trial was held on July 30, 2010. During the State's rebuttal argument to the jury, the State commented that although Fullilove did not testify, he “spoke more in this case than any other.” Fullilove's counsel objected and moved for a mistrial, claiming that any comment on Fullilove's decision not to testify violated Fullilove's Fifth Amendment rights. The circuit judge reserved ruling on the motion until after the verdict. The prosecutor then continued his rebuttal argument and explained that Fullilove spoke through his body language on the surveillance video, and also through his prerecorded statements, which were both admitted into evidence at trial.

¶ 5. The jury found Fullilove guilty of conspiracy but not guilty of grand larceny. Following the verdict, the State submitted a response to Fullilove's motion for a mistrial. Fullilove moved for a JNOV. On August 16, 2010, the circuit judge denied Fullilove's motion for a mistrial and his motion for a JNOV. On August 25, 2010, Fullilove was sentenced as a habitual offender to five years in the custody of the MDOC.

DISCUSSION
I. Denial of Post–Trial Motions

¶ 6. Fullilove argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a JNOV. Alternatively, Fullilove argues that the circuit court erred in failing to grant his motion for a new trial, and that the jury's verdict was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Fullilove asserts that the State's case contained many unsubstantiated factual claims, as well as circumstantial evidence and hearsay statements.

a. Legal Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 7. In Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005), the Mississippi Supreme Court set forth the standard for considering whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction in the face of a motion for directed verdict or for a JNOV:

[T]he critical inquiry is whether the evidence shows “beyond a reasonable doubt that accused committed the act charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed; and where the evidence fails to meet this test it is insufficient to support a conviction.” However, this inquiry does not require a court to

‘ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 315, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (citations omitted) (emphasis in original). Should the facts and inferences considered in a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence “point in favor of the defendant

[101 So.3d 673]

on any element of the offense with sufficient force that reasonable men could not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty,” the proper remedy is for the appellate court to reverse and render. Edwards v. State, 469 So.2d 68, 70 (Miss.1985) (citing May v. State, 460 So.2d 778, 781 (Miss.1984)); see also Dycus v. State, 875 So.2d 140, 164 (Miss.2004). However, if a review of the evidence reveals that it is of such quality and weight that, “having in mind the beyond a reasonable doubt burden of proof standard, reasonable fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions on every element of the offense[,]” the evidence will be deemed to have been sufficient. Edwards, 469 So.2d at 70;see also Gibby v. State, 744 So.2d 244, 245 (Miss.1999).

¶ 8. Mississippi Code Annotated section 97–1–1 (Supp.2011) sets out the elements of proof to establish the crime of conspiracy:

1) If two (2) or more persons conspire either:

(a) To commit a crime; or

....

(h) To accomplish any unlawful purpose, or a lawful purpose by any unlawful means; such persons, and each of them, shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction may be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or by both.

Fullilove argues that the State only presented circumstantial evidence to show that a conspiracy existed between Fullilove, Harris, and Baines.


¶ 9. The record reflects that during Investigator Walker's pretrial recorded interview with Fullilove, which was admitted into evidence at trial, Fullilove admitted to acting as a lookout for Harris as he unlocked the iPod case. Fullilove also admitted that he removed two iPods from the case and placed them in the shopping cart. The Walmart video-surveillance evidence, also admitted into evidence, shows Fullilove removing two items out of the case and placing them in an empty cart. Fullilove argues that although he removed the iPods from the case and placed them into the cart, he never intended to steal the iPods. He also submits that he never actually removed any of the iPods from their individual cases nor left the store with any iPods in his possession. The pretrial recorded interview reflects Fullilove informed Investigator Walker that Baines and Harris put the iPods in their pockets and then walked out of the store.

¶ 10. During questioning, Fullilove admitted to Investigator Walker in the pretrial recorded interview that once he returned to the car, Harris offered him one iPod. Fullilove claimed that he immediately gave the iPod to Baines, stating that he did not want it. The pretrial recorded interview reflects Fullilove did, however, admit to asking Baines to sell the iPod for him. In Blakeney v. State, 39 So.3d 1001, 1009 (¶ 21) (Miss.Ct.App.2010), this Court acknowledged that a confession by a defendant constitutes direct evidence. Therefore, if “the accused has made an admission on an element of the offense, it is no longer a circumstantial evidence case.” Id.

¶ 11. Fullilove's statements to Investigator Walker show that he acted as a lookout for Harris and Baines. Fullilove also admitted to removing two iPods from the case at Walmart, which Baines and Harris later carried out of the store. The record reflects Fullilove was aware that Harris and Baines failed to pay for these

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iPods. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we find that there was sufficient evidence to convict Fullilove of conspiracy.

b. Weight of the Evidence

¶ 12. In Bush, 895 So.2d at 844 (¶ 18), the supreme court also laid out the standard for reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence:

[The appellate court] will only disturb a verdict when it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice. Herring v. State, 691 So.2d 948, 957 (Miss.1997).

....

However, the evidence should be weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict. Herring, 691 So.2d at 957. A reversal on the grounds that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, “unlike a reversal based on...

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