Shaheed v. State

• Decision Date: 13 December 2016
• Docket Number: NO. 2015–KA–00743–COA,2015–KA–00743–COA
• Citation: 205 So.3d 1105
• Parties: Hamin SHAHEED a/k/a Hamin Shaheed II, Appellant/Cross–Appellee v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee/Cross–Appellant
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

205 So.3d 1105

Hamin SHAHEED a/k/a Hamin Shaheed II, Appellant/Cross–Appellee
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee/Cross–Appellant

NO. 2015–KA–00743–COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 13, 2016

BRANDON ISAAC DORSEY, ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

205 So.3d 1108

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY, GENERAL BY: LISA L. BLOUNT, JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE

EN BANC.

WILSON, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. Hamin Shaheed shot and killed his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend during an altercation at his girlfriend's apartment complex. A Hinds County jury convicted him of first-degree murder, and the circuit judge sentenced him to life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with all but twenty years suspended. On appeal, Shaheed argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction, that his conviction is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and that the circuit judge erred by denying his requests for "stand your ground" and castle doctrine jury instructions. On cross-appeal, the State argues that the circuit judge lacked authority to suspend any part of Shaheed's life sentence and that Shaheed could only be sentenced to life in prison.

¶ 2. There was sufficient evidence to support Shaheed's conviction for deliberate design murder, and the circuit judge did not abuse her discretion in denying the jury instructions that Shaheed requested. In addition, we agree with the State that the circuit judge erred by partially suspending Shaheed's sentence. Accordingly, we affirm Shaheed's conviction but remand for the circuit court to impose a life sentence with no part suspended.

FACTS

¶ 3. On September 15, 2013, Shaheed was visiting his girlfriend, Lanisha Gardner, in her second-floor apartment. Around 12:30 a.m., Trinton Truss—who was previously romantically involved with Gardner—came to Gardner's apartment and banged on the door. Without opening the door, Gardner told Truss that her boyfriend was sleeping over and that he should leave. By the time Gardner opened the door to talk to Truss, Truss was walking away from the door, throwing the "finger sign."

¶ 4. Around 10:30 a.m., Truss returned to Gardner's apartment and banged on the door again. Shaheed started to answer the door, but Gardner, who had seen Truss through the window, stopped him. Gardner knew that Truss carried a gun, and she was afraid that there would be trouble between the two men, who had never met. Through the window, Shaheed saw Truss cock his gun, and Gardner heard the click. Shaheed and Gardner then decided that Gardner should go outside and persuade Truss to leave.

¶ 5. As soon as Gardner opened her door, Truss began talking to her. Gardner waved Truss away from the door and motioned for him to walk down the stairs and away from the apartment. She and Truss left the breezeway of the apartments and walked down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. According to Gardner, Truss was upset, "talking erratic," and asking why her boyfriend was there. Truss stated that he thought that he and Gardner were in love, and he told her to "shut up" whenever she asked him to leave. During this exchange, Gardner was facing Truss with her back to the stairs to her apartment.

¶ 6. Still in the apartment, Shaheed heard yelling and looked for Gardner and Truss from the apartment windows. Unable to see either of them, Shaheed left the apartment with his gun on his hip. He testified that he approached Truss and Gardner and asked, "Is there a problem? What's going on? Are you okay?" According to Shaheed, Truss responded, "Ain't shit going on, my nigga. What's up." Shaheed and Gardner both testified that Truss

205 So.3d 1109

then reached for his pistol, which was inside his waistband.

¶ 7. Truss and Shaheed then struggled. Shaheed claims that he was only trying to prevent Truss from drawing his gun. But according to Shaheed, Truss broke free and again attempted to draw his gun. Shaheed then pulled his own gun and shot Truss three times in the head. After shooting Truss, Shaheed fled the scene.

¶ 8. Tijuana Collins, another resident of the apartment complex, was the only other eyewitness to the shooting. At trial, she testified that she saw Truss and Shaheed tussling and that Truss "pulled his hand up and [Shaheed] shot him."

¶ 9. Truss was taken to the hospital but died from his wounds. Officer Robert Bufkin of the Jackson Police Department (JPD) testified that a gun was recovered from Truss's body at the hospital. Bufkin testified that the gun was "locked and loaded, ready to go." JPD Officer Obie Wells also testified that a gun was found in Truss's pants "in between his legs."

¶ 10. A grand jury indicted Shaheed for first-degree murder. At trial, Shaheed stipulated that he shot Truss and caused his death. After a three-day trial, the jury found Shaheed guilty of first-degree murder.

¶ 11. Post-trial, Shaheed filed motions for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a new trial, but the trial court denied his motions. The trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment, "with all suspended except 20 years." Shaheed appeals his conviction, and the State cross-appeals the partial suspension of his life sentence.

DISCUSSION

I. Weight and Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 12. Shaheed argues that he is entitled to a judgment of acquittal or, in the alternative, a new trial because, in his view, no reasonable juror could have found that he did not act in self-defense. Therefore, he argues that there is insufficient evidence to support a conviction for first-degree murder or, at the very least, that the conviction is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. When addressing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, "the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Bush v. State , 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss. 2005) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 315, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) ). The issue is not whether we would have found Shaheed guilty based on the evidence presented at trial; rather, his conviction must be affirmed if the evidence was sufficient for "any rational trier of fact" to have returned a guilty verdict. Id. "When reviewing a denial of a motion for a new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence, we will only disturb a verdict when it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice." Id. at 844 (¶ 18). The evidence should be "[v]iewed in the light most favorable to the verdict," and we will affirm unless "[t]he trial court ... abuse[d] its discretion in denying a new trial." Id. at (¶ 19).

¶ 13. The testimonies of Shaheed and Gardner, though challenged or impeached in some respects at trial, generally support Shaheed's claims that Truss reached for his gun first; that Shaheed struggled with Truss in an effort to keep him from pulling his gun; and that Shaheed shot Truss in self-defense only after Truss broke free and again reached for his gun. The only other witness to the shooting, Collins, a

205 So.3d 1110

resident of another apartment in the complex, testified at trial, "I seen two guys tussling. The next thing I know, [Truss] pulled his hand up and [Shaheed] shot him." Collins was some distance away from the men when Truss was shot, she did not see what led up to their "tussling," and at trial she never clarified her ambiguous testimony that Truss "pulled his hand up." Collins did not see Truss's gun, but it was undisputed that he had a gun on his person. If this were all of the evidence in the record, it is possible that Shaheed's conviction for deliberate design murder would have to be reversed.

¶ 14. However, JPD Detective Jermaine Magee testified that Shaheed shot Truss while Truss "was trying to defuse the situation [by] raising his hands and being advised that he didn't want any part of the altercation." On cross-examination, Magee again testified that Shaheed shot Truss while Truss was trying to defuse the situation by "raising his hands and moving away from" Shaheed. Magee was not present when Truss was shot; rather, he testified—without objection—based on what Collins told him during an interview at the crime scene. Magee also testified—without objection—that Shaheed displayed his gun as he approached Truss, but Truss never displayed his gun. This testimony was based on his interviews with Collins and Gardner.

¶ 15. Before Magee took the stand, JPD Corporal Sandra Dalton had given similar testimony. Shaheed objected to Dalton's testimony on hearsay grounds, but his objections were overruled. Shaheed did not assert any similar objection to Magee's testimony. Nor did Shaheed request or receive any sort of continuing objection or raise the issue again at any point at trial. Also, on appeal Shaheed has not challenged the trial court's evidentiary rulings or the admissibility of Dalton's or Magee's testimony.

¶ 16. "[U]nobjected-to hearsay evidence, once received by the court and presented to the...