Decatur v. State
| Decision Date | 25 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 2019-KA-01527-COA,2019-KA-01527-COA |
| Citation | 324 So.3d 1154 |
| Parties | Robert DECATUR a/k/a Robert James Decatur, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee. |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: HUNTER NOLAN AIKENS
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: LAUREN GABRIELLE CANTRELL
BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., LAWRENCE AND SMITH, JJ.
SMITH, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. A Hinds County jury convicted Robert Decatur of the second-degree murder of Dammian Trunnell. The Hinds County Circuit Court sentenced Decatur to thirty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with ten years to serve, twenty years suspended, and five years of supervised probation. On appeal, Decatur argues the circuit court erred by (1) excluding evidence of his peaceful character; (2) excluding evidence of threats made against him; and (3) failing to instruct the jury on heat-of-passion manslaughter. Finding no reversible error, we affirm Decatur's conviction and sentence.
FACTS
¶2. Several days prior to Trunnell's death, Decatur delivered one of two missing dogs to the home of his brother-in-law Cord Johnson. Decatur testified at trial that he found a female pit bull running loose and put the dog inside his vehicle. Decatur recognized the pit bull because the owner, William Butler, was a first cousin to Decatur's wife Ashley. After receiving the female pit bull from Decatur, Cord testified that he contacted Butler, who did not believe Decatur had simply found the dog. Instead, Butler accused Decatur of stealing both his male and female pit bulls. Cord testified that around 9 p.m. on April 22, 2015, Butler, Trunnell, and Albert English Jr. came to his home. Cord stated that Butler and English were his cousins and that they were looking for Butler's missing male pit bull. Cord further stated that Trunnell had come to his home "to add evidence that he did see [Decatur] with the dog." Cord testified that the three men were upset when they left his home and that he "felt like they were going to do something to [Decatur]."
¶3. Ashley and her mother Linda Johnson testified that Butler, English, and Trunnell also came to their home that evening. Although she was unsure of the exact time, Linda testified that it might have been around 10 p.m. when the three men arrived. Both Ashley and Linda stated that Butler and English arrived in one vehicle and that Trunnell arrived in a second vehicle. Ashley testified that Butler, who appeared angry and upset, accused Decatur of stealing his dog. Linda likewise testified that the three men were upset over Butler's missing dog and that they appeared to still be upset after they spoke with her and Ashley. Once the three men drove away, Linda called Decatur. Linda testified she told Decatur that Butler, English, and "some other guy" she did not know had come to the house and were upset. Linda stated that she warned Decatur about the three men because she did not want anyone to hurt him.
¶4. Decatur testified that he was at the gym on April 22, 2015, when Linda called him between 10 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. As he was speaking to Linda, Decatur received another call from Butler. Decatur testified that Butler was very hostile and accused him of stealing a male pit bull. Decatur denied having Butler's missing dog and asked Butler to stop going to his home and making threats against him. Decatur stated that after he diffused the tension with Butler, he and Butler agreed to meet to further discuss the matter.
¶5. No dispute exists that Decatur subsequently drove to encounter Butler and English at their grandmother's home. Nor does any dispute exist that during the encounter, Decatur produced a handgun and fired four or five shots, one of which killed Trunnell. After leaving the crime scene, Decatur drove home, called police, and surrendered himself to law enforcement. Following his arrest, Decatur waived his Miranda1 rights and gave a statement to Detective Jermaine Magee of the Jackson Police Department. Decatur told Detective Magee about the dispute that had arisen between him and Butler regarding Butler's missing dog. After speaking with Butler on the phone, Decatur stated that he had agreed to drive over to the home of Ashley, Butler, and English's grandmother to meet with Butler in person. Decatur stated that Butler and English were standing outside when he pulled up and exited his vehicle.
