Steadman Davis v. State of Mississippi ( 2008 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2008-KA-00845-SCT
STEADMAN DAVIS a/k/a STEADMAN ALLEN
DAVIS
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/12/2008
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. W. SWAN YERGER
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HINDS COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: M ISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF INDIGENT
APPEALS
BY: GEORGE T. HOLMES
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: JOHN R. HENRY, JR.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: ROBERT SHULER SMITH
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED AND
REMANDED IN PART - 10/08/2009
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
BEFORE CARLSON, P.J., DICKINSON AND PIERCE, JJ.
CARLSON, PRESIDING JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1. Steadman Davis was convicted by a jury of motor-vehicle theft1 and felony possession
of a firearm 2 in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County. Davis was
1
See Miss. Code Ann. § 97-17-42(1) (Rev. 2006).
2
Steadman Davis has a prior felony conviction for conspiracy to sell cocaine.
Mississippi Code Section 97-37-5 (Rev. 2006) provides, inter alia, that “[i]t shall be
unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony . . . to possess any firearm.”
sentenced to consecutive sentences of five years for the motor-vehicle-theft conviction and
three years for the firearm-possession conviction. In today’s appeal, Davis asserts that he
was denied crucial jury instructions and that the convictions should be reversed based on the
lack of evidence supporting the jury verdicts of guilty. Finding error as to the motor-vehicle-
theft conviction, we affirm in part and reverse in part, and remand for a new trial on the
charge of motor-vehicle theft.
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN THE TRIAL COURT
¶2. On May 21, 2006, the Jackson Police Department received a domestic-disturbance call
and was dispatched to 233 Redwood Avenue to a house owned by Laquita Simpson. Upon
arrival, the responding officer learned that gunfire had been exchanged between Deborah
Wright (Simpson’s mother) and Wright’s ex-boyfriend, Steadman Davis.
¶3. Wright and Davis had dated and lived together at Wright’s home (214 Queen Anne
Lane) for several months prior to the events which generated today’s appeal. Earlier in May,
an incident had been reported in which there had been a physical fight between Wright and
Davis, which resulted in Wright moving out of her home to live with her daughter, Laquita
Simpson, leaving Davis in Wright’s home. Davis claimed that, although he continued to live
at the Queen Anne Lane house, he was in the process of moving out. Davis alleged that, after
the earlier fight between Wright and Davis, Wright’s relatives began to threaten him. On the
other hand, Wright alleged that after she moved out, Davis began to make harassing
telephone calls to her and threatened to harm her and/or members of her family. Wright
2
further asserted that Davis drove past her daughter’s house at least twice daily while she was
staying there.
¶4. Not surprisingly, the events of May 21, 2006, are hotly disputed. Davis claimed that
he was tricked into going to Simpson’s house and, once there, was ambushed. Wright,
however, claimed that Davis threatened her and kidnapped her brother, Cornelius Wells,
eventually bringing her brother to Simpson’s house where a shoot-out occurred.
¶5. Davis alleged that he was at the Queen Anne Lane house, gathering some of his
clothing, when Wells arrived at the house. According to Davis, when Wells arrived, Davis
was on his cell phone talking with Irene Shepard, a Hinds County deputy sheriff whose car
Davis had borrowed to go to the house and get his belongings. Davis stated that, due to the
fact that he was being harassed by Wright’s family, he was scared that Wells might harm
him, so he asked Deputy Shepard to remain on the other end of the call.3
¶6. According to Davis, Wells told him that he wanted the dispute between Davis and
Wright’s family to be resolved and asked him to get in Wells’s vehicle with him, so they
could drive to Simpson’s house and get everything cleared up. According to Davis, Wells
then drove Davis to Simpson’s house. Davis claimed that just before they arrived at
Simpson’s house, Wells told him that he (Davis) might get hurt because of what was going
on and that nothing would happen to anyone who hurt him. Davis also claimed that, at this
point, he realized he was in trouble.
