Wilson v. State

• Decision Date: 20 November 2012
• Docket Number: No. 2011–KA–00889–COA.,2011–KA–00889–COA.
• Citation: 101 So.3d 1182
• Parties: Timothy Allen WILSON a/k/a Timothy Wilson, Appellant, v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
• Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals

101 So.3d 1182

Timothy Allen WILSON a/k/a Timothy Wilson, Appellant,

v.STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2011–KA–00889–COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

Nov. 20, 2012.

W. Daniel Hinchcliff, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorney for appellee.

Before GRIFFIS, P.J., BARNES and ISHEE, JJ.

BARNES, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. A Warren County grand jury returned an indictment against Timothy Wilson and two other individuals, charging them with grand larceny of a truck, a trailer, and two lawn mowers, taken from Cook Tractor Company. After a jury trial, Wilson was found guilty as charged. The trial court sentenced Wilson as a habitual offender to ten years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) with five years suspended, five years to serve, and five years of post-release supervision. Wilson appeals, raising one issue: the sufficiency of the evidence. Finding no error, we affirm Wilson's conviction and sentence.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On the morning of December 10, 2007, Adam Cook discovered property was stolen from his family's tractor and lawn care equipment business, Cook Tractor Company, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Items stolen were a 2001 white Chevrolet Duramax truck, a sixteen-foot utility trailer, and two “zero-turn” lawn mowers. William Cook (Cook), Adam's father and the business's owner, valued the property at $1,600 for the trailer, $9,800 for one mower, and $4,500 for the other mower. Cook's certificate of title for the truck was entered into evidence over the objection of the defense. Additionally, a document indicating what Cook's insurance company paid him for the loss of his truck ($15,269.38) was entered into evidence, again over the defense's objection. Cook identified the missing property through photographs. The stolen property was recovered in March 2008.

¶ 3. At the business, all equipment of value is kept behind a six-foot tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, which surrounds the property. Chain-padlocked gates secure the front and back entrances. A security video of the property showed two individuals coming in the back gate at approximately 9:30 p.m. on December 9. Cook stated the individuals were of medium build. However, Cook could not identify them, as the utility light was off in three of the four camera views.

¶ 4. Adam is the store manager and in charge of security. He testified that when he came to work the morning of December 10, the back gate was wide open. The chain and padlock were still in place, but a pole had been cut off at the ground to open the gate. Also, someone had attempted to cut through the padlock. Adam immediately called his father about the theft and then called 911. Adam reviewed the security tapes that morning and found four of the seven outdoor surveillance camera recordings helpful for the investigation.

¶ 5. Derrick Curtis, a co-indictee who pleaded guilty to grand larceny, ¹ testified as to the following events. On the morning of December 9, he and Michael Woodhouse, another co-indictee, traveled from Utica to Wilson's house in Vicksburg. That evening, after a few drinks, Wilson wanted to go for a ride with Curtis and Woodhouse. They took the vehicle of Wilson's girlfriend. Curtis drove. They stopped at a Texaco gas station next to Cook's business. Woodhouse and Wilson walked to Cook Tractor, leaving Curtis in the vehicle at the Texaco. Curtis claimed he became nervous when his friends did not return; so he called Wilson on his cell phone. Curtis decided to leave the Texaco and pulled the vehicle out on the roadway. Wilson and Woodhouse then “blew pas[t]” him in a white Chevy truck with a trailer behind it carrying “some lawn mower stuff.” Curtis determined “[t]his ain't good .... it's trouble.” Wilson drove the white truck to the house of Curtis's father in Utica, where all three men met. Curtis called a friend, Howard Hill, to “fence” the stolen property. Hill, Curtis, and Woodhouse then drove to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to sell the stolen equipment, while Wilson went home. Curtis testified the stolen property was sold for $3,000, of which Curtis received $500, Woodhouse $1,000, and Wilson $1,500. Curtis paid Woodhouse and Wilson their shares the following morning. Curtis maintained that it was Wilson's idea to go to Cook Tractor.

¶ 6. The stolen property was recovered on the coast. Curtis and Woodhouse confessed to law enforcement about their involvement. Woodhouse told former investigator Jeff Crevitt (now a justice court judge) that he and Wilson went inside Cook's fence and stole the truck. Crevitt was told Hill sold the truck, trailer, and two lawn mowers for $11,000. Crevitt found both Curtis's and Woodhouse's statements to be very reliable; their version of events matched the information discovered during the investigation.

