Case Name: Michael ADAMS a/k/a Michael Murry Adams, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2001-04-24
Citations: 794 So. 2d 1049
Docket Number: No. 2000-KA-00242-COA
Parties: Michael ADAMS a/k/a Michael Murry Adams, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
Judges: Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., CHANDLER, and MYERS, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 794
Pages: 1049–1065

Head Matter:
Michael ADAMS a/k/a Michael Murry Adams, Appellant v. STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.
No. 2000-KA-00242-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
April 24, 2001.
Rehearing Denied June 26, 2001.
Certiorari Denied Sept. 6, 2001.
David L. Walker, Southaven, for Appellant.
Office of the Attorney General by Billy L. Gore, for Appellee.
Before SOUTHWICK, P.J., CHANDLER, and MYERS, JJ.

Opinion:
MYERS, J.,
for the Court:
¶ 1. Michael Adams was convicted in the Circuit Court of Lafayette County, the Honorable Henry L. Lackey presiding, of sexual battery in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-95. He was sentenced according to the Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-83 habitual offender statute to serve a term of life imprisonment without the benefit of probation or parole in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Adams' motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative a new trial was denied. Feeling aggrieved of his conviction he appeals with eleven issues.
1. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE AP PELLANT'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE OF THE BURGLARY OF THE HOME OF JENNIFER K. GINGERY COOK;
2. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANT'S OBJECTION TO JOSEPH WARREN TESTIFYING AS TO THE TEST RESULTS PERFORM BY MRS. PANAID;
3. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS A SEARCH CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO A WARRANT;
4. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN OVERRULING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS SEARCH OF THE APPELLANT AND SEIZURE OF HIS BLOOD, SALIVA, HAIR, AND BODY FLUID SAMPLES BASED UPON THE ILLEGAL ARREST OF THE APPELLANT;
5. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION TO EXCLUDE THE TESTIMONY OF CAPT. MORGAN CONCERNING THE PARTIAL FOOTPRINT IMPRESSION FOUND ON THE GREEN DOOR AND THE BOOTS SEIZED FROM THE APPELLANT;
6. THAT THE VERDICT OF THE JURY IS AGAINST THE OVERWHELMING WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE;
7. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANTS PEREMPTORY INSTRUCTION CD-I);
8. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ACCEPTING JOSEPH WARREN AS AN EXPERT WITNESS;
9. WHETHER THE CUMULATIVE ERRORS OF THE TRIAL COURT DENIED THE APPELLANT A FUNDAMENTALLY FAIR TRIAL AND DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW AS PROVIDED BY THE STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS;
10. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING THE APPELLANT'S MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL; AND
11. WHETHER THE SENTENCE OF THE COURT IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT.
Finding no merit in his claims, we affirm his conviction and sentence.
FACTS
¶ 2. On January 26, 1999, S.C. was attacked in her bedroom by an intruder who leapt out of her closet. He put a towel over her face and sexually assaulted her. She never saw his face, only part of his arm which she described as almost hairless and part of his clothing which she described as a royal, darkish blue work uniform. She noted that her assailant did not have any real accent, and she thought his height was around five feet and eleven inches. She was unable to identify him in a photo lineup. She was able to narrow her identifications down to two people based on sound of voice and skin texture. Adams was one of these men.
¶ 3. In the investigation of S.C.'s attack, a hair from a black person was found in the bed, a partial footprint was found under the knob on the back door and paint and wood chips from the door.
¶ 4. On January 25th, the day before S.C. was attacked, a strange man leapt out of Jennifer Cook's bedroom closet. She stood face to face with him and screamed loudly and repeatedly. The intruder knocked the telephone out of Cook's hand, covered her face with his hand and knocked her to the floor. He escaped, and Cook continued to scream. In her bedroom, her previously partially opened window was completely open with the screen knocked out. Cook lived four doors down from S.C. Cook was able to fully identify Michael Adams as the perpetrator. At the time of trial, Adams had been indicted but not tried for the burglary of Jennifer Cook.
¶ 5. On January 24th, Officer Chad Red-ditt observed a black male running through a parking lot in the same area as the two attacks. The man said he was running up Jackson Avenue because someone was chasing him and because he did not know who it was, he was not sure if he was the target of a robbery. Officer Red-ditt identified Adams as that black male. He testified that Adams was dressed in a dark blue jeans and a blue jean jacket or shirt. Around the same time, another officer responded to a call from a Jackson Avenue area resident saying there was an unidentified prowler around his home and that the prowler had run away.