3
Deputy Shepard corroborated Davis’s story in her trial testimony.
3
¶7. Davis stated he was about to jump out of the vehicle, but they had already arrived at
Simpson’s house. He claimed that when they arrived, Wells jumped out of the vehicle and
ran to hide behind a tree while shouting “Shoot him!” Deputy Shepard, whose call was still
connected on Davis’s cell phone, claimed that she heard someone yell “Kill him,” and then
what sounded like firecrackers, though she suspected it was gunfire. Davis claimed that after
Wells jumped out of the vehicle, Wright appeared on the porch. Davis stated he was out of
the vehicle and beginning to run when Wright fired a gun, shooting him in the left buttock.
Davis then fired three shots toward the house, allegedly for “cover” so that he could run
around to the driver’s side of Wells’s vehicle. Davis then got into Wells’s vehicle and drove
off, claiming that he had no choice; he could either take Wells’s vehicle and leave or stay and
get shot. Since he was not familiar with the neighborhood, Davis accidentally drove to a
dead-end street. He stopped there and put some tissue in his wound, then used Wells’s cell
phone to call Deputy Shepard. He told her what had happened but asked her not to call the
police.
¶8. In order to get out of the neighborhood, Davis got back into the vehicle and drove
back the way he had previously driven. He claimed that as he drove past Simpson’s house,
he saw people running, but he did not see a police car. Davis did not stop, but continued to
drive with the intention of going to his cousin’s house to be taken to the hospital. However,
between fleeing the scene and going to his cousin’s house, Davis stopped by Deputy
Shepard’s house to return the key to her car. Deputy Shepard stated Davis told her that he
4
had been shot and that he had to go. Davis claimed that he was on his way to his cousin’s
house when he was apprehended by police.
¶9. According to Wright, on May 21, 2006, her brother, Cornelius Wells, called to ask if
he could put some fish in her freezer. She told him she did not care, so he went to her house
on Queen Anne Lane. About thirty minutes later, Wells called to say he had been kidnapped
by Davis. According to Wells, when he arrived at the house on Queen Anne Lane, Davis
was sitting on the couch in his boxer shorts. Wells claimed that as he attempted to leave, he
passed by Davis again and Davis was putting on his clothes. Wells said that, at this point,
Davis pulled a gun on him and told him that if he did not take him to Wright he would kill
him. Wells then used his cell phone to call Wright to tell her that Davis had him, and that
Davis was demanding that she meet him on Flag Chapel Road. Wells said that if she
refused, Davis was going to kill him. Wright hung up the phone. Wells claimed that Davis
then held the gun to his head and forced him to drive to where Wright was – Simpson’s
house on Redwood Avenue. Davis then allegedly forced Wells to call Wright again and
inform her that if she called the police, he would kill Wells. Wright hung up again and called
911.
¶10. Wright claimed that she and her daughter and grandchildren were in the front
bedroom, waiting for the police to arrive, when she looked out the bedroom window and
observed Wells’s truck pull into the driveway, with Wells in the driver’s seat and Davis in
the passenger seat. She further observed Wells jumping out of the truck and running for
cover, yelling “Call the police!” Wright claimed that Davis then got out of the truck and
5
came up on the porch of the house while firing into the house. Wright stated that Simpson
and her children ran to another part of the house for safety, while Wright took cover behind
a dresser in the front room. She claimed that Davis came into the house and fired a number
of shots 4 at her inside the bedroom. Wright then drew her own gun, which she had received
from her daughter while she was talking to the 911 operator, and fired at Davis, shooting him
in the buttock. Wright stated that her gun jammed and she was not able to shoot Davis again.
Wright claimed that at this point Davis ran out of the house, jumped into Wells’s truck, and
drove off, moments before the police arrived.
