Jones v. State
| Decision Date | 16 June 2020 |
| Docket Number | NO. 2018-KA-01747-COA,2018-KA-01747-COA |
| Parties | David JONES a/k/a David Bernard Jones, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: THOMAS P. WELCH JR., Jackson
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALLISON ELIZABETH HORNE
EN BANC.
CARLTON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. A Forrest County Circuit Court jury convicted David Jones of armed robbery. The trial court sentenced David to twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with five years suspended and twenty years to serve, and placed him on five years of post-release supervision.
¶2. David now appeals his conviction and sentence. On appeal, David asserts the following assignments of error: (1) the State failed to produce exculpatory evidence prior to trial; (2) the State made improper statements during closing arguments; (3) the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence; and (4) the cumulative errors warrant reversal. After our review, we find no error. We therefore affirm David's conviction and sentence.
FACTS
¶3. On November 21, 2016, David agreed to drive Aaron Jones,1 Virgil Luckett, and Carlos Sibley to an apartment complex called "The Flats." Upon arriving at The Flats, three of the men exited David's vehicle, wearing bandanas over their faces. They came to Irene Martin's apartment and knocked. Believing it was someone bringing her granddaughter's seizure medication, Martin opened the door. Martin testified that three men wearing bandanas over their faces burst in, throwing Martin to the floor. Martin testified that one of the men held a gun to her head and ordered to her to get on the floor. According to Martin, the men started kicking her and asking her "where's the money?" and "where's the dope?". Martin replied that she had neither. The men threatened to kill Martin and her infant granddaughter, so Martin told them to take what money she had in a drawer. The men took $250 as well as her prescription medication. Martin and her seventeen-year-old granddaughter, Delixis Page, and her college-aged daughter, Taliyah Martin, all testified at trial that they could not identify any of the men because the men had covered their faces with bandanas.
¶4. Several days after the robbery, Aaron, Sibley, and Luckett were arrested. Thereafter David turned himself in. David, Aaron, Sibley, and Luckett were indicted for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. David pleaded not guilty to both charges and was granted a severance to have his case tried separately from Aaron, Luckett, and Sibley. At trial, the State elected not to pursue the conspiracy count.
¶5. The record reflects that Sibley pleaded guilty for his role in the robbery. As part of his plea bargain, Sibley agreed to testify against David. At trial, Sibley testified that on November 21, 2016, he overheard Aaron call David and ask him to drive Aaron, Sibley, and Luckett to commit a robbery. Sibley stated that David agreed and picked up the three men in his vehicle. The men instructed David to drive them to a location for the purpose of robbing a man known as "Big 60." According to Sibley, David was aware that he was driving the men to the location for the purposes of committing a robbery. Sibley testified that David responded that he would participate by driving them "as long as he gets some of the money."
¶6. Sibley testified that upon arriving at Big 60's house, he, Aaron, and Luckett exited the vehicle while David remained inside. The men knocked on the door. When they realized that Big 60 was not home, the three men returned to David's vehicle. According to Sibley, David asked, "[W]hat's next, ... is this over?" The men replied "no," so David asked, "[W]here we going?" Aaron instructed David to drive to The Flats. Sibley testified that the men intended to rob a man known as "Big Joe," who lived at The Flats.
¶7. Sibley testified that upon arriving at The Flats, he remained in the car, and David, Aaron, and Luckett exited the vehicle. Sibley stated that he did not know where the men went after they exited the vehicle. When asked during cross-examination why he stayed in the car, Sibley testified that the only person he agreed to rob that evening was Big 60. Sibley also stated that none of the men were being held at gunpoint or forced to participate in the robbery.
¶8. Sibley stated that when the men returned to the vehicle, Aaron gave David $12 for gas money. The men went to the Junior Food Mart, and David exited the vehicle to get gas and pay for it. Sibley testified that after David got gas, he drove the men home.
