Wayne v. State

• Decision Date: 26 April 2022
• Docket Number: 2021-KA-00084-COA
• Parties: Darius Montrell WAYNE a/k/a Darius Wayne a/k/a Darius M. Wayne a/k/a Darius White, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

337 So.3d 704

Darius Montrell WAYNE a/k/a Darius Wayne a/k/a Darius M. Wayne a/k/a Darius White, Appellant

v.STATE of Mississippi, Appellee

NO. 2021-KA-00084-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

April 26, 2022

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: PHILIP CAREY HEARN, Jackson, ANNA KATHERINE ROBBINS

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: LADONNA C. HOLLAND, Jackson

BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., GREENLEE AND McDONALD, JJ.

CARLTON, P.J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Shavez¹ Aldridge was killed in an altercation among a group of people on April 1, 2019. Among other counts, Darius Montrell Wayne was indicted for the first-degree murder of Shavez pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19(1)(a) (Rev. 2020).² A DeSoto County Circuit Court jury found Wayne guilty of murder under this count and not guilty of the other counts. The trial court denied Wayne's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial and sentenced Wayne to a term of life in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).

¶2. Wayne appeals, asserting that the trial court erred (1) by allowing the State to present rebuttal evidence consisting of Wayne's recorded statement to the police taken three days after the altercation; (2) by overruling Wayne's objection to the State's playing Wayne's entire hour-long recorded statement, rather than just those portions of Wayne's statement that impeached his trial testimony; and (3) by denying Wayne's post-trial motions. As to this final assignment of error, Wayne asserts that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict that he committed first-degree murder, rather than acting in self-defense, and the jury's verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence for this reason. For the reasons addressed below, we find that these assignments of error are without merit. Accordingly, we affirm Wayne's conviction and sentence.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF FACTS

¶3. A DeSoto County grand jury indicted Wayne, Az-Hakim Oliver, and Kalani Tiapula for conspiracy to commit murder (Count I), the first-degree murder of Shavez Aldridge (Count II), and the first-degree murder of Rodney Clark (Count III). Wayne, Oliver, and Tiapula were tried together in a five-day trial beginning October 5, 2020.

¶4. Mickquez Aldridge and Davion Austin, who were both present on the evening of the shooting, testified for the State. They both testified that on April 1, 2019, they and Shavez were sitting at Shavez's grandmother's house on Tacoma Place (a cul-de-sac off of Lafayette Drive in Olive Branch, Mississippi) when Tiapula, Wayne, and Oliver pulled up to Wayne's grandmother's house, which was next door.

¶5. The group began arguing, mainly about a previous gun trade between Wayne and Rodney Clark that had resulted in Wayne owing Rodney either a gun or money. According to Mickquez and Davion, the co-defendants then drove off, and Oliver pointed a semi-automatic rifle out of the window of the car as they were leaving. Mickquez and Davion further testified that a few minutes later, Wayne and Oliver walked back to Tacoma Place. Oliver was carrying the semi-automatic rifle. Wayne testified in his own defense at trial and admitted he was carrying a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun. Davion testified that Oliver pointed the rifle at him, Shavez, and Mickquez and demanded they return "the gun." Davion said that he, Shavez, and Mickquez all told Oliver and Wayne that they did not have a gun. At that point, Shavez called Rodney to bring the gun in question.

¶6. Mickquez and Davion testified that Rodney and Keith Bowen then pulled up to the scene; Rodney and Wayne discussed the gun situation and came to an agreement. The others were still arguing and this led to Oliver and Mickquez engaging in a "one-on-one" fight. Davion testified that during the fight between Oliver and Mickquez, Wayne pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Shavez. Davion said he then saw Wayne chase Shavez around a house and he heard additional shots. When Wayne chose to testify in his own defense later in the trial, he admitted that he shot Shavez three times with a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun. Mickquez testified that no one from his group (i.e., himself, Davion, and Shavez) had a gun that day, and Davion also testified that the only people he saw that day with a gun were Wayne, Oliver, Tiapula, and Keith.

¶7. Keith (who had arrived at the scene with Rodney) also testified for the State. He said he saw Wayne shoot Shavez as Shavez was at the back door of Tiapula's car.³ Keith said he began shooting at Wayne "because he shot my cousin," but then he (Keith) saw that Tiapula was shooting at him and Mickquez, so he "took off running." Keith testified that the only people he was aware of that had guns on the scene that day were himself, Wayne, and Tiapula. Davion and Keith testified that Wayne, Tiapula, and Oliver (the co-defendants) left the scene in Tiapula's car. Shavez and Rodney died on the scene from gunshot wounds.

