Murry v. State
| Decision Date | 16 August 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2020-KA-01363-COA |
| Parties | JOSHUA ALLEN MURRY A/K/A JOSHUA MURRY APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY MOLLIE MARIE McMILLIN
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALEXANDRA RODU ROSENBLATT
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: SCOTT WINSTON COLOM
BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McCARTY AND SMITH, JJ.
¶1. After a Lowndes County jury convicted Joshua Murry of the first-degree murder of Jarrell Ward, the Lowndes County Circuit Court sentenced Murry to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). On appeal, Murry asserts the following arguments: (1) the circuit court committed plain error by allowing the State to make improper comments during cross-examination and closing arguments; (2) the circuit court committed plain error by admitting into evidence certain photographs of the victim; and (3) his trial attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel. Finding no reversible error, we affirm Murry's conviction and sentence.
¶2. On the evening of July 25, 2018, Murry attended a party in Columbus, Mississippi. After arriving at the party, Murry joined two Columbus acquaintances, Tremarcus Monroe and Greg Morris, in gambling that was taking place. During the course of the gambling, Murry, Monroe, and Morris (the Columbus group) began competing and betting against Ward, Emmanuel Dudley Jr., Jaylen Jernagin, and Corey Higgins from Starkville, Mississippi (the Starkville group). Murry testified at trial that by the time the party ended around 1 a.m. on July 26, 2018, he had lost about $300 to the Starkville group. After leaving the party, the Columbus group learned that the Starkville group planned to continue gambling at Dudley's apartment in Starkville. The Columbus group arranged to join the gambling at Dudley's apartment. Murry had driven to the party in his white Dodge Challenger, which had an Arkansas license plate, and he offered Monroe and Morris a ride to Starkville. Murry testified that the three men stopped by his residence, where he went inside and grabbed about $700 in cash, and then the Columbus group drove to Starkville.
¶3. After everyone arrived at his apartment, Dudley went to sleep while the other men continued to gamble. Murry testified that by about 6 a.m., he had lost all the money he had with him. Ward's friend, Jernagin, testified that Murry claimed he had more cash at his Columbus residence and that he could use the cash to cover his losses if Ward and Jernagin would allow him to continue gambling with them. Informing the others that he did not "gambl[e] on air," Jernagin left Dudley's apartment and went home. Murry and Ward continued to gamble until about 8:30 a.m. Murry testified that he had probably lost a total of $1,100 to Ward but only still owed Ward about $600 or $700 when they finished gambling. By contrast, Monroe and Morris both testified that to the best of their knowledge, Murry still owed Ward about $1,300 when the gambling finished. Regardless of the exact amount Murry still owed Ward, Murry promised to pay Ward the remaining balance if Ward accompanied Murry to his Columbus residence.
¶4. On the drive back to Columbus, Murry stopped at a gas station, and he and Ward went inside. Video footage from the gas station's surveillance system showed that Murry wore a black shirt with a white logo while Ward wore a white shirt with a logo, a black belt, blue jeans, and red and white tennis shoes. Monroe and Morris also rode back to Columbus in Murry's vehicle, and later they would both testify that they did not observe any blood or bullet holes while riding in Murry's vehicle. Although Monroe and Morris fell asleep on the way to Columbus, they stated that as far as they knew, nothing occurred during the drive that would have resulted in Ward's blood or bullet holes later being found inside the vehicle.
¶5. Monroe and Morris both awoke as Murry's vehicle neared Columbus. Upon reaching Columbus, Murry first stopped at Monroe's residence. After Monroe exited the vehicle, Morris remained in the back seat while Ward moved from the back of the vehicle to the front passenger seat beside Murry. Murry then dropped off Morris. According to Murry, he and Ward proceeded to Murry's residence, where Murry gave Ward the money he owed him.
Murry testified that Ward "mentioned something about getting a room," so Murry suggested a hotel. Murry stated that he dropped Ward off in a parking lot behind the Donut Factory in Columbus and that Ward got into a red vehicle driven by an unknown woman.
