I N T H E C O UR T O F APPEA LS O F TH E STAT E O F M I SS I SS I PPI NO . 2 0 1 3 - KA - 0 1 4 0 5 - CO A

RY AN M CC L E ND ON AP P EL LA NT
v. STATE O F M I SS I SS I PPI APP ELLEE D A T E O F JU D G M E N T : 02/ 13/ 2013 T R IA L JU D G E : H O N . T H O M A S J. G A R D N E R III CO UR T F RO M W HI CH AP P E AL E D: LE E COUNTY CI RCUI T COURT A T T O R N E Y F O R A P P E L L A N T : JO N A T H A N W . M A R T IN AT T OR NE Y F OR AP P E L L E E : OF F I CE OF T HE AT T OR NE Y GE NE RA L BY : L I S A L
. BL OUNT DI S T RI CT AT T OR NE Y: J OHN R I CH AR D YOUN G NAT UR E OF T HE CA S E : CR I M I NAL - F E L ONY T RI AL CO UR T DI S P OS I T I ON: CO NVI CT E D OF AR M E D R OB BE RY AND S E N T E N C E D T O T W E N T Y -F IV E Y E A R S IN TH E C U STO D Y O F TH E M I SSI SSI PPI DEPA RTM ENT O F CORR ECTI ON S, W I TH F I F T E E N YE AR S S US P E NDE D AND F I VE YE AR S OF P OS T
- RE L E AS E S UP E RV I S I ON D I SPO SI T I O N : A FFIRM E D – 12/ 02/ 2014 M OT I ON F OR RE HE AR I NG F I L E D: M ANDAT E I S S UE D: B E F O R E I R V I N G , P . J. , F A I R A N D JA M E S, JJ. I RVI NG , P. J . , FOR TH E COU RT: ¶1. A L ee C o u n ty jury fou n d R y an M cC lend o n g u il ty o f arm ed rob b ery . T h e c ir cu it co u rt
s ent ence d M cC l endon t o tw enty- f i ve year s i n the cus t ody of the M i s s i s s i ppi D epart m entof C orr ect i ons , w i th f

i f t een ye ar s s us pended a nd f i ve yea r s of

p ost -r el eas e s upervi s i on. A ggr i eved, M cC l endon appe al s , as s ert i ng thathi s tr i al couns el w as i nef f ect i ve and thatthe

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ver di ctw as agai ns tthe overw hel m i ng w ei ghtof the evi dence
. ¶ 2
. F i n d i n g n o r e v e r s i b l e e rr o r , we a f f i r m. FACTS ¶3
. O n the ev en ing o f N o v em b er 2 0 , 2 0 1 0 , N an cy H u d so n w as g ett ing into h er m o ther’s
car , w hi ch w as parked i n a w el l
- l i tar ea on J acks on St r eeti n T upel o, M i s s i s s i ppi , w hen M cC l endon, w ho w as dr es s ed i n al l bl ack w i th a bl ack t oboggan cap, w al ked ac r os s the s tr eet t ow ar d N ancy, hel d a gun t o herhead, and dem anded thats he gi ve hi m herpurs e. N ancy w as
a b le to re m o v e h e r c e ll p h o n e b e fo re h a n d in g th e p u rs e to M c C le n d o n . ¶ 4
. M c C len d o n ra n a c ro s s th e s tr e e t a n d w a s a lm o s t h it b y a c a r d ri v e n b y K a y la L aw r ence . E l i zabe th W att s a nd Pam G enry w er e pas s enger s i n K ayl a’s car. M cC l endon, af t err egai ni ng hi s composur e, cont i nued t o run a cr os s the s tr eeta nd r an behi nd an apa r t m ent compl ex. T he w om en not i ced N ancy c ryi ng and dr ove back t o check on her
. N ancy c al l ed th e p o l i c e . Tu p e l o P o l i c e S e r g e a n tJ a me s H o o d r e s p o n d e d t o th e c a l l a r o u n d 9 : 0 0 p . m. Ser geantH ood c al l ed f

