State v. Littlejohn, 2014-UP-118
Decision Date | 19 March 2014 |
Docket Number | 2014-UP-118 |
Parties | The State, Respondent, v. Kendrick Littlejohn, Appellant. Appellate Case No. 2011-192126 |
Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Heard February 5, 2014
Appeal From Greenville County Edward W. Miller, Circuit Court Judge
Appellate Defender Susan Barber Hackett, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Assistant Attorney General Mark Reynolds Farthing, both of Columbia, for Respondent.
Kendrick Littlejohn appeals his convictions for assault and battery with intent to kill (ABWIK) and second-degree lynching. We affirm.
1. The circuit court did not err in denying Littlejohn's directed verdict motion on second-degree lynching. The State presented substantial circumstantial evidence Littlejohn possessed the premeditated intent to harm Agent Matthew Morlan. See State v. Gilliland, 402 S.C. 389, 397 741 S.E.2d 521, 525 (Ct. App. 2012) (); State v. Weston, 367 S.C. 279, 292-93, 625 S.E.2d 641, 648 (2006) (). The record shows Littlejohn asked Agent Morlan to come to where the other attackers were gathered, the assailants formed a semi-circle or "half-moon" around Agent Morlan, no evidence of an argument or confrontation between the parties suggest a provoked, spontaneous outburst of violence, and a distracting presence appeared at Morlan's partner's window in the seconds just prior to the assault. Taken together, these acts constitute substantial circumstantial evidence sufficient to overcome Littlejohn's directed verdict motion.
2. The admission of Agent Shawn Stallo's testimony he "felt like [he] was being distracted, " was not erroneous. See State v. Vang, 353 S.C. 78, 83-84, 577 S.E.2d 225, 227 (Ct. App. 2003) (); State v. Williams, 321 S.C. 455 464, 469 S.E.2d 49, 54 (1996) (); id. (); id. ().
3. We affirm the circuit court's refusal to charge the jury on simple assault and battery, because the evidence presented did not support such a charge. See State v. Knoten 347 S.C. 296, 302, 555 S.E.2d...
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