Opinion ID: 1712073
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidentiary Chain of Custody.

Text: ¶ 12. Over Shaw's objections, the trial court admitted into evidence the bullet which was purportedly taken from Joseph's knee at C.M.M.C. Shaw argues that this was error because the State never established a proper chain of custody. ¶ 13. The trial court is vested with the discretion for determining whether an adequate evidentiary chain of custody has been established by the State. Morris v. State, 436 So.2d 1381, 1388 (Miss.1983); Danner v. State, 748 So.2d 844, 846 (Miss.Ct.App.1999). The burden of producing evidence to demonstrate a break in the chain of custody rests with the defendant, and the applicable test for determining whether the defendant has met this burden is whether there is any reasonable inference of likely tampering with or substitution of evidence. Hemphill v. State, 566 So.2d 207, 208 (Miss.1990); Brooks v. State, 761 So.2d 944, 948 (Miss.Ct.App.2000). ¶ 14. Joseph testified at trial that he was struck in the knee with a bullet at the time that Shaw shot and killed Duffie. He told the jury that he went to C.M.M.C. where the bullet was removed within an hour of Duffie's murder. Investigator Charles Taylor of the Jackson Police Department, testified that he went to the hospital less than an hour later and recovered the projectile that had been recovered from Joseph. At the hospital, Investigator Taylor asked for the evidence from a nurse on staff in the emergency room by the name of D. Johnson. When Taylor asked for the evidence regarding Joseph, he was handed the bullet extracted from Joseph's knee. It was later determined that the bullet recovered from Joseph's knee was fired from the same gun used to kill Duffie. ¶ 15. Shaw maintains in his brief, as he did at trial, that Investigator Taylor's testimony was unsubstantiated. Shaw claims that no person who had any connection to the hospital where the bullet was extracted was called to authenticate the projectile. In its brief, the State argues that it attempted to locate the nurse who gave the projectile to Investigator Taylor, but could not find her because she rendered a fictitious and nonexistent address to law enforcement officials. The trial court ruled that the bullet could be admitted into evidence, finding that the chain from Joseph's knee to Investigator Taylor was sufficient without some showing of tampering, even though the State could not produce D. Johnson. We have held that establishing a proper chain of custody has never required the proponent to produce every person who handled the object, nor to account for every moment of every day. Butler v. State, 592 So.2d 983, 985 (Miss.1991). Instead, [p]roof of the chain of custody is intended to satisfy the fact-finder of the identify and validity of the evidence. Without doubts being raised, a break in the chain does not bar introduction. Wells v. State, 604 So.2d 271, 277 (Miss.1992); Bryant v. State, 748 So.2d 780, 784 (Miss.Ct.App.1999). ¶ 16. We hold that Shaw has not shown any reasonable inference of likely tampering with or substitution of evidence. Joseph testified that he was present at Duffie's home at the time of the murder. Further, he testified that he fled the crime scene and then sought treatment at C.M.M.C. Investigator Taylor testified that he arrived at C.M.M.C., requested the evidence from Joseph, and was given the bullet extracted from Joseph's knee. Considering the facts before us, there is no doubt that the projectile is what it purports to be, the bullet that hit Joseph in the knee at the murder scene. Further, Shaw has failed to demonstrate a reasonable inference of likely tampering or substitution of evidence. While the chain was not thoroughly demonstrated, the State offered sufficient evidence that the projectile is what the State claimed it to be. Therefore, the trial court's ruling to admit the bullet extracted from Joseph's knee was well within its discretion.