¶ 6. Two days after S.C.'s attack, on January 28th, Michael Adams was arrested and formally charged with the burglary of Jennifer Cook's home. He was identified by Cook both in a photographic and physical lineup. Capt. Morgan of the Oxford police was heading the investigations and noticed that Adams had on boots with a similar tread to the mark left on S.C.'s back door. He took the boots. While physical evidence had been gathered in the S.C. case, no DNA testing had been performed. On January 29th, Judge Lackey signed an order for Adams to submit hair, blood and saliva samples for testing. Then an arrest warrant for the sexual assault was secured on Feb. 1st.
¶ 7. At trial Adams was identified by Jennifer Cook as the perpetrator of the crime in her home. In addition to his motion in limine to exclude her identification, he objected to Cook's testimony. Joseph Warren was tendered and accepted as an expert. Adams objected to his testimony because Warren did not conduct the DNA testing himself. Capt. Morgan of the Oxford Police Department gave testimony on the identity of a boot print left on the victim's door. Adams objected to his testimony and the search leading up to it. The jury convicted him of the sexual battery of S.C.
¶ 8. To limit the possible endless debate on the issues presented, many have been combined for their discussion. In addition, issues 1-5 and issue 8 are eviden-tiary matters. In an effort to keep from being overly repetitive, the following standards will apply specifically to those issues while not excluding the remaining issues.
The relevancy and admissibility of evidence are within the discretion of the trial court and reversal may be had only where that discretion has been abused. Smith v. State, 656 So.2d 95, 98 (Miss.1995). The discretion of the trial judge must be exercised within the boundaries of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. Id. Unless the trial judge so abused his discretion as to prejudice the accused's case, we will not reverse his ruling. Id.
Sumrall v. State, 758 So.2d 1091, 1094 (Miss.Ct.App.2000)(see also McGowan v. State, 706 So.2d 231, 243 (Miss.1997)).
¶ 9. In addition to case law, the Mississippi Rules of Evidence address the discretion of a trial judge. "Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless a substantial right of the party is affected." M.R.E. 103(a)
1. Denial of Appellant's Motion in Li-mine to exclude evidence of the Burglary of Jennifer Cook.
¶ 10. Adams argues that prior bad acts are not admissible under M.R.E. 404(b) because of the highly prejudicial nature of that kind of testimony acknowledged in M.R.E. 403.
Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury....
M.R.E. 403
Other Crimes, Wrongs, or Acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.
M.R.E. 404(b)
¶ 11. Jennifer Cook testified to the events on the night of January 25th. She told the details of her attack and identified her assailant as Adams.
¶ 12. In each of these crimes, the burglary and the sexual attack, the perpetrator chose single women living by themselves. These women lived on the same street and only four doors away from each other. Their houses were broken into less than twenty-four hours apart. When these women entered their bedroom a man leapt out at them from the closet where he had been hiding. In the case of Jennifer Cook, Adams put his hand over her face and shoved her to the floor. She kept screaming and subsequently was just burglarized. She was able to get a good look at him.
¶ 13. Unfortunately, in the attack on S.C., which occurred one day after the attack on Cook, the intruder raped her twice. She never saw his face because as he sprang out of her closet, he covered her head with a towel.
¶ 14. In the recently decided case of Flowers v. State, 773 So.2d 309 (Miss.2000), the Mississippi Supreme Court held that,
[wjhere proof of other crimes or acts . [are] offered into evidence pursuant to Rule 404(b), it is still subjected to the requirement that evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. M.R.E 403. Rule 403 is the "ultimate filter through which all otherwise admissible evidence must pass." Bounds v. State, 688 So.2d 1362, 1371 (Miss.1997).
Id. at 318.
All testimony when questioned as prejudicial must be reviewed under the light of M.R.E. 403. Judge Lackey heard that debate during the hearing for defendant's motion in limine. He decided that the evidence was more probative than prejudicial. Defense counsel cross-examined Cook allowing for his attempt to impeach and discredit the testimony of the witness. "Rule 404(b) is not a blanket prohibition of evidence of other actions. Where the evidence might be relevant in another manner, ., this Court has allowed it to be introduced." Flowers, 773 So.2d at 319 (citing Hurns v. State, 616 So.2d 313, 321 (Miss.1993)).