ora K 9 of

f i cer , a nd O f

f i cerZ acha ry A nder s on r es ponded t o the s cene . O f f i cerA nder s on ha d hi s dog tr ack the arm ed- r obbery s us pectthr ough a f i el d and t o the bac k
o f a h o u se w h e re a b lac k sh irt, a p u rse , an d a g u n w e re fo u n d . T h e w o m e n g a v e th e ir
s t at ement s t o the pol i ce a nd l ef tthe s cene . L at ertha ts ame eveni ng, the w om en s aw M cC l endon w al ki ng dow n a nothers tr eeta nd c al l ed 911. A f t erf ur theri nv est i gat i on, M c C le n d o n w a s a rr e s te d a n d in d ic te d fo r t h e a rm e d ro b b e ry o f N a n c y . ¶ 5 . A t trial, N a n c y tes tified tha t sh e d id n o t ge t a g o o d lo o k a t h e r a ss a ilan t, bu t sh e d id not i ce thathe w as a mal e i ndi vi dual notm uch t al l erthan s he. N ancy a l s o s t at ed thataf t er

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the as s ai l antr an ac r os s the s tr eet , i tl ooked l i ke “he thr ew s om ethi ng and then he w entar ound th e s id e o f t h e a p a rt m e n t c o m p le x .” ¶6. C hr i s t opherA l l en, an ac quai nt ance of M cC l endon, t est i fi ed thaton N ovember20, 2010, the ni ghtof

the r obbery, M cC l endon pul l ed up t o C hr i s t opher ’ s apart m enti n a carand t ol d C hr i s t opherthathe w as “f i xi ng t o hi ta l i ck, ” w hi ch means thatM cC l endon w as about t o r ob s om ebody. C hr i s t opherfurther t es t i f i ed thatM cC l endon w as w ear i ng a bl ack
s w eat s hi r t , pant s , and a t oboggan cap. C hr i s t opherf ur thert es t i f

i ed thathe di d notsee a gun. C andac e N al l s , C hr i s t opher ’ s gi r l f r i end and ape r s on w ho ha s know n M cC l endon s i nce 2009, tes tified th a t M c C len d o n c a m e in to th e a p a rtm e n t an d a lso to ld h e r th a t he w a s try in g to “ h it a l i ck. ” She f

ur thert es t i f

i ed thatshe saw M cC l endon abouta w eek l at er , and atthatt i m e, M cC l endon s ai d t o her , “I hi ta l i ck and I coul d have had som e money, butI dr opped the p u rs e [w h ile ] ru n n in g [a w a y ].” ¶7. E l i zabe th t es t i f

i ed thats he w as i n the pass engers eatof K ayl a’ s car . She expl ai ned th a t sh e sa w a m a n ru n a c ro ss th e ro a d in fro n t o f th e c a r, clu tch in g so m e th in g u n d e rn e a th hi s arm . She s t at ed t hat i tw as the s ame m an they had s pot t ed l at erthateveni ng w al ki ng dow n a di f

f er ents tr eet . A ttr i al , E l i zabe th i dent i f i ed M cC l endon as the i ndi vi dual thats he had s een on the ni ghtof the r obbery. K ayl a t es t i f i ed thats he w as dr i vi ng on J acks on St r eet
w h e n sh e first s a w M c C len d o n . S h e sta ted th a t sh e m a d e e y e c o n tac t w ith h im . D e sp ite havi ng i dent i f

i ed a pe r s on, otherthan M cC l endon, i n a phot o l i neup dur i ng the i nves t i gat i ve
s t age of the pr oceedi ngs , K ayl a i dent i f i ed M cC l endon dur i ng tr i al , w hi l e af f i r m i ng the d e sc rip tio n o f th e a ss a ilan t th a t sh e h a d g iv e n to th e p o lice a c o u p le o f d a y s a fte r th e in c id e n t.

