Casey v. State

• Decision Date: 17 September 2020
• Docket Number: NO. 2019-KA-00603-SCT,2019-KA-00603-SCT
• Parties: Robert Roy CASEY a/k/a Robert Casey v. STATE of Mississippi
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

302 So.3d 617

Robert Roy CASEY a/k/a Robert Casey

v.STATE of Mississippi

NO. 2019-KA-00603-SCT

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

September 17, 2020

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: MOLLIE M. McMILLIN, GEORGE T. HOLMES

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ASHLEY SULSER

BEFORE KITCHENS, P.J., MAXWELL AND CHAMBERLIN, JJ.

CHAMBERLIN, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

¶1. A Jones County jury convicted Robert Casey of possession of cocaine in violation of Mississippi Code Section 41-29-139 (Rev. 2018). The Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District of Jones County sentenced Casey to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with four years suspended pending completion of four years’ post-release supervision. Casey appeals to this Court, arguing that the trial court erred by declining to suppress cocaine found on his person and that his constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial were violated. Because Casey's arguments are without merit, we affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. In the late evening hours of September 8, 2012, Deputy John Putnam was working as an interdiction officer on Interstate 59 in Jones County, Mississippi. Putnam testified that he was sitting stationary on Interstate 59 when he observed a vehicle traveling faster than other vehicles he had observed that night. Putnam then pulled out and got behind the vehicle to investigate his suspicions of speeding. While following the vehicle, Putnam ran the vehicle's tag and "paced" the vehicle to gauge its speed. Through pacing, Putnam determined that the vehicle was speeding, and he stopped the vehicle for exceeding the posted speed limit in violation of Mississippi Code Section 63-3-501 (Rev. 2013).

¶3. Three persons were inside the vehicle—Casey, Nicholas Durr and Jenelle Denson. Durr, the driver, produced a Georgia license, an insurance card and the vehicle's registration. As Putnam reviewed the information, he engaged Durr in conversation. Putnam testified that Durr appeared nervous, avoided eye contact, stuttered and was shaking and belligerent. In light of Durr's behavior, Putnam asked Durr to exit the vehicle.

¶4. While outside the car, Putnam conducted a Terry¹ pat-down of Durr. He found no weapons and inquired further into Durr's travel plans. According to Putnam, Durr explained that he was driving Casey's vehicle, that they were taking Casey's mother-in-law, Denson, to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and that they were planning to return to Georgia afterward. Putnam then asked Durr how long he and Casey had known each other, and Durr explained that he and Casey had grown up together in Gulfport, Mississippi. Putnam also asked Durr whether he had ever been arrested, and Durr stated that he had prior weapons charges and felony-drug-trafficking charges. Putnam placed Durr in the front seat of Putnam's patrol car unrestrained while Putnam returned to the vehicle to speak with Casey.

¶5. Putnam testified that when he returned to the vehicle and began to speak with Casey, Casey was shaking and could barely speak. Contrary to Durr's statements to Putnam moments earlier, Casey told Putnam that they would be staying in Hattiesburg and that Casey had not known Durr that long. Based on Casey's behavior, Casey and Durr's contradicting statements and Durr's disclosure that Durr had prior weapons charges, Putnam became suspicious and concerned for his safety. Putnam then asked Casey to exit the vehicle.

¶6. While at the rear of the vehicle, Putnam attempted to pat Casey down for weapons. When Putnam began the pat-down, Casey suddenly attempted to put his hands down his pants. This prompted Putnam to place Casey in handcuffs for safety purposes, and Putnam radioed for assistance. Putnam then resumed the pat-down and felt what he believed to be a firearm near the inside region of Casey's thigh. Putnam described the object as being hard as wood. Just as Putnam felt this object, Casey resisted. Putnam placed Casey on the hood of the patrol car and restrained him until an additional deputy arrived. During this time, Putnam attempted to remove what he though was a gun from Casey's pants, and Casey continued to resist. Once another deputy arrived, two objects were retrieved from Casey's pants—a "vacuum-sealed, real hard" green leafy substance and a "compressed white powdery substance." Casey was placed under arrest and charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.

¶7. Two days after Casey's arrest on September 8, 2012, he was released on bail, and he returned to Georgia. As a condition of his bond, Casey was required to report to the Jones County Adult Detention Facility in Ellisville, Mississippi, on the first Tuesday of every other month. But according to Casey's defense counsel, Casey never returned to Mississippi.

