Collins v. State
| Decision Date | 07 November 2017 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2016-KA-01002-COA,2016-KA-01002-COA |
| Parties | JAIRUS COLLINS A/K/A JAIRUS J. COLLINS A/K/A JAIRUS JIDON COLLINS A/K/A JARIUS COLLINS A/K/A JARIUS J. COLLINS APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: LAURA HOGAN TEDDER
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: PATRICIA A. THOMAS BURCHELL
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 11/07/2017
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
BEFORE IRVING, P.J., BARNES AND WESTBROOKS, JJ.
WESTBROOKS, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Jairus Collins was retried for the murder of Ebony Jenkins on May 10-12, 2016, in the Circuit Court of Forrest County. Collins was found guilty and sentenced as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-83 (Rev. 2015) to life without parole in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Aggrieved, Collins filed a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial, which the circuit court denied by order. Collins timely appeals. After review of the record, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2. In December 2011, Jenkins's body was discovered behind the Mississippi Children's Home Services Care School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Collins was later identified as a suspect in Jenkins's murder and arrested. In November 2012, a Forrest County grand jury indicted Collins as a habitual offender for Jenkins's murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The circuit court granted Collins's motion to sever the charges in his indictment.
¶3. After a trial on the murder charge, Collins was convicted in the Forrest County Circuit Court and appealed his conviction. This Court affirmed Collins's conviction. However, in August 2015, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed Collins's conviction and remanded for a new trial.1
¶4. Collins was retried on the murder charge on May 10-11, 2016, in the Forrest County Circuit Court. He was convicted of murder and sentenced as a habitual offender to serve life without eligibility for parole in the custody of the MDOC. Collins filed a motion for a JNOV or, in the alternative, a new trial. The circuit court denied the motion by order in July 2016. Collins timely appeals.
DISCUSSION
¶5. Collins argues that the circuit court improperly denied his requests for a directed verdict and JNOV. "Because motions for directed verdicts and JNOV motions require consideration of the evidence before the court when made, this Court properly reviews the ruling on the last occasion the challenge was made in the trial court." Shipp v. State, 847 So. 2d 806, 811 (¶20) (Miss. 2003) (citation and internal quotations omitted). Here, it is the denial of Collins's JNOV motion or, in the alternative, a new trial that was made last.
¶6. However, we find that Collins combined his arguments regarding the legal sufficiency of the evidence with his argument regarding the overwhelming weight of the evidence. We will address each issue separately.
¶7. "A motion for a JNOV tests the sufficiency of the evidence." Crowell v. State, 193 So. 3d 706, 710 (¶13) (Miss. Ct. App. 2016) (citation omitted). "When addressing the legal sufficiency of [the] evidence, we consider all evidence in the light most favorable to the State." Id. (citing Bush v. State, 895 So. 2d 836, 843 (¶16) (Miss. 2005) (abrogated on other grounds)).
¶8. Collins asserts that there was insufficient evidence to establish that he committed the crime, and that the State failed to establish he was in possession of the gun. However, this Court has held that the fact that "the only evidence supporting [a] conviction is circumstantial does not mean the evidence is insufficient." Goldsmith v. State, 195 So. 3d 207, 213 (¶24) (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). "The Mississippi Supreme Court has consistently held that the Statemay prove a crime solely by circumstantial evidence." Id.
¶9. Collins was convicted of deliberate-design murder under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19(1)(a) (Rev. 2014), which states:
¶10. The State established that Collins knew Jenkins through the testimony of Collins's brother, Joshia Collins. Joshia testified that he introduced Collins and Jenkins. The State also established that Collins knew Jenkins through the testimony of her friend, Jessie Miles.
¶11. Jessie testified that he gave his .40-caliber HiPoint pistol to Collins to repair approximately three weeks prior to Jenkins's murder. Jessie further stated that Collins never returned the gun to him. Jessie presented the receipt for the purchase of the pistol to the police shortly after Collins was arrested for Jenkins's murder. The receipt contained the pistol's serial number.
¶12. Jeff Byrd, a crime-scene investigator with the Hattiesburg Police Department, testified that a .40-caliber shell casing was found under some leaves close to where Jenkins's body was found. Further, Byrd stated that although the serial number had been partially scratched off of the pistol, he was able to retrieve its serial number. As a result, Jessie was identified as the owner of the pistol used to shoot Jenkins.
¶13. Further, the State established that Collins and Jenkins exchanged several phone calls and text messages prior to Jenkins's death. Kalina Collins, Collins's sister, testified thatCollins used her phone frequently, and that Collins possessed her phone prior to Jenkins's death. The State also presented evidence from the cell-phone records that Collins was in close proximity to Jenkins prior to her death.
¶14. A .40-caliber pistol was found in the woods wrapped in a gray hoodie. Joshia led the police to the location of the gun, after being in that same location with Collins after the murder. Craig Mitchell testified that he heard gunshots and saw a person wearing either a blue or gray hoodie sweater running toward apartments close to where Jenkins's body was found.
¶15. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we find that there was sufficient evidence to convict Collins of Jenkins's murder.
¶16. "When reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence, we 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." Bush, 895 So. 2d at 844 (¶18). "A motion for a new trial challenges the weight of the evidence." Crowell, 193 So. 3d at 710 (¶16).
¶17. Further, the Mississippi Supreme Court has held:
[T]he evidence should be weighed in the light most favorable to the verdict. A reversal on the grounds that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, unlike a reversal based on insufficient evidence, does not mean that acquittal was the only proper verdict.
Bush, 895 So. 2d at 844 (¶18) (citations and quotation marks omitted).
¶18. Collins asserts that there was conflicting evidence as to Jenkins's date of death. Healso asserts that the State failed to prove that he ever possessed the alleged murder weapon on December 7, 2011. Collins also maintains that a witness, Craig Mitchell, described a man of substantially different height and build running away from the murder scene, and as a result, the verdict was contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. However, "[t]he determination of witness credibility lies within the sole province of the jury." Griffith v. State, 123 So. 3d 472, 476 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. 2013) (citation omitted). Furthermore, "[w]e do not disturb a jury's finding on conflicting testimony where there is substantial evidence to support the verdict." Id. (quotation marks omitted).
¶19. After a careful review of the evidence and record, we find that a reasonable jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Collins was guilty of murder, and that Collins's guilty verdict was not so contrary to the evidence so as to constitute an unconscionable injustice. Further, we find no abuse of discretion by the circuit court's denial of Collins's motion for a new trial. Therefore, this issue is without merit.
¶20. Collins asserts that the State failed to prove the second element of the corpus delicti in the case. "To establish the corpus delicti in a homicide case, there must be proof of (1) death of a human being and (2) a criminal agency causing that death." Hodge v. State, 823 So. 2d 1162, 1165 (¶11) (Miss. 2002).
¶21. In this case, there was undoubtedly the death of a human being. Matthew Allen, a witness at trial, testified that he found Jenkins's lifeless body on the ground behind the Mississippi Children's Home Services Care School.
¶22. Next, we find that Dr. Mark LeVaughn's testimony satisfied the second element of the corpus delicti in this case. Dr. LeVaughn, chief medical examiner of the State of Mississippi, testified that Jenkins's body had four skin defects representing two perforating gunshot wounds. Dr. LeVaughn described these defects as two entry wounds and two exit wounds.
¶23. The following is an excerpt of Dr. LeVaughn's testimony:
To continue reading
Request your trial