Opinion ID: 1151794
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Did the court err in permitting a ring allegedly owned by Bobbie Boone to be placed in evidence?

Text: Next, Sherrell contends that the lower court erred when it allowed introduction of Boone's ring into evidence. He specifically claims that the ring in question was not identified by Betty Gail Davis as being the one she bought from Sherrell. However, Sherrell failed to cite any supporting authority. We have repeatedly held that if the assignments of error are not supported by authority, this Court is not required to consider them. Clark v. State, 503 So.2d 277, 280 (Miss. 1987). Although we do not have to address this assignment of error, we feel that the seriousness of the charge warrants some discussion. At trial, Peggy Pace, the victim's daughter, unequivocally identified the ring as her mother's and it was allowed into evidence. Sherrell objected on the grounds of the lack of chain of custody, but was overruled. Chief Deputy Mike Vick testified that Sherrell told him that Boone had given him several items to pawn so that he could get enough money to return to the Coast. One of these items was a diamond ring that Sherrell sold to Davis. Dearmon, a worker at the Bonita Lounge, testified that he was present when Sherrell was trying to sell the ring to Davis, because Davis asked the worker if he thought the ring was worth $100. Before Davis purchased the ring for $100, she demanded that Sherrell get it appraised. Sherrell came back with documentation appraising the diamond ring at $695. After purchasing the ring, Davis contacted Constable Gerald Crocker and told him that she thought the ring might be Boone's. Davis gave Constable Crocker the diamond ring and told him that Sherrell had sold it to her. Crocker, in turn, gave the ring to Chief Deputy Vick. The introduction of the ring is admissible under Rule 401 because it has a tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Miss.R.Evid. 401. If the evidence has any probative value at all, the rule favors admission. See Comment, Miss.R.Evid. 401. In Coleman v. State, 545 So.2d 3 (Miss. 1989), we stated: Physical objects which are relevant and for which the chain of custody is not broken or which are otherwise identified with certainty are admissible in evidence. (Citation omitted). Matters regarding the chain of custody of evidence are largely within the discretion of the trial court, and absent an abuse of discretion, this Court will not reverse. 545 So.2d at 5, (quoting Evans v. State, 499 So.2d 781, 783 (Miss. 1986)). The ring represents a highly relevant, as well as critical, piece of physical evidence linking Sherrell to the crime. Therefore, the trial judge properly admitted the ring into evidence.