¶ 15. The similarities in each of these incidences are outstanding. Cook's testimony shows that Adams had opportunity, preparation, knowledge and identity all under very similar circumstances. M.R.E. 404(b); Manning v. State, 726 So.2d 1152 (Miss.1998). Judge Lackey ruled that this testimony was not unfairly prejudicial. We agree and find that it was properly admitted. There is no merit in this claim.
3. & 4. Overruling of the Appellant's motion to suppress a search conducted pursuant to a warrant and motion to suppress search of the Appellant and seizure of his blood, saliva, hair and body fluid samples based upon the illegal arrest of the appellant.
¶ 16. Adams claims that the search warrant was not valid because there was no probable cause upon which to base the warrant. "Probable cause arises where a police officer has reasonable cause to believe a felony had been committed, and reasonable cause to believe that the person proposed to be arrested is the one who committed it, as determined by factual and practical consideration of everyday life." West v. State, 725 So.2d 872, 893 (Miss.1998); Thomas v. State, 645 So.2d 1345, 1347 (Miss.1994); Lockett v. State, 517 So.2d 1317, 1327 (Miss.1987); see also Hall v. State, 455 So.2d 1303, 1304 (Miss.1984) (probable cause exists when facts and circumstances within an officer's knowledge, or of which he has reasonable trustworthy information, are sufficient within themselves to justify a man of average caution to believe a crime was committed and by a particular person).
¶ 17. Here the police were working with the identification of Adams by Cook. The attack on S.C., of which Cook was aware, occurred four doors down from Cook's own home. That same night Adams had been seen in the area prior to the attack. Adams claims that there is no similarity in the nature of the crimes involving Cook and S.C. However, the women live in the same neighborhood. Adams broke into their homes. He hid in the bedroom closets of each woman. He leapt out at the women when they came into the room. He merely had the misfortune of Cook who was already on the telephone, facing him and screaming. He did not have the time to attack Cook because she put up such a fight. S.C. was not as lucky. She was ambushed and then raped. The crimes are very consistent with one another. However, Adams did not have the time to complete his attack on Cook. Thus, he was merely charged with burglary.
¶ 18. There was another identification of Adams by one of the patrol officers as the man running through the parking lot in the same area and on the night prior to S.C.'s attack. At the same time there was a prowler report that came in the direction from which Adams was running. Adams told the officers that he was looking for White Oak Lane. Because Adams lived on White Oak Lane, it struck the officers as odd that he should be looking for it. A background check was completed on Adams and found out that he had been incarcerated on rape and home invasion charges and an affidavit relaying the same information was filed. Judge Lackey found all of this indirect evidence to be worthy of a search warrant. Adams was already in police custody the result of a lawful arrest. He was under investigation for one crime and suspected of another. There was sufficient evidence for Judge Lackey to sign a warrant to obtain hair, blood and saliva sample from Adams.
5. Denial of the Appellant's motion to exclude the testimony of Capt. Morgan concerning the partial footprint found and the boots seized from the appellant.
¶ 19. Upon investigation of the S.C. attack, a boot print was found under the door knob of S.C.'s back door. When Adams was arrested for the burglary of Cook's home, Capt. Morgan noticed that Adams was wearing boots with a tread similar to that of the print. Capt. Morgan testified that the treads were similar in appearance.
¶ 20. Capt. Morgan was not tendered as an expert. He offered his lay opinion. A lay opinion must meet two criteria set out in M.R.E. 702. Capt Morgan's testimony was "limited to those opinions or inferences which are (a) rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b) helpful to the clear understanding of his testimony or the determination of a fact in issue." M.R.E. 702. He has sufficiently met these criteria. He was also a twelve year veteran as an investigator. As such, his job is to notice details. Adams' boot print was merely one of the details noticed and pieced together by Morgan. This issue is without merit.
2. & 8. Overruling of the Appellant's objection to Joseph Warren's testimony on the test results and overruling of objection to Joseph Warren being accepted as an expert witness.