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¶8. O f

f i cerA nder s on t es t i f

i ed thathi s dog tr acked b ehind the ap artm entcompl ex and thr ough a hol e i n a f

ence , thr ough a thi cket , and i nt o a f i el d. A f t erent er i ng the f

i el d, the dog t ook a l ef

t , w entsouth, and ca m e t o anotherf ence . O f f i cerA nder s on f

ur thert es t i f

i ed that the dog j um ped overthi s f ence i nt o the bac k yar d of a r es i dent i al hom e, w her e he f ound a bl ack s hi r t . A l s o, O f

f i cerA nder s on t es t i f

i ed thatw hi l e bac ktr acki ng, he f ound a pur s e and
a g u n in th e th ick e t. ¶9. O f

f i cerLynet t e Sandl i n w as the l ead i nves t i gat ori n thi s c as e, a nd s he t ook a s t at ement fr om N ancy an d i nterview ed K ayla and h er passengers on the night of the robb ery and al so a f ew days l at er . S he t es t i f i ed t hatshe obt ai ned the pur s e, the w eapon, and the l ong- s l eeve bl ack t ee s hi r tf

ound dur i ng the i nves t i gat i on a nd s entthe i t ems t o the cr i m e l ab. A ccor di ng t o the cr i m e- l ab r eport , no f i ngerpr i nt s coul d be i dent i f i ed on the w eapon, butan i nconcl us i ve pal m pr i ntw as l i f

t ed f r om handl e of

the w eapon. Sandl i n al s o s t at ed thats he arr anged the p h o to li n eu p w ith E li za b eth a n d K ay la an d that bo th w o m en iden ti fi ed ind ividu als w h o w ere notM cC l endon. Sandl i n t es t i f i ed thatJ er emy M cC l endon, the def endant ’ s c ous i n, m ade a
s t at ementt o the pol i ce a nd i dent i f i ed M cC l endon as the one w ho comm i t t ed the r obbery. ¶ 1 0
. M c C len d o n tes tified in h is o w n d e fe n se . H e cla im e d tha t he w a s a t h o m e a ll d a y w ith D arvel yn J ohns on, hi s gi r l f r i end, babys i t t i ng a f

r i end’ s baby. M cC l endon admi tt e d know i ng C an d ac e a n d C h ri stop h er. H o w ev er, he d en ied th at he v isi ted C h ri stop h er a t C h ri stop h er’s apart m enton the ni ghtof the r obbery and s t at ed thatC hr i s t opherand C andac e musthave
m ade up the s t ory— thathe t ol d them t hathe w as goi ng t o hi ta l i ck. H e al s o deni ed r obbi ng N ancy. H e f

ur thercl ai m ed thathe had dre adl ocks on N ovember20, 2010, and di d notcut hi s hai runt i l D ece m ber2010. H e expl ai ned thathe kne w he cuthi s hai rar ound D ece m ber

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14, 2010, beca us e he w ant ed t o l ook pr of es s i onal f

orhi s m other ’ s party f ol l ow i ng the
r enew al of

herw eddi ng vow s , w hi ch w as hel d on D ece m ber16, 2010. Fi nal l y, he t es t i f i ed th a t h e n e v e r w o re a to b o g g a n c a p w h e n h e h a d d re a d lo c k s, b e c a u se h e w a n ted h is h a ir to f l o w. ¶11. D arvel yn t es t i f

i ed thats he and M cC l endon w er e athis tr ai l eral l day w at chi ng a f r i e n d ’ s b a b y a n d th a tM c Cl e n d o n n e v e rl e f t . Da r v e l y n a l s o t e s t i f

i e d th a ta r o u n d 8 : 0 0 p . m.
or8: 30 p. m . , G l enda Payne , M cC l endon’ s a unt , c ame t o br i ng ove rs om e bott l es f orthe baby beca us e D arvel yn had l os tthe baby’ s bot t l e. D arvel yn f ur thert es t i f

