Perkins v. State, 2001-KA-01135-SCT.
| Decision Date | 13 November 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 2001-KA-01135-SCT.,2001-KA-01135-SCT. |
| Citation | 863 So.2d 47 |
| Parties | Romika PERKINS v. STATE of Mississippi. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Ray T. Price, Hattiesburg, John D. Smallwood, Tupelo, attorneys for appellant.
Office of the Attorney General, By: Jean Smith Vaughan, attorneys for appellee.
Before McRAE, P.J., EASLEY and GRAVES, JJ.
GRAVES, Justice, for the Court.
¶ 1. This appeal arises from a jury verdict in the Circuit Court of Warren County, Mississippi. The jury convicted Romika Perkins (Perkins) of aggravated assault, two counts of armed robbery, rape, and six counts of kidnaping. He was ultimately sentenced to 35 years on count I of the indictment (armed robbery), 35 years on each count II of the indictment (armed robbery), 35 years on counts III-VIII of the indictment (kidnaping), 20 years on count IX (aggravated assault) and a life sentence on count X of the indictment (rape). All sentences to run consecutively. Aggrieved by the convictions and sentences, Perkins filed a motion for J.N.O.V. or in the alternative for a new trial which was denied by the trial court. Perkins appeals and raises seven issues:
I. Whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress statements and evidence obtained without probable cause, without a valid search warrant and in violation of Perkins's federal and state constitutional rights;
II. Whether Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-53 is unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution;
III. Whether the trial court erred in failing to enter a directed verdict in favor of Perkins as to three counts of kidnaping as they relate to the minor children under ten.
IV. Whether the trial court erred in sentencing Perkins to 35 years for each count of kidnaping as the maximum sentence allowed under Miss. Code § 97-3-53 is 30 years.
V. Whether the trial court erred in failing to enter a directed verdict or JNOV as to count IX of the indictment as it relates to Romiko Perkins as the State failed to prove the elements of aggravated assault as alleged.
VI. Whether the trial court committed error in allowing in-court identification of Perkins by victims.
VII. Whether the trial court committed cumulative error in the voir dire process.
Perkins also raises the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel in his supplemental brief.
FACTS
¶ 2. In July of 1999, the adult female victim and her four children, ages three months to fourteen years, went to look at a house that they were interested in purchasing. The victim and her husband were looking for a larger home and found an ad in the newspaper describing a home in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The victim called Mr. Triplett ("Triplett"), the owner of the home, and set up an appointment to view the home. The victim's husband, who works the night shift, did not accompany his wife and children to the home.
¶ 3. The victim and her four children arrived at the home at the designated time and exited their vehicle. The victim was carrying her three month-old child in a car seat when they approached the home. The victim saw a white car in the driveway and assumed it belonged to the owner of the home. She and her children were met in the driveway by two men, Romika Perkins ("Perkins") and Darren Warren ("Warren"). The men had been out drinking the night before and slept in the house, believing it to be abandoned. When Perkins and Warren heard the car approaching, they armed themselves. Perkins had a handgun, and Warren had an aluminum baseball bat. Perkins put on a ski mask, and Warren covered his face with panty hose.
¶ 4. The victim and her children were met by Perkins and Warren and were told to get down on the ground. In the meanwhile, Triplett arrived and drove down the driveway, and the victim and her children were all forced into the house and ordered to get into a closet while Perkins and Warren lay in wait for Triplett. Triplett entered the home and was surprised by the two men who immediately demanded his wallet. Triplett complied and was hit in the head with the baseball bat, knocking him unconscious. The two men then tied him up with cords that they found in the house.
¶ 5. The men took the victim out of the closet and showed her Triplett, who was lying on the floor bleeding and unconscious, telling her that if she did not cooperate that the same thing would happen to her. While the victim was in the closet with her children, she could hear the men beating Triplett so she removed her jewelry and placed it by the door in hope that the men would take it and not hurt her or her children. The men then forced the victim to get her purse from her vehicle and give them her cash, ATM card and PIN number.