¶11. Carolyn Kirkland was the responding officer, and she testified that when she arrived,
she noticed a bullet hole in the front door and Davis driving past the house. Kirkland had
been informed that Davis was armed, so she and the other officers ducked and ran for cover
when he drove by. Wright informed Officer Kirkland that Davis had been there moments
before and had “shot up in the house.” Kirkland testified that she noticed a number5 of bullet
holes in the door and walls of the house.
¶12. Vladimir Hill, the officer who arrested Davis, testified that he did not find a weapon
in the vehicle or on Davis’s person, and that Davis had been shot in the buttock. Davis was
indicted for kidnapping, shooting into an occupied dwelling, motor-vehicle theft, and being
4
Wright could not remember the exact number of shots Davis fired, but she claimed
it was more than three.
5
At one point in her testimony, Kirkland stated there were three holes, however, later
she said there were four. There was never any clarification as to whether she saw three or
four bullet holes.
6
a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. At trial, after hearing testimony from witnesses
for the State and the defendant, the jury found Davis not guilty of kidnapping and not guilty
of shooting into an occupied dwelling; however, the jury found Davis guilty of motor-vehicle
theft and of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Davis now appeals to this
Court from these two convictions.
DISCUSSION
¶13. Davis asserts that the trial court erroneously denied him crucial jury instructions and
that the evidence did not support the guilty verdicts.
I. WHETHER DAVIS WAS DENIED CRUCIAL JURY
INSTRUCTIONS.
¶14. The standard of review when appellate courts consider issues involving jury
instructions is well-established. Jury instructions must be read as a whole to determine if the
instructions were proper. Milano v. State, 790 So. 2d 179, 184 (Miss. 2000). Jury
instructions must fairly announce the law of the case and not create an injustice against the
defendant. Id. This rule is summed up as follows: “In other words, if all instructions taken
as a whole fairly, but not necessarily perfectly, announce the applicable rules of law, no error
results.” Id. See Adams v. State, 772 So. 2d 1010, 1016 (Miss. 2000).
¶15. A defendant has a right to jury instructions that present his theory of the case, but that
right is not absolute. “The court may refuse an instruction which incorrectly states the law,
is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions or is without foundation in the evidence.”
Phillipson v. State, 943 So. 2d 670, 671 (Miss. 2006). Also, jury instructions are within the
7
discretion of the trial court. Higgins v. State, 725 So. 2d 220, 223 (Miss. 1998). Finally,
when serious doubt exists as to whether an instruction should be included, the doubt should
be resolved in favor of the accused. Stringfellow v. State, 595 So. 2d 1320, 1322 (Miss.
1992).
¶16. Davis contends that the outcome of his trial was negatively affected because the trial
judge refused to give crucial jury instructions. He claims that, had the jury been properly
instructed, he would not have been convicted. The jury instructions in question are D-9,6
6
Jury Instruction Number D-9 stated:
Evidence has been presented that the defendant acted under duress in
committing the crime.
“Duress” is the exercise of unlawful force upon a person whereby that person
is compelled to do some act that he otherwise would not have done. In order
for duress to be a defense to a criminal charge, the impelling danger must be
present, imminent, and impending, and of such nature as to induce in that
person a well-grounded apprehension of death or seriously bodily harm if the
act is not done. A person having a reasonable opportunity to avoid committing
the crime without undue exposure to death or serious bodily harm cannot
invoke duress as a defense.
If the State has failed to prove from the evidence in this case beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant acted voluntarily in committing the crime
and not under duress, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
8
which included an instruction on the defense of duress for the convicted-felon-in-possession-
of-firearm charge, and D-11,7 which included an instruction on the defense of necessity for
the motor-vehicle-theft charge.
¶17. The trial court was correct in denying Instruction D-9, the instruction on the defense
of duress for the convicted-felon-in-possession-of-firearm charge. Under our statute, it is
illegal for a convicted felon to have possession of a firearm in the state of Mississippi. Miss.