¶9. Detective Jeremy Dunaway with the Hattiesburg Police Department testified that his investigation of the robbery first led him to the other suspects. Detective Dunaway stated that David later voluntarily turned himself in to the police. Detective Dunaway testified that David told him that he feared Aaron, so he waited until Aaron and Luckett had been arrested before coming forward. Detective Dunaway stated that David provided a written statement to the police. Detective Dunaway read the written statement for the jury.
¶10. In his written statement to police, David admitted he drove Aaron and the others to The Flats on November 21, 2016. According to the written statement, David said that Aaron called him and asked David to pick him up, telling David that he would give him gas money. David agreed. When he arrived to pick up Aaron, David stated that Luckett and Sibley also entered David's vehicle. David proceeded to drive where Aaron instructed, first to the house of a man known as "Big 60" and then to The Flats apartments. David stated that before they turned into the apartment complex, Aaron showed David his gun. David expressed in his statement that after Aaron showed him the gun, he was afraid and therefore did everything Aaron asked.
¶11. Upon arriving at The Flats, Aaron told David to park and wait; David complied. David stated that when Aaron returned, he gave David $12. David told Aaron that he wanted to go home, but according to the statement, Aaron was "still waving the [gun] around." David stated that Aaron gave him some gas money, and he stopped at a Junior Food Mart to get gas. David later dropped the others off and went home.
¶12. Detective Dunaway also interviewed David at the police department. Detective Dunaway testified that David told him that during the entire incident, he stayed in the vehicle the whole time and that he was being held at gunpoint against his will. Detective Dunaway commented that if David "stayed with the vehicle [during the robbery at The Flats], he had ample opportunity to leave that location."
¶13. Detective Dunaway also testified that in the course of investigating the robbery, he collected surveillance video from the Junior Food Mart and spoke to a clerk who was working the register that evening. According to Detective Dunaway, the clerk stated that although David entered the Junior Food Mart that evening, at no time did David ask for help or advise the clerk that he was in trouble.
¶14. At trial, David testified in his own defense. David informed the jury that he did not know Aaron well, but that for a month before the robbery he would occasionally give Aaron rides in exchange for money. David testified that on November 21, 2016, Aaron called him, and David agreed to give him a ride. When David arrived at Aaron's location, Aaron and two other men entered his vehicle. Aaron told David that he needed a ride to the other side of town. David then drove him to a blue house; Aaron got out and came back with a large gun. David asked him what was going on, and Aaron replied, "Just drive."
¶15. David testified that upon seeing the gun, he was scared, and he stated that Aaron "actually held me at gunpoint the whole time he was in my car." David drove the men to The Flats and parked where Aaron instructed. David testified that the men exited his vehicle and that he remained in the car with the ignition on and waited for them. David testified that when the men returned to his vehicle, they gave him some money. David admitted that he accepted the money. When asked, "Where do you think the money came from?" he responded, "From the place they went to."
¶16. David testified that later that evening, he drove the men to a gas station. Upon Aaron's orders, David exited the vehicle, got gas, and then entered the gas station to pay for the gas. David testified that he then returned to his vehicle, and Aaron ordered him to return to the gas station to buy some beer. David returned to the gas station and bought beer. David testified that he then dropped the men off and returned to his home. David further testified that while dropping the men off, Aaron threatened David and instructed him not to call the police.
¶17. David explained that after the robbery, he waited until Aaron and Luckett were arrested before turning himself in. David testified that he was scared of Aaron, and he described Aaron and Luckett as violent. David also testified that Aaron knew where David lived as well as where his mom lived.
¶18. The jury returned a verdict finding David guilty of armed robbery. David filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, in which he argued the same issues he raises on appeal. The trial court denied David's motion. David now appeals.
DISCUSSION
¶19. David argues that the State committed a Brady violation by withholding exculpatory evidence; namely, that Aaron was indicted for intimidating David by making threats. David maintains that the witness-tampering indictment against Aaron was material and exculpatory and that the State's failure to produce it in discovery violated his due process rights as established by law.
¶20. In Brady v. Maryland , 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held "that the...
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