Daniels v. State
| Decision Date | 11 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2021-KA-01067-COA |
| Citation | 348 So.3d 1055 |
| Parties | Jeremiah DANIELS a/k/a Jermiah Daniels a/k/a Jeremiah Leland Daniels, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: GEORGE T. HOLMES, Jackson
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALEXANDRA LEBRON
BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., WESTBROOKS AND SMITH, JJ.
CARLTON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Following a jury trial in the Tippah County Circuit Court, Jeremiah Daniels was convicted of two counts of armed robbery, two counts of attempted aggravated assault, one count of house burglary, and one count of grand larceny, all arising out of events occurring on July 27, 2020, in Tippah County. Other criminal charges, including a felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge, were brought against Daniels in Benton County relating to the police pursuit that ensued the same morning when Daniels "took off" into Benton County in a gold Lexus he had taken in Tippah County.
¶2. With respect to his Tippah County convictions, the trial court sentenced Daniels as a non-violent habitual offender to concurrently serve the following terms: thirty years for each count of armed robbery, twenty years for each count of attempted aggravated assault, twenty-five years for burglary of a dwelling, and five years for grand larceny.
¶3. On appeal, Daniels asserts that the trial court erred by (1) informing the jury that Daniels was charged as a habitual offender and (2) allowing evidence to be admitted at trial of Daniels's Benton County charges (particularly the felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge) and related testimony. For the reasons addressed below, we affirm Daniels's convictions and sentences.
STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶4. Following a high-speed police pursuit into Benton County from Tippah County on July 27, 2020, Daniels was apprehended in Benton County when the gold Lexus he was driving broke down. With respect to events occurring earlier that morning in Tippah County, a Tippah County grand jury indicted Daniels for two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-79 (Rev. 2020) (Counts I and II), two counts of attempted aggravated assault under section 97-3-7(2)(a) (Rev. 2020) (Counts III and IV), one count of burglary of a dwelling under Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-17-23 (Rev. 2020) (Count V), and one count of grand larceny under section 97-17-41 (Rev. 2020) (Count VI). Daniels was indicted as a non-violent habitual offender for each count under Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev. 2020). Daniels's conduct during the police pursuit in Benton County led to separate criminal charges in that county, including felony evasion, simple assault on a law enforcement officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
¶5. Before trial, the Tippah County Circuit Court ordered Daniels to undergo a mental-health evaluation and a M'Naghten1 analysis. Dr. Dominic Galvez, a licensed psychologist at Mississippi State Hospital, performed the evaluations. Daniels's competency hearing was held on August 16, 2021. At that hearing, Dr. Galvez testified "to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty" that Daniels was competent to stand trial. The trial court agreed and found Daniels competent to stand trial based on Dr. Galvez's testimony, a thorough review of the forensic report that was admitted into evidence, and the fact that Daniels did not present an expert witness to rebut Dr. Galvez's opinion.
¶6. The trial court also addressed two evidentiary motions the State had filed. First, the State had filed a motion to allow into evidence Daniels's Benton County charges because they were interrelated with the Tippah County events and admissible under Mississippi Rule of Evidence 404(b)(2) as proof of "motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident." The trial court granted this motion. Details of its ruling are addressed in context below.
¶7. A couple of days after the State filed its first evidentiary motion, Daniels served a "Notice of Intent to Offer Insanity Defense." Daniels presented an insanity defense at trial. After the notice was filed, the State filed a second evidentiary motion seeking authority to allow into evidence the "details of [Daniels's] prior criminal history and use of controlled substances and intoxicating liquors on and prior to July 27, 2020" and "all evidence to the issue of [Daniels's] sanity." As detailed below, the trial court granted the motion in part, but the court held in abeyance its ruling on the admissibility of Daniels's criminal history from Texas.
¶8. Trial began on August 18, 2021. The trial court introduced the case to the prospective jurors with a reading of Daniels's charges at the beginning of voir dire. In the course of doing so, the trial judge stated, "He's been charged in the indictment as a habitual offender." Voir dire continued, and challenges for cause and peremptory challenges were made. After the jury had been selected and sworn, the defense moved for a mistrial based on the trial court's habitual-offender reference before the jury panel. The trial court denied that motion. Its ruling on the mistrial motion is addressed in context below.