Code Ann. § 97-37-5 (Rev. 2006).8 All the evidence, including Davis’s own testimony,
7
Jury Instruction Number D-11 stated:
Evidence has been presented that the defendant acted under necessity in
committing the crime.
In order for necessity to be a defense to a criminal charge, the defendant must
prove the following:
1. The act charged was done to prevent a significant evil,
2. There was no adequate alternative, and
3. The harm caused was not disproportionate to the harm avoided.
If the State has failed to prove from the evidence in this case beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant acted voluntarily in committing the crime
and/or defendant prove the above elements of necessity, then you shall find the
defendant not guilty.
8
The text of Section 97-37-5(1) reads:
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony
under the laws of this state, any other state, or of the United States to possess
any firearm or any bowie knife, dirk knife, butcher knife, switchblade knife,
metallic knuckles, blackjack, or any muffler or silencer for any firearm unless
such person has received a pardon for such felony, has received a relief from
disability pursuant to Section 925(c) of Title 18 of the United States Code, or
has received a certificate of rehabilitation pursuant to subsection (3) of this
9
proves that Davis was in possession of the firearm before the events occurred. Davis
contends that the reason he had the gun in the first place was because he was being
threatened by Wright’s family, thus necessitating a duress instruction. For duress to be an
affirmative defense, four requirements must be met. The impending danger must be “present,
imminent and impending, and not to be avoided.” Ruffin v. State, 992 So. 2d 1165, 1178
(Miss. 2008). According to the United States Supreme Court, if there is a reasonable and
legal alternative to violating the law, it must be used. Also, if there is a chance to avoid the
threatened harm and refuse to do the criminal act, the defense of duress will fail. United
States v. Bailey, 444 U.S. 394, 410, 100 S. Ct. 624, 62 L. Ed. 2d 575 (1980).
¶18. Davis does not meet the four duress requirements. The danger was not present,
imminent and impending, and not to be avoided. Davis admittedly had been threatened, but
since the threat, Davis had not been physically harmed. He could have avoided the situation
altogether by staying away from Wright, her property, and her family. Therefore, the
evidence did not support giving a duress instruction to the jury. Nor did the refusal of the
judge to give the duress instruction create an injustice to the defendant. Since the duress
instruction was not supported by the evidence, the trial judge correctly denied the jury
instruction on duress for the felony-possession-of-a-firearm charge, and this assignment of
error is thus without merit.
section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-5(1) (Rev. 2006) (emphasis added).
10
¶19. However, the trial court erred in denying Jury Instruction No. D-11, the necessity
instruction for the motor-vehicle-theft charge. The defense of necessity is “available where
the defendant reasonably acts out of fear of ‘imminent danger of death or serious bodily
harm’ to others.” Stodghill v. State, 892 So. 2d 236, 238 (Miss. 2005) (citation omitted).
The three components to the defense of necessity are (1) the act charged was done to prevent
a significant evil, (2) there was no adequate alternative, and (3) the harm caused was not
disproportionate to the harm avoided. Id.
¶20. The trial judge denied this instruction due to its wording and a lack of evidence to
support it. Thus, any attempt by counsel to correct it would have been futile. There is,
however, ample evidence that could show Davis took Wells’s vehicle for the sole purpose
of fleeing from the scene of the shootout. Davis testified that he took the vehicle because he
felt it was the only option for him to successfully leave the scene and not be shot again.
Based on the record in this case, a properly instructed jury reasonably could have found that
taking the vehicle was a reasonable action under these circumstances. “Where a person
reasonably believes that he is in danger of physical harm, he may be excused for some
conduct which ordinarily would be criminal.” Knight v. State, 601 So. 2d 403, 405 (Miss.
1992). Again, if the jury believed Davis’s testimony that he had felt he was in danger of
physical harm if he did not flee the scene, then a properly instructed jury could have found
that Davis’s belief that he was in danger of physical harm was a reasonable one, considering
the fact that he already had been shot once.