¶ 21. Adams objects to Joseph Warren being accepted as an expert in the testing of Mitochondrial DNA as well as Warren's testimony regarding the results of the tests. Adams claims that since Warren did not perform the test, Adams is being denied his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Our state supreme court has held in Gray v. State, 728 So.2d 36, 56 (Miss.1998) that "[t]he relevancy and admissibility of evidence are largely within the discretion of the trial court and reversal may be had only where that discretion has been abused." Gray citing McIlwain v. State, 700 So.2d 586, 590 (Miss.1997). "A trial judge's determination as to whether a witness is qualified to testify as an expert is given the widest possible discretion and that decision will only be disturbed when there has been a clear abuse of discretion." Logan v. State, 773 So.2d 338, 346-47 (Miss.2000)(quoting Sheffield v. Goodwin, 740 So.2d 854, 856 (Miss.1999)).
¶ 22. Warren is eminently qualified as an expert in molecular biology. Beginning with his bachelor's degree in 1978, he has worked his way up to defending his thesis in the pursuit of his doctorate from the University of North Texas in Denton. Incidentally, the subject of his thesis was Mitochondrial Control Region. Warren has continuously worked in the field of molecular biology throughout his career. He is the Assistant Laboratory Director for Forensic Division at Relia-gene Technologies in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has qualified forty or fifty times in the past 10 years as an expert in DNA testing as either a forensic biologist or a forensic DNA analyst. He has testified as an expert in at least four other states in addition to Mississippi.
¶ 23. Warren testified that he supervised "all aspects" of the laboratory technician's work on the samples submitted in this case. The claim that the State did not emit testimony that the protocol followed by Warren was generally accepted in the scientific community is unsupported. Warren testified that, not only were these the same procedures used by the F.B.I., but they were also generally accepted procedures in the scientific community.
¶ 24. Adams relies on Kettle v. State, 641 So.2d 746 (Miss.1994) which held that when a defendant raises a Sixth Amendment confrontation clause challenge to the custodian of records testifying and introducing drug analysis reports as business records, such an introduction is prohibited and the person who performed the tests must be produced. Id. at 750. Kettle does not apply in the case at hand because Warren supervised, witnessed and checked the tests performed by his technician. Warren is not so far removed from the process as to be reduced to the level of a records custodian. Finding no error by the trial court, we affirm.
7. Denial of the Appellant's peremptory instruction D-l.
¶25. Ordinarily, we review the record and the instruction, evaluate it with the evidence presented and reach our decision. Our standard of review is as follows:
The standard of review for peremptory instructions and directed verdicts are the same. 'In passing upon a request for a peremptory instruction, all evidence introduced by the State is to be accepted as true, together with any reasonable inferences that can be drawn from that evidence, and if sufficient evidence to support a verdict of guilt exists, the motion for a directed verdict is to be overruled.' Brown v. State, 556 So.2d 338, 340 (Miss.1990)(citing Butler v. State, 544 So.2d 816 (Miss.1989)). 'Furthermore, when the trial court has erred in refusing to grant the defendant's request for a peremptory instruction, then the case must be reversed and the defendant discharged.' Brown, 556 So.2d at 340. However, this Court recognizes that a defendant shall not be discharged short of a conclusion that given the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the verdict, no reasonable, hypothetical juror could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty. Id.
Wall v. State, 718 So.2d 1107, 1111 (Miss.1998).
¶ 26. There is no record of what peremptory instruction D-l expressed and therefore nothing to review. Even if D-l had been provided, the evidence thus far presented when viewed in a light most favorable to the verdict would have allowed any reasonable, hypothetical juror to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Adams was guilty. Id.
6. & 10. Verdict against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and denial of the Appellant's motion for a new trial.
¶ 27. In White v. State, 761 So.2d 221, 224 (Miss.Ct.App.2000), this Court reiterated the difference between a motion for a new trial and a JNOV by focusing on the decision in McClain v. State 625 So.2d 774 (Miss.1993). "The standard for reviewing denial of a new trial goes to the weight of the evidence and the standard for reviewing the denial of a JNOV is whether or not the evidence was sufficient to warrant such a verdict and whether fair minded jurors could have arrived at the same verdict." White, 761 So.2d at 224 (¶ 10).
¶ 28. The standard of review for determining whether a jury verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence is that the evidence supporting the verdict will be accepted as true unless it is found that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to grant a new trial. Crawford v. State, 754 So.2d 1211, 1222 (¶ 30) (Miss.2000)(citing Collier v. State, 711 So.2d 458, 461 (Miss.1998)). "Only when the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice will this court disturb it on appeal." Herring v. State, 691 So.2d 948, 957 (Miss.1997)(citing Benson v. State, 551 So.2d 188, 193 (Miss.1989)). If a claim of unconscionable injustice is raised then, "[i]n reviewing this claim, this Court must accept as true the evidence favorable to the State." Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 812 (Miss.1987).