¶6. Although he admitted at trial that he lied about what happened next, Decatur claimed during his pretrial interview that Trunnell pulled up beside him as he was speaking to Butler and English. According to Decatur's first version of his story during his statement to police, Trunnell began speaking in a hostile manner and waving a black handgun at him. Decatur told Detective Magee that he decided to leave because he felt as though he had been set up by the other three men. Decatur stated that as he walked back toward his vehicle, he heard Trunnell put his vehicle in park and declare that he was going to "blast" Decatur. Decatur claimed that Trunnell's actions scared him so he pulled out his own weapon and fired about three to five shots at Trunnell. Although he did not know where all his bullets went, Decatur stated that he saw one shatter the rear window of Trunnell's vehicle and another hit the vehicle's tailgate. Decatur told Detective Magee that Trunnell was the only person he had seen in possession of a gun.
¶7. After interviewing Decatur, Detective Magee reviewed video footage of the shooting. Detective Magee discovered that the video footage contradicted Decatur's version of events in several important respects. The police obtained the video footage from William Melton, a former deputy with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department. Melton lived on the street corner where the shooting had occurred, and his home security cameras had captured the shooting. While sitting in his home office, Melton received an alert on his computer that notified him of rapid movement outside his home. Melton's security cameras showed Decatur's white Chevrolet Impala driving quickly along the street. Decatur ran a stop sign and then parked a few feet behind Trunnell's already parked silver Ford Expedition. Melton watched on his computer as Decatur exited his Impala and walked toward the front of the vehicle. As Decatur reached the front of his vehicle, he fired a gun four to five times. The video showed that only a few seconds had passed between the time Decatur exited his vehicle and when he fired his gun. Melton testified that he had his office window slightly open and could hear the gunshots as he watched events unfold on his computer. After firing his gun, Decatur approached the passenger side of Trunnell's Expedition and looked into the vehicle. He then turned his back on the scene, walked back to his own vehicle, and drove away.
¶8. Melton called 911 and went outside to check on everyone. Melton testified that he looked for a gun as he approached the crime scene but did not see one either inside Trunnell's vehicle or in the possession of anyone present. As Melton approached the street, he saw three or four men attempting to pull Trunnell from the Expedition and load him into another vehicle to take him to the hospital. Melton testified that there was a lot of blood at the scene and that Trunnell did not appear to be conscious.
¶9. The only weapon investigators recovered in connection with the shooting was Decatur's gun. Upon searching Decatur's Impala, investigators found a Glock 9-millimeter handgun with live rounds in the magazine. Investigators also found ammunition in the vehicle's center console and on the rear floorboard. From the crime scene, investigators collected one bullet and five shell casings from the street near the rear of Trunnell's Expedition. During their search of the Expedition's interior, investigators discovered another bullet lodged in the vehicle's rear speaker. In addition, investigators noted that the Expedition's rear window was shattered and that there was a bullet hole visible in both the vehicle's back door and front window.
¶10. At trial, Decatur admitted that he had lied during his interview with Detective Magee. Decatur attributed his lies to a desire to protect Butler and English, who were his wife's cousins. Decatur testified at trial that during his phone conversation with Butler on April 22, 2015, he had agreed to meet Butler at Butler's residence. Decatur testified that on his way to Butler's residence, he drove by the home of Ashley, Butler, and English's grandmother. Decatur stated that he observed Butler's red Chevrolet Tahoe and a silver Ford Expedition parked on the street outside the residence. Decatur stated that he parked behind the silver Expedition and exited his own vehicle to speak to Butler. Decatur testified that Butler was seated in the driver's seat of the Tahoe and that English was standing between the Expedition and the Tahoe.
¶11. Decatur claimed that he was "actually outside [his] vehicle a good little minute" before he fired his gun. The video footage showed, however, that only a few seconds passed between the time Decatur exited his vehicle and the time he first fired his weapon. According to Decatur's trial testimony, English pulled out a gun as he approached. Decatur claimed that English's actions scared him so he pulled out his own gun and fired the weapon four or five times. Decatur testified that English dropped the gun he was holding and that he (Decatur) approached the other men to check on them. Decatur stated that he glanced inside the silver Expedition and realized for the first time that Trunnell was in the driver's seat. Decatur testified that he saw Trunnell move and therefore assumed Trunnell was fine. Despite Decatur's claims that he was afraid for his life and knew there was a gun on the ground near English and Butler, the video footage showed that Decatur turned his back on...
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