¶8. On May 9, 2013, the grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Casey for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute in violation of Mississippi Code Section 41-29-139. A capias was issued that day, and a copy of the capias was filed approximately two months later with an annotation indicating that the capias could not be executed and that Casey's bondman had been contacted. An alias capias was then issued on July 19, 2013, but it was not executed until March 21, 2018.

¶9. On May 13, 2014, Casey, through counsel, filed a motion to suppress the cocaine found on Casey's person. A hearing on the motion to suppress was set to take place on May 20, 2014. But the hearing was cancelled by defense counsel due to a conflict with defense counsel's son's graduation. After the hearing was cancelled, the record fails to reflect any other activity in the case until March 2018.

¶10. In March 2018, Casey was arrested in Harrison County, Mississippi, on unrelated charges. On March 19, 2018, the trial judge entered an order to transport Casey to Jones County so that Casey could be served with his indictment and arraigned. Two days later, Casey was served with his indictment, was arraigned and trial was set for September 6, 2018. The day after Casey was arraigned, he was released on bond awaiting trial.

¶11. On August 28, 2018, Casey's attorney filed a notice of hearing on Casey's motion to suppress. The trial court held a hearing on the motion one week later, on September 4, 2018. That same day, the State requested that trial be continued because the State's expert witness from the crime lab would be unavailable to testify on September 6, 2018. Casey filed a formal objection to the State's request for a continuance, arguing that he would be severely prejudiced by a continuation because Casey had "traveled from Atlanta, GA and has been in town since September 4 to prepare for this trial." Casey maintained that he was prepared and ready to go to trial on September 6, 2018.

¶12. The trial court held a hearing on September 6, 2018, and heard oral arguments regarding the State's request for a continuance and for Casey's objection. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court noted two reasons for granting a continuance. First, the trial court noted that all the issues that were argued just two days earlier in Casey's motion to suppress had not yet been resolved. Second, the trial court found that the State established good cause based on the unavailability of its expert witness. On September 18, 2018, the trial court entered an order of continuance and reset the trial date for January 30, 2019.

¶13. On January 22, 2019 Casey filed a motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. Casey's jury trial began on January 30, 2019. At trial, Deputy Putnam testified, and a video of the traffic stop was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Patti Firment, the evidence clerk for Jones County at the time of Casey's arrest, testified for the State regarding the chain of custody of the cocaine. Firment also explained that the cocaine was destroyed by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics in 2016. Additionally, Jamie Johnson from the state forensics laboratory testified as an expert for the State. Johnson explained that her laboratory testing confirmed that the substance was cocaine.

¶14. The following day the jury found Casey guilty of the lesser-included offense of possession of cocaine in violation of Mississippi Code Section 41-29-139 (Rev. 2018). The trial court sentenced Casey to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with four years suspended pending completion of four years post-release supervision. After Casey's posttrial motions were denied, Casey timely appealed to this Court.

¶15. Casey raises three primary arguments on appeal. First Casey asserts that the trial court erred by declining to suppress the cocaine found on his person. Next, Casey argues that his constitutional right to a speedy trial was violated. Finally, Casey argues that his statutory right to a trial within 270 days of his arraignment was also violated. Because Casey's arguments are without merit, we affirm Casey's conviction and sentence.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶16. This Court employs a mixed standard of review to Fourth Amendment issues.

Martin v. State , 240 So. 3d 1047, 1050 (Miss. 2017). "Whether probable cause or reasonable suspicion exists is subject to a de novo review." Id. (internal quotation mark omitted) (quoting Eaddy v. State , 63 So. 3d 1209, 1212 (Miss. 2011) ). This de novo review, however, is limited by the trial court's determination of "historical facts reviewed under the substantial evidence and clearly erroneous standards." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Eaddy , 63 So. 3d at 1212 ). "On appeal, the trial judge's [factual] findings can only be reversed for manifest error or if they are against the overwhelming weight of the evidence." Walker v. State , 913 So. 2d 198, 224-25 (Miss. 2005) (citing Hunt v. State , 687 So. 2d 1154, 1160 (Miss. 1996) ).

¶17. "The standard of review...