¶ 7. Woodhouse also pleaded guilty to grand larceny.² He received no promises from the State in exchange for his plea and trial testimony. Woodhouse testified the Cook Tractor theft was Wilson's idea. His version of the events was as follows. On December 9, Woodhouse and Curtis, who were riding around Utica, received a call from Wilson. They drove from Utica to Wilson's house in Vicksburg. They all got into Wilson's vehicle, with Curtis driving. They spoke of “that little old job”—that is, “going out to Cook's place.” Just before they arrived, Wilson exited the vehicle and got a pair of bolt cutters. However, the chain and lock securing the back gate could not be cut; so they cut the hinges off the gate, and it opened. The surveillance video confirmed his testimony, and what was taken. Woodhouse helped Wilson hitch the trailer to the Chevy truck. They then loaded the two mowers onto the trailer and drove off in the Chevy truck. Curtis was waiting at the Texaco, and they waved for him to come along. They drove to the house of Wilson's father in Utica and contacted Hill to sell the stolen equipment. They proceeded to the coast where Hill sold the items.

¶ 8. Wilson had an alibi witness, his fiancée, Diane McNeil. She testified that December 8 was her birthday and that Wilson was at her birthday party at the time the theft occurred. However, on cross-examination, she admitted that she had refused to speak with the prosecutor and had never come forward to law enforcement concerning the alibi.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9. Motions for a directed verdict and a JNOV both challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 843 (¶ 16) (Miss.2005). “[T]he 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.” Id. (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 315, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). All credible evidence supporting the defendant's guilt will be accepted as true, and the evidence will be considered in the light most favorable to the State. McClain v. State, 625 So.2d 774, 778 (Miss.1993).

ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

¶ 10. Wilson argues that the evidence presented at his trial for grand larceny was not sufficient to support the guilty verdict. Grand larceny is defined as the “taking and carrying away, feloniously, the personal property of another, of the value of [$500.00] or more....” Miss.Code Ann. § 97–17–41(1) (Rev.2006).

¶ 11. Specifically, Wilson claims that the State did not meet its burden of proving conclusively who owned the stolen property because the proof of ownership offered by the State was not specific enough. Wilson argues it was unclear who the actual owner of Cook Tractor is; Cook only testified that he “owns a tractor and lawn care equipment” business, which sells commercial or residential tractors, lawn-care equipment, and trailers. It is a “family business”—two of Cook's sons work at the store in Vicksburg, and his wife works at a store in Natchez. When specifically asked who owns the business, Cook stated: “At this time I don't work, so I guess that means that my wife owns 50 percent of it.” He then agreed with his counsel's statement that he is the sole owner and his wife owns an interest in the business.

¶ 12. Wilson also contends that the State did not establish that Cook Tractor owned the white Chevy truck, but that it was owned by Cook individually. Finally, Wilson claims the State never established that either Cook or Cook Tractor owned the lawn mowers. He maintains the proof at trial only offered multiple possible owners, and not a single owner as required by law.

¶ 13. In support of his argument, Wilson cites Bester v. State, 222 Miss. 706, 713, 77 So.2d 270, 273 (1955), for the rule that “in a prosecution for larceny the State must prove ownership of the stolen property as alleged in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.” However, the “strict rule” from Bester that Wilson relies upon, which was taken from Johnson v. State, 186 Miss. 405, 412, 191 So. 127, 129 (1939), has been “implicitly overruled” by several cases. Cooper v. State, 639 So.2d 1320, 1323 (Miss.1994) (citing Bullock v. State, 391 So.2d 601, 609 (Miss.1980); Mahfouz v. State, 303 So.2d 461, 462–63 (Miss.1974)).

¶ 14. The Mississippi Supreme Court has stated: “As a general rule of law in a prosecution for larceny, an allegation of the ownership of stolen goods is supported by proof of any legal interest or special property in the goods; for example, where the person or corporation named in the indictment is in lawful possession as a bailee or common carrier.” Mahfouz, 303 So.2d at 462–63 (emphasis added). Here, the indictment claims Wilson took the “personal property of Cook Tractor,” specifying the truck, trailer, and two lawn mowers. The State contends that the testimony and the exhibits provided at trial adequately prove ownership. We agree.

¶ 15. The Mississippi Supreme Court and this...