¶ 6. Perkins took the victim to a small room upstairs, leaving the children locked in the closet and Warren to "watch" Triplett. While inside this room, Perkins forced the victim to remove her clothing, placed her shirt over her face, and raped her. After the rape, the victim lost control of her bodily functions. She was then ordered to put her clothes back on and was taken back downstairs where Warren was located. After realizing that the victim had lost control of her bodily functions, Warren ordered the victim to "clean herself up." She did so and was then ordered to remove all of her clothing once again. After she removed her clothing, Warren put her clothing in the toilet to prevent her from escaping. Once she was again naked, she was forced to perform oral sex on Warren.
¶ 7. After performing oral sex on Warren, the victim, not knowing that her clothing had been put in the toilet, asked if she could put her clothes back on but was forced to remain naked. The two men then brought her fourteen year old son into the room, where his mother remained unclothed, and tied the two together with computer wire and cords from the window blinds. The two men covered the victim and her son with a sheet and left the room.
¶ 8. During the time the victim was being raped, Triplett regained consciousness periodically, and each time he tried to come to the victim's assistance, he was again hit or kicked in the head. Finally, Perkins and Warren left the house, promising to return if the PIN number given by the victim was incorrect.
¶ 9. Although he was still disoriented, Triplett was able to get free, and the victim's fourteen year old son was able to get the wires loose enough to slip out of the confinement. The victim then cut herself free using a pair of fingernail clippers that she had in her purse. She covered herself with the sheet that had been draped over her and her son, got her three other children out of the closet, and exited the home. The victim's fourteen year old son ran to the minivan and discovered that the keys were still in the van. The victim and her children got in the van and drove down the driveway to pick up Triplett, who was still very disoriented and who was walking to the neighbor's house to get help. The victim's fourteen year old son drove the victims to the emergency room for help.
¶ 10. Perkins and Warren used the ATM card in three different places, two of which captured the image of the perpetrator on video. One video from Mutual Credit Union showed the user as a person wearing a distinctive pair of sunglasses. The perpetrators were stopped the following afternoon by an officer who recognized the white Pontiac Grand Am from the description that was given to the police by the victims. When he stopped the car, he recognized that one of the men in the car was wearing what looked like the same sunglasses that had been recorded on the video at the ATM machine. The wearer of the sunglasses was Perkins, and when the vehicle was searched, a baseball bat was found in the trunk. The blood stains on the bat were tested and proved to be that of Triplett. Perkins confessed to the crimes and told the officers that the two had used the ATM card and divided the money. The two men stayed at a Scottish Inn, the night of the crime, and the victim's jewelry, ATM card and Triplett's credit cards were recovered from the room.
DISCUSSION
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL JUDGE ERRED IN FAILING TO SUPPRESS STATEMENTS AND EVIDENCE OBTAINED WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE, WITHOUT A VALID SEARCH WARRANT AND IN VIOLATION OF PERKINS'S FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. ¶ 11. Perkins asserts that the trial judge erred by admitting evidence obtained from the white Pontiac Grand Am without a warrant for Perkins's arrest. Perkins claims that the stop of the vehicle was an "investigatory stop" and that Perkins was placed in custody as a result. He further claims that the stop was illegal and that the evidence obtained from the car and his subsequent confession to the crimes that followed should have consequently been suppressed. These same arguments were raised at trial and were denied by order of the trial judge.
¶ 12. A traffic stop was made by a Vicksburg police officer on the day following the crimes. As a result of the stop, Perkins was handcuffed and placed in "investigative custody." Perkins was then detained for the purpose of identification. Perkins claims that the officer had no reason to stop and/or arrest him and that all evidence obtained as a result of that stop and arrest should have been excluded by the trial court.
¶ 13. The admission of evidence is governed by the trial court, and its decision will not be reversed unless an abuse of discretion occurred. Gray v. State, 728 So.2d 36, 56 (Miss.1998). Perkins sought to exclude all statements and physical evidence obtained as a result of his stop and arrest. Following the suppression hearing, the trial judge reviewed the testimony, the videotapes and other evidence and that the stop and arrest of Perkins was based on probable cause.
An officer or private person may arrest any person without warrant, for an indictable offense committed, or a breach of the peace threatened or attempted in his...
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