¶9. After opening statements, the State presented its case-in-chief.
¶10. Greg Duncan testified that he was outside hanging a light for Polly James on July 27, 2020, when he saw Daniels "beating" on the door of an empty shed on the property. Duncan climbed down the ladder to see what was going on, and Daniels asked to use his cell phone. Duncan obliged. After that, Daniels asked if he could pull his truck around into the shade because his dog was inside. Duncan told him that he could. Daniels then asked Duncan if he had a gun. Duncan said no, even though he knew there was a shotgun inside Polly's home. As Daniels walked toward his truck, Duncan ran inside the house, grabbed the 12-gauge shotgun, and told Polly to call the police. Daniels pulled his white Ford pick-up truck with a Texas license plate around to the shade. Daniels approached the house with his gun, but he eventually left before police arrived. On cross-examination, Duncan said that Daniels told him that "the mafia was chasing him." Duncan also said that Daniels appeared to be "on some kind of a drug" by the way he was acting: he was nervous and shaking.
¶11. Daniels's next stop was just down the street at the home of Polly's neighbor Debbie Jackson. Jackson had worked the previous night and was asleep when Daniels arrived. Daniels broke into Jackson's house by smashing the window of her kitchen door. The sound of the crash startled Jackson awake, but she assumed a painting fell and went back to sleep. Daniels proceeded through the house and into the garage where Jackson kept her gold Lexus. He stole the Lexus and left behind his white Ford pick-up truck with the Texas license plate in the front seat.
¶12. Daniels drove Jackson's car to the Freeman farm where nineteen-year-old Ryan Freeman and his eleven-year-old brother, Jake Freeman, were preparing for work. Ryan saw the gold Lexus come "flying in the driveway" and pull up behind his grandfather's house. He walked to the house and saw Daniels trying to break inside. When Daniels saw Ryan, Daniels told him that people were after him (Daniels). Daniels then walked back to the Lexus and returned with a gun. Daniels aimed the gun at the boys, ordered them to lie on the ground, and demanded they give him their phones and wallets. The boys did as they were told, and Daniels left, but not before Ryan got the Lexus's license plate number. As soon as they were sure Daniels was gone, the boys ran to their neighbor's house to report the robbery. The license plate number that Ryan gave to the police linked the vehicle to Debbie Jackson.
¶13. Dustin Musselman and Pascual Ramirez testified that they were on a work trip from Alabama to clean chicken houses at a nearby farm. Musselman was driving his employer's van that day, and Ramirez was in the passenger seat. As they neared their destination at about "9:00, 9:30" in the morning, Musselman saw a vehicle "flying up behind [them]" in his rearview mirror. Musselman first thought the driver was trying to pass them and did not give it much thought. Then, Ramirez began screaming. Musselman looked over and "all [he saw] was the barrel of the gun sticking out[.]" Musselman would later identify the gold Lexus in a photo admitted into evidence as the vehicle that the gunman was driving at the time. Musselman also would later identify the work van he was in and bullet holes in the van following the incident. Ramirez would testify and corroborate Musselman's testimony.
¶14. Investigator Josh Bateman for the Tippah County Sheriff's Department testified the tag number that Ryan Freeman reported was traced back to Jackson. When deputies went to Jackson's home, they discovered the white Ford pick-up truck with a Texas tag inside, which was associated with the occurrence described by Duncan. The deputies then realized these events were all related.
¶15. Deputy Gerald Lollar of the Benton County Sheriff's Department testified that he received word that the suspect of several crimes committed in Tippah County that morning was headed in his direction. The deputy drove to where the suspect was believed to be traveling and waited for him to arrive. Soon, Daniels pulled up beside Deputy Lollar, but Daniels "took off" into Benton County when the deputy told him to get out of the car. The deputy chased Daniels for twelve to fourteen miles, going speeds of over 100 miles per hour. Deputy Lollar...
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