¶ 29. Adams claims that because there was no eyewitness to his attack on S.C. and because she could not conclusively identify him, there was not enough evidence to convict him. Issues of fact are the domain of the jury. The jury weighs the credibility of each witness when considering conflicting testimony. Turner v. State, 726 So.2d 117, 125 (¶ 29)(Miss.1998); see also Gandy v. State, 373 So.2d 1042, 1045 (Miss.1979)(holding that the question of witness credibility is one to be resolved by the jury). The jury heard the details of the attacks, testimony of officers placing Adams in the vicinity of the crimes, DNA evidence linking Adams to the rape, and the identification by one of Adams' victims. This evidence was sufficient to warrant the verdict and fairmind-ed jurors could have arrived at the same verdict in the same context. This issue is without merit.
11. Cruel and unusual punishment
¶ 30. Michael Adams was found guilty of the violent crime committed against S.C. and was sentence to life without parole. He is of the opinion that this sentence is disproportionate to the crime he had been convicted of committing. However, "[sjentencing is generally within the sound discretion of the trial judge and the trial judge's decision will not be disturbed on appeal if the sentence is within the term provided by statute." Bell v. State, 769 So.2d 247, 251 (Miss.Ct.App.2000)(citing Davis v. State, 724 So.2d 342 (¶ 10)(Miss.1998)). If a sentence does not exceed the maximum period allowed by statute, it will not be disturbed on appeal. Stromas v. State, 618 So.2d 116, 122 (Miss.1993); Wallace v. State, 607 So.2d 1184, 1188 (Miss.1992). In Stromas a sentence of thirty years was given to the defendant. It was then doubled in light of the defendant's "subsequent offender" standing. He was convicted of selling "a small amount of cocaine," but was denied relief by the appellate court because, "this sentence was within the statutory guidelines, and because this State's legislature, as a matter of public policy, has called for stiff penalties for drug offender[s], Solem v. Helm[, 463 U.S. 277, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983)], is not implicated in this case. Declaring a sentence in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution carries a heavy burden and only in rare cases should this Court make such a finding." Stromas, 618 So.2d at 123.
¶ 31. While this is not a drug case, our legislature has taken similar exception to violent crimes such as sexual battery. Their distaste is embodied in the following statute.
Every person convicted in this state of a felony who shall have been convicted twice previously or any felony or federal crime upon charges separately brought and arising out of separate incidents at different times and who shall have been sentenced to and served separate terms of one year or more in any state and/or federal penal institution, whether in this state or elsewhere, and where any one of such felonies shall have been a crime of violence shall be sentenced to life imprisonment, and such sentence shall not be reduced or suspended nor shall such person be eligible for parole or probation.
Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-83 (Rev.2000).
¶ 32. Adams has served time in Illinois for two counts of attempted sexual assault, attempted robbery, robbery, home invasion and burglary. Two of these offenses involve violence and all of these are felony crimes. One set of felony crimes was committed in late 1991 and the other set was committed in early 1992, i.e., "arising out of separate incidents at different times." Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-83. He was sentenced to approximately six-year sentences for each crime, most of which ran concurrently. While Mr. Adams' good fortune in Cook County, Illinois allowed him to gain his freedom after one seven year stint in jail, it does not count as a single offense or a single term in jail under Mississippi law. [T]he Mississippi Su preme Court set forth a requirement that the trial judge justify any sentence that appears harsh or severe for the charge. Bell v. State, 769 So.2d 247, 252 (Miss.Ct.App.2000)(citing Davis v. State, 724 So.2d 342 (¶ 11) (Miss.1998)). Adams sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole is not harsh or severe based on his criminal history. His sentence is justified and mandated by statute. This assignment of error is without merit.
9. Cumulative errors
¶ 33. This claim is found to be without merit.
¶ 34. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY OF SEXUAL BATTERY AND SENTENCE AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT BENEFIT OF PAROLE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANT.
McMILLIN, C.J., KING and SOUTHWICK, P.JJ., PAYNE, BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, IRVING and CHANDLER, JJ., concur.
SOUTHWICK, P.J., concurs with separate written opinion, joined by McMILLIN, C.J., PAYNE, THOMAS, IRVING, MYERS and CHANDLER, JJ.