Wofford v. State
| Decision Date | 03 May 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2020-KA-01341-COA |
| Citation | 350 So.3d 628 |
| Parties | William WOFFORD a/k/a William Scott Wofford, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee |
| Court | Mississippi Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: WAYNE DOWDY, Magnolia
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALLISON KAY HARTMAN
BEFORE WILSON, P.J., GREENLEE AND EMFINGER, JJ.
GREENLEE, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1. William Wofford appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of burglary of a dwelling. Wofford's issues on appeal include insufficiency of the evidence, improper giving of jury instruction S-3, prohibiting of his witnesses’ testimony, and denial of bail pending appeal. Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2. On August 8, 2015, around 9:30 p.m., Buddy Dupuy returned home to find his home had been burglarized. After reporting the burglary to law enforcement, a deputy with the Amite County Sheriff's Department arrived at Dupuy's home sometime after 10:30 p.m. The following morning, Investigator Daniel Meaux Jr. arrived at Dupuy's home. Dupuy reported that guns, money, and other valuables had been taken from his safe. Although the burglary was investigated, no charges were brought, and no arrests were made until 2018.
¶3. On September 22, 2018, Dupuy received a phone call from one of his ranch hands, Gary Butler, informing him that his home had been burglarized again. Dupuy was in Baton Rouge at the time Butler called him. When Dupuy returned home, he found that a window had been completely knocked out, that the safe from the house was in the back of a Toyota pick-up truck, and that walls, floors, and packages within the house had been destroyed from the safe being towed out of the house.
¶4. After conducting a search of the area, deputies apprehended a person named Michael Weaver at the scene. He was read his Miranda rights, but he informed deputies that he did not want to talk with them. The Sheriff's Department also identified Paula Womack as a suspect and located her. After reading Womack her rights, Womack confessed to taking part in the 2018 burglary. Subsequently, Weaver told deputies he wanted to speak with them. According to Investigator Meaux, Weaver confessed to the 2015 burglary and identified Ray McNally and Jamie Dodson as the individuals who had helped him. Weaver also informed deputies that he burglarized Dupuy's home in 2015 and 2018 because William Wofford had recruited him. Deputies interviewed Wofford, who admitted to knowing Weaver. Wofford explained that Weaver had driven trucks for him and that Weaver was leasing an eighteenwheeler through him to a person named Clarence Lilly.
¶5. Deputies interviewed McNally and Dodson, who confessed to their part in the 2015 burglary. According to Weaver and Womack, a person named Clifton Love had provided them with a place to stay and allowed Womack to use a phone to keep in contact with Weaver as he carried out the 2018 burglary. Deputies also arrested Love. Initially, Weaver claimed that Love knew about the burglary but later recanted his statement, informing deputies that Love had nothing to do with the burglary.
¶6. An Amite County grand jury returned a six-count indictment for the 2015 and 2018 burglaries.1 Wofford was indicted in count one of the indictment for the August 8, 2015 burglary and in count two of the indictment for the September 22, 2018 burglary. On July 17, 2019, Wofford pled not guilty to his two counts and proceeded to trial on September 29, 2020.
¶7. At trial, several witnesses testified in behalf of the State. Dupuy testified that Wofford was a former employee and had been in his home several times before. Dupuy testified that after the 2015 burglary, he eventually recovered two of the stolen pistols from Wofford, who would later admit at trial that Weaver had sold him "some guns," including a .22-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol, a 9mm Beretta, and two .22-caliber automatics. Wofford had given the guns to his stepbrother, who was a police officer with the Prentiss Police Department in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, to ensure the weapons were "clean." Dupuy later retrieved the guns from Wofford's stepbrother.
¶8. Weaver also testified for the State. He explained that he drove a truck for Wofford from 2012 to 2013. While driving in Pennsylvania, Wofford told him that he had worked for Dupuy and that Dupuy had two safes in his home. Wofford asked Weaver if he could get into the safes, and Weaver responded affirmatively. Wofford explained the layout of Dupuy's home and showed Weaver where Dupuy's home was located. Weaver testified that he committed the 2015 burglary with McNally and Dodson. Weaver admitted that he chose to commit the burglary on August 5, 2015, because Wofford told him that Dupuy's workers would not be present at Dupuy's property on a rainy day.