i ed thatM cC l endon had d re a d lo c k s a t th e tim e sh e w a s w ith h im b a b y sittin g . G len d a tes tified th a t sh e sa w h im a t h is tr ai l erar ound 8: 30 p. m . on N ovember20, 2010, w hen she droppe d of f s om e bott l es f

orthe b ab y . S h e testi fi ed that sh e stay ed aw h il e to p lay w ith th e b a b y . A cc o rdin g to h er, M cC lend o n d id n o t l ea v e the tr ail er. DI S CU S S I ON I. In e

ffec tive A ss ista n c e o

f C o u n se l ¶12. O n appea l , M cC l endon ar gues thath e rece i ved i nef f ect i ve as s i s t ance of

couns el beca us e of

hi s t r i al counse l ’ s fa i l ur e t o ( 1) r eques tj ury i ns truct i ons on m i s i dent i f i cat i on and i m peach m ent of

w i tnesses, and (2) obj ectt o the Stat e’s l eading q uest i on s. I ti s unus ual f

orthi s C our tt o cons i dera cl ai m o f i neff ect i ve as s i s t ance of co u n sel w h en the c lai m is m ad e o n d ir ec t app ea l. T h is i s b ec au se w e a re lim it ed to the tr ial co u rtrec o rd in o u r rev iew o f th e c lai m [, ] an d there is us ual l y i ns uf

f i ci entevi dence w i thi n the r ecor d t o eval uate the cl ai m . T he M i s s i s s i ppi S upr eme C our thas s t at ed that , w her e the r ecor d cannots uppor tan in e ffe c tiv e a ss ista n c e o f c o u n se l cla im o n d ire c t ap p e a l, th e a p p ro p ria te c o n c l u s i o n i s t o d e n y r e l i e f , p r e s e r v i n g th e d e f

e n d a n t ' s r i g h tt o a r g u e th e s a me i s s ue thr ough a pet i t i on forpost - convi ct i on re l i ef
. T hi s C our tw i l l rul e on the me r i t s o n t h e r a r e o c c a s i o n s wh e r e ( 1 ) th e r e c o r d a f f i r ma t i v e l y s h o ws

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i nef f ect i venes s of

cons t i tut i onal di m ens i ons , or( 2) the part i es s t i pul at e thatthe r ecor d i s adequa t e t o al l ow the appe l l at e courtt o m ake the f i ndi ng w i thout cons i der at i on of

the f i ndi ngs of

f actof the tr i al j udge. A g u ila r v . S ta te , 8 4 7 S o . 2 d 8 7 1 , 8 7 8 (¶1 7 ) (M iss. C t. A p p . 2 0 0 2 ) (i n terna l ci tat ion s o m itted). T he r ecor d does notaf

f i r m at i vel y s how i nef

f ect i venes s of

cons t i tut i onal di m ens i ons , and the part i es have nots t i pul at ed thatthe r ecor d i s a dequat e t o a l l ow the appel l at e courtt o m ake the f i n d i n g wi th o u tc o n s i d e r a t i o n o f th e f i n d i n g s o f

f a c to f th e c i r c u i tc o u r t . Co n s e q u e n t l y , we d e c lin e to a d d re ss th is is s u e , le a v in g M c C len d o n fre e to se e k re lief th ro u g h th e p o stc o n v ic tio n p ro c e s s if

h e d e s ir e s to d o s o . I I
. W ei ghtof the Evi dence ¶13. M cC l endon al s o ar gues that the ci r cui t court err ed i n denyi ng hi s m oti on for a new tr i al beca us e the ver di ctw as a gai ns tthe w ei ghtof the evi dence
. “W hen r evi ew i ng a deni al
o f a m o tio n fo r a n e w trial b a se d o n an o b jec tio n to th e w e ig h t of