¶6. Contrary to Murry's testimony, Morris stated that he never heard Ward mention anything about wanting to be dropped off at the Donut Factory to meet a woman in a red vehicle. Instead, Monroe and Morris both testified that they heard Ward say he needed to rent a car. Monroe further testified that Ward did not have his driver's license with him and asked to use Murry's driver's license to rent the car. Morris stated that as far as he knew when he exited Murry's vehicle, Ward planned to collect his money from Murry and then rent a car. Both Monroe and Morris testified that they never saw or heard from Ward again after they exited Murry's vehicle.
¶7. Ward's friends Dudley and Jernagin also testified that they had no knowledge of a female driver in a red vehicle and that Ward had never mentioned any such woman to them. Dudley and Jernagin further testified that Ward did not have his cell phone with him on the evening of July 25, 2018, while they were gambling. Based on Dudley's and Jernagin's testimony, the State questioned Murry on cross-examination about how Ward had arranged to meet the unknown female driver if Ward did not have his cell phone with him. The State asked whether Murry had seen Ward in possession of his cell phone during the drive back to Columbus or whether Murry had seen Ward use his cell phone to call or text the unknown female driver. Murry testified that he did not recall whether Ward had his cell phone with him on the drive to Columbus, and Murry stated that he did not recall Ward using either his own or anyone else's cell phone to arrange to meet the woman in the Donut Factory parking lot.
¶8. According to Murry, he returned home after dropping Ward off in the Donut Factory's parking lot. Although Murry stated he had made plans to meet with Ward later in the week to continue gambling, Murry testified that he never again saw or heard from Ward. Murry further testified that the following morning, on July 27, 2018, he discovered one of the windows in his vehicle had been broken. Murry stated he had attributed the damage to a woman he had been dating at the time.
¶9. Murry testified that he called Glass Doctor in Starkville about repairing the broken window. Sandra Gilmore, the office manager at Glass Doctor, testified that Murry had informed her that he would need "[t]he passenger door glass and the passenger quarter glass, which would be the right side of the vehicle" replaced on his Dodge Challenger. After beginning the work on Murry's vehicle, technician Joshua Smith informed Gilmore that there were bullet holes in the vehicle. When Gilmore inspected Murry's vehicle with Smith, she observed "[t]hat there was a bullet hole[,] and the bullet was coming from inside the vehicle to the outside." Smith confirmed during his own testimony that the bullet holes he and Gilmore observed started from inside the vehicle and proceeded toward the outside of the vehicle. Gilmore and Smith further testified that they observed a bullet hole in the vehicle's window trim.
¶10. When questioned at trial about the bullet holes inside his vehicle, Murry testified that he had purchased the vehicle used and had not paid attention to the many defects at the time of purchase. Murry further claimed he did not know the source of either the bullet fragments or the blood that law enforcement later found inside his vehicle. After observing the bullet holes in Murry's vehicle, Gilmore reported the finding to the Starkville Police Department. Once police officers documented the bullet holes and released the vehicle for repairs, Smith replaced the broken glass on Murry's vehicle.
¶11. Officer John Compton, who worked with the Columbus Police Department at the time of Ward's death, testified that he received a dispatch call on July 27, 2018, about a missing person. After speaking with Ward's parents, John and Betty Ward, Officer Compton called Murry. Murry told Officer Compton that he had dropped Ward off at the Donut Factory in Columbus and that Ward had gotten into a red car driven by an unknown woman. At the time of their phone conversation, Murry told Officer Compton that he was in Jackson, Mississippi. After his initial inquiries, Officer Compton turned the case over to Investigator Reginald Adams.
¶12. Investigator Adams also spoke to Ward's parents and then contacted Murry. Ward's father John had informed Investigator Adams that Ward's cell phone was still in Starkville. Therefore, when he spoke to Murry, Investigator Adams asked how Ward had been able to communicate with the unknown female driver if he did not have his cell phone. In response, Murry stated that he did not know. Investigator Adams asked whether Murry could come to the Columbus Police Department for further questioning, but he recalled Murry stating that he was in Southaven, Mississippi, for a family reunion.
¶13. Based on Murry's statement to both officers that he had dropped off Ward at a specific location, Investigator Adams went to the only Donut Factory in Columbus and reviewed several hours of...
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