¶9. When they arrived, Weaver claimed that he did not see anyone around and that the door was open. After entering Dupuy's home, Weaver testified that he only saw one safe. He hit the handle on the safe, and the door opened. Weaver testified that they took money and guns from Dupuy's safe before returning to Weaver's home in Woodlands, Mississippi.
¶10. At Weaver's place, Weaver, McNally, and Dodson proceeded to split up the loot. According to Weaver, they took ten percent off the top for Wofford and split the remaining stolen goods and funds among themselves. Weaver testified that he and Dodson met Wofford in Vardaman, Mississippi, between one and two weeks after the burglary. Weaver got into Wofford's truck, where he gave Wofford his share of the booty from the burglary.
¶11. Weaver also testified regarding the 2018 burglary. He testified that he burglarized Dupuy's home on September 22, 2018, because Wofford told him that Dupuy had been in Baton Rouge all week and that no one would be on the property. Weaver told Wofford he needed a bull pin and some blades to complete the burglary. Wofford called around to different businesses to locate the bull pin. Wofford found the location of the items needed and informed Weaver where he could get the items. Wofford also supplied Weaver with the grinder he needed to get into the safe.
¶12. Weaver and Womack drove to Dupuy's home on Thursday, September 20, 2018. When they arrived, Weaver saw "red lights in the shed." Weaver called Wofford to ask him about the lights thinking it was a type of security system. Wofford told him that they were electric fence lights. Weaver decided not to carry out the burglary that night. They returned late the next night, Friday, September 21, 2018. Womack drove Weaver to Dupuy's but then told him to get out because she no longer wanted him in her car. Weaver stated that Womack was supposed to drive him to Dupuy's and drop him off and pick him up, but she did not.
¶13. Unlike the 2015 burglary, Weaver had to break a window to enter Dupuy's home. Dupuy's safe was locked. Weaver attempted to open it with the tools he brought with him. Weaver testified that he spent three to four hours trying to open Dupuy's safe. After realizing that he could not open it, Weaver decided to take the safe with him. Weaver retrieved Dupuy's tractor and hooked it to the safe before pulling it through Dupuy's window. Since Weaver no longer had transportation to haul the safe, he "borrowed" a Toyota pick-up truck from Dupuy's premises. By the time Weaver had loaded the safe, the truck ran out of gas and would not start. As Weaver attempted to get the truck to start, Dupuy's employees began to return. The ranch hands tried to stop Weaver from getting away, but he ran. Weaver testified that he received a call from Wofford as he was running. Weaver informed Wofford that he was hiding in some bushes. Wofford told Weaver he needed "to get out of there" and told him which direction to travel. Specifically, Weaver stated that Wofford told him to "go down to a bridge and go South." According to Weaver, Wofford told him not to get caught with the cell phone on him. However, Weaver did not listen, figuring that Wofford was trying to get him apprehended by the police. Hiding, Weaver eventually fell asleep but was awoken by a police canine. The police collected the cell phone he had been using, and he was arrested there on September 22, 2018.
¶14. During questioning, Weaver told Investigator Meaux about the phone calls exchanged with Wofford during the burglary. Based on that information, Investigator Meaux retrieved Weaver's cell phone, Wofford's cell phone, and Wofford's AT&T phone records. Kristy Silva, an intelligence analyst with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, identified 166 deleted call-log entries from Wofford's cell phone at trial. According to Silva, all entries between April 6, 2017, and November 15, 2018 had been deleted. Investigator Meaux testified that Weaver's cell phone and Wofford's AT&T records showed calls between September 21, 2018 and September 22, 2018.
¶15. Wofford and his wife, Geneva, testified in his behalf. Wofford testified that he met Weaver in November 2014. Wofford denied driving as a team with Weaver in August 2015. Wofford claimed that he did not know anything about the 2015 or the 2018 burglaries. He also denied receiving a share of the 2015 burglary. According to Wofford, he spoke with Weaver on September 21, 2018, regarding a meeting between himself, Weaver, and Lilly about the sale or leasing of a truck. He denied ever speaking about Dupuy's safe or speaking with Weaver regarding guns located at Dupuy's.
¶16. The jury found Wofford guilty of two counts of burglary of a dwelling. The court sentenced him to serve twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.
¶17. Wofford asserts the following errors on appeal: (I) the evidence was insufficient to prove all the essential elements of burglary of a residential dwelling; (II) jury instruction S-3 constructively amended the indictment and was a...
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