¶8. Detective Sherrie Driver was assigned to investigate the April 1, 2019 shooting and testified for the State. Her investigation revealed that Wayne, Tiapula, and Oliver fled to Memphis to first hide out at the apartment home of one of Oliver's relatives. A Shelby County Fugitive Apprehension Team found Tiapula's car, with the car tags removed, parked outside of the Memphis apartment. Detective Craig Dickson, also on the case, testified that during a search of Tiapula's car, officers found her license plate, SKS semi-automatic rifle ammunition, a spent rifle casing, a live rifle bullet, and a Ruger 40-caliber handgun box. Officers also recovered an SKS from the apartment. The co-defendants were arrested at the Memphis home of another one of Oliver's relatives. Among the items seized during their arrest were a Ruger 40-caliber handgun, a box of 40-caliber ammunition, and a loaded magazine. Officer Ronnie Flanigan testified that officers later recovered Wayne's Taurus 9-millimeter handgun hidden under the bathroom sink at that home.

¶9. Dr. David Arboe testified for the State as an expert in the field of forensic pathology. Dr. Arboe testified that Shavez had gunshot wounds to his chest, left buttock, and left calf. During Shavez's autopsy, Dr. Arboe removed three bullets that he sent to the crime lab. Dr. Arboe testified that Shavez's cause of death was "multiple gunshot wounds" and "that the manner of death ... was homicide." This same information was set forth in Dr. Arboe's report that was admitted into evidence at trial.

¶10. Felicia McIntire testified for the State as an expert in firearms and toolmark identification. She testified about the process of comparing unknown projectiles to known firearms. She opined that based on her analysis, the three projectiles recovered from Shavez's body had been fired from Wayne's Taurus 9-millimeter handgun.

¶11. The State rested its case-in-chief and Wayne moved for a directed verdict, which the trial court denied.

¶12. Wayne chose to testify at trial. He said that he was eighteen when the shooting occurred and he was twenty at the time of trial. Wayne testified about how close he and Shavez had been growing up and that he had lived near him on Tacoma Place. He testified that in April 2019, however, he had been living in Memphis with Oliver's family because he had been receiving threatening messages about the gun transaction between him and Rodney. Wayne described what happened on the evening of the shooting, admitting he shot Shavez three times with a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun, but claiming that he shot in self-defense after he saw Shavez coming out of Tiapula's car with Oliver's semi-automatic rifle (the SKS).

¶13. Wayne admitted on cross-examination that he did not see Shavez with any gun before that time. Wayne also admitted that Shavez did not have a gun in his hand when he was running away from Wayne after Wayne shot him the first time. Wayne admitted that he shot Shavez two more times (in the back of Shavez's leg and buttock), but he added that "he [(Shavez)] was reaching inside his pants."

¶14. In rebuttal, the State recalled Detective Driver, who had obtained a statement from Wayne three days after the shooting. Over the defense's objections, the audio recording of Wayne's statement was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. As addressed in further detail below, in his recorded statement Wayne told Detective Driver that he shot Shavez after Shavez got Oliver's gun from Tiapula's car. He also vacillated between asserting that he did not chase Shavez and shoot him two more times, and his inconsistent representation that he did not remember doing so. Wayne's counsel cross-examined Detective Driver, and the State conducted a brief redirect examination.

¶15. The State finally rested. Counsel for Wayne did not request an opportunity to present surrebuttal evidence in response to Detective Driver's rebuttal testimony or Wayne's recorded statement. Wayne renewed his motion for a directed verdict, which the trial court denied.

¶16. After the trial court instructed the jury and counsel presented their closing arguments, the jury deliberated and found Wayne guilty of first-degree murder under Count II of the indictment. The jury found Wayne not guilty on Counts I and III and found Oliver and Tiapula not guilty on all three Counts. After Wayne unsuccessfully moved for a JNOV or a new trial, the trial court sentenced Wayne to serve a term of life in the custody of the MDOC. Wayne appealed.

DISCUSSION

I. The State's Recall of Detective Driver as a Rebuttal Witness and the Introduction of Wayne's Recorded Statement

¶17. Wayne asserts that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce and play his recorded statement for the jury in rebuttal. According to Wayne, his statement should have been introduced during the State's case-in-chief. "The determination of whether evidence is properly admitted as rebuttal evidence is within the trial court's...