the ev id e n c e , w e w ill o n ly di s turb [ the] ver di ctw hen i ti s s o contr ary t o the overw hel m i ng w ei ghtof the evi dence that t o al l ow i tt o s t and w oul d s anct i on an uncons ci onabl e i nj us t i ce. ” B u sh v . S ta te , 895 So. 2d 8 3 6 , 8 4 4 (¶1 8 ) (M iss. 2 0 0 5 ) (cit ati o n o m itted). ¶14. H er e, M cC l endon as s ert s thatE l i zabe th’ s and K ayl a ’ s ph ot o- l i ne up mi s i de nt i f i cat i on, the lack of phy si cal evidence, and the co nfl i ct i ng t est i m on y p rove t hat the v erdi cti s agai nst the overw hel m i ng w ei ghtof evi dence
. W hi l e K ayla and E l i zabe th di d i dent i f y a di f f er ent i ndi vi dual dur i ng the phot o l i neup, att r i al , bot h w om en i dent i f i ed M cC l endon as t he per s on they s aw runni ng aw ay f r om N ancy’ s caron the ni ghtof the r obbery and expl ai ned thatthe p ic tu re s in th e p h o to lin e u p d id n o t c le a rl y s h o w th e in d iv id u a ls ’ f a c e s . ¶15. Chri s t ophera nd Candace t es t i f i ed that , be f

or e the r obbery, M cC l endon t ol d them t hat

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h e w as g o ing t o hita li ck
. A b o u t a w ee k lat er, acc o rdin g to C an d ac e, M cC lend o n told h er, “I hi ta l i ck and I coul d have ha d s om e money, butI dr opped the pur s e [ w hi l e] runni ng [aw ay ]
. ” O ffi ce r Sa n d li n no ted tha t Jere m y cam e forw ard an d m ad e a statem en t tha t h is
cous i n, M cC l endon, c om m i t t ed the r obbery. A gun, N ancy’ s pur s e, and a bl ack l ong- s l eeve te e s h ir t w e re fo u n d n e a r t h e a re a w h e re M c C le n d o n w a s la s t s e e n . ¶16. B as ed on thes e f act s , i tcannotbe l egi t i m at el y argue d thatthe ver di cti s agai ns tthe
w e ig h t o f t h e e v id e n c e . I ti s w el l s ett l ed thatthe j ury has the duty t o det erm i ne the i m peac hm entval ue of i ncons i st enci es orcontr adi ct i ons , as w el l as t es t i m oni al def ect s of p e rc e p tio n , m e m o ry an d sin c e rity
. T h e co u rt h a s sta ted n u m e ro u s tim e s th a t, e v e n w h e n th e re a re c o n flictin g s tate m e n ts a n d te stim o n y , itis fo r th e ju ry to w ei gh the credibi l i ty o f t est i m on y an d st at em ents . W a tts v . S ta te , 9 5 8 S o . 2d 29 4 , 29 8 (¶1 2 ) ( M iss. C t. A p p . 20 0 7 ) ( interna l cit ati o n s o m itted). I n s hor t , the j ury, the ul t i m at e fact
- f i nder , acc ept ed the St at e’ s evi dence and r ej ect ed M cC l endon’ s al i bi de f

ens e. W e f

i nd thata l l ow i ng the ver di ctt o s t and w i l l nots anct i on an
u n c o n s c io n a b le in

ju s tic e . A c c o rd in g ly , w e a ff ir m . ¶17. T HE J UD GMEN T OF T HE L E E CO UN T Y C I RC UI T CO UR T OF CONVI CT I ON OF ARM ED ROBB ER Y AND S EN TE NCE OF TW EN TY - F I VE YE AR S I N T HE CU S T OD Y O F T HE M I S S I S S I P P I DE P AR T M E NT OF CO RR E CT I ON S , W I TH F I F T E E N Y E AR S S US P E ND E D A ND F I VE YE AR S OF P OS T- RE LE AS E S UP ER VI S I ON, I S AF F I RM ED . AL L COS TS OF THI S AP P EA L ARE AS S ES S ED TO L EE COUNT Y. LE E, C. J . , GRI F F I S , P . J . , BA RNE S , I S HEE , ROBE RT S , CARL TON, M AXW EL L, F AI R AND J AM ES , J J . , CONCUR.