11
¶21. While there appears to be little doubt that the proposed instruction was indeed worded
incorrectly, the law presented in the proposed instruction was supported by the evidence.
Therefore, the judge should have taken affirmative action to cure the error or to inform
counsel how to cure the faulty instruction. It is the duty of the trial judge to make sure that
the jury has been properly informed about the applicable law. Duvall v. State, 634 So. 2d
524, 526 (Miss. 1994). See also Kolberg v. State, 829 So. 2d 29, 45 (Miss. 2002) (“There
is no doubt that the trial court is ultimately responsible for rendering proper guidance to the
jury via appropriately given jury instructions, even sua sponte.”). The defense of necessity
was supported by the evidence and was not mentioned anywhere else in the jury instructions.
Because it was not addressed in jury instructions, the defendant suffered an injustice. The
trial court is given considerable discretion when dealing with an issue of a refused jury
instruction on appeal, and the “primary concern on appeal is that ‘the jury was fairly
instructed and that each party’s proof-grounded theory of the case was placed before it.’”
Cohen v. State, 732 So. 2d 867, 872 (Miss. 1998) (citations omitted). The denial of this
instruction prevented Davis’s “proof-grounded theory of the case” from being presented.
¶22. In some circumstances, the trial court’s refusal of a similar instruction would
constitute harmless error; however, that is not true in the present case. “Harmless errors are
those which in the setting of a particular case are so unimportant and insignificant that they
may, consistent with the Federal Constitution, be deemed harmless, not requiring the
automatic reversal of the conviction.” Williams v. State, 991 So. 2d 593, 599 (Miss. 2008).
The failure of the trial judge in this case to instruct the jury on the defense of necessity was
12
not harmless error and could have been the difference between Davis being found guilty of
the crime of motor-vehicle theft, or not; thus denying Davis his right to a fair trial.
Therefore, Davis’s conviction and sentence for motor-vehicle theft are reversed and
remanded for a new trial.
II. WHETHER THE GUILTY VERDICTS WERE BASED ON
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND/OR WERE CONTRARY TO
LAW OR THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.
¶23. The trial judge denied Davis’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or
in the alternative, for a new trial. An appellate court is not allowed to discharge a defendant
who has been found guilty by a jury unless “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.” May v. State, 460 So. 2d 778, 781 (Miss. 1984).
“[R]eview of the sufficiency of the evidence is adequate protection from jury error or
irrationality.” Curry v. State, 939 So. 2d 785, 791 (Miss. 2006) (citing Holloman v. State,
656 So. 2d 1134, 1141 (Miss. 1995)). Therefore, as long as the evidence is sufficient to
support the jury’s verdict of guilty, a conviction cannot be overturned on insufficiency of the
evidence. Id. This Court must decide whether “after viewing the evidence in a light most
favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the
crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Curry, 939 So. 2d at 791. See also Bush v. State, 895 So.
2d 836, 843-44 (Miss. 2005).
¶24. Allowing the conviction for convicted-felon-in-possession-of-firearm charge to stand
will not be prejudicial to the defendant. All the evidence pointed to Davis, a prior convicted
13
felon, being in possession of a firearm while not under duress, a conclusion that could be
reached by any rational juror. Based on this Court’s standard of review for this issue, the
evidence is legally sufficient and supports the affirmance of the guilty verdict for felony
possession of a firearm.
¶25. The evidence also is legally sufficient to support the motor-vehicle-theft conviction.
While it could appear to be inconsistent for the jury to find Davis not guilty of kidnapping,
but guilty of motor-vehicle theft, this is without consequence.9 This Court has stated:
Inconsistent verdicts present a situation where “error,” in the sense that the
jury has not followed the court’s instructions, most certainly has occurred, but
it is unclear whose ox has been gored. Given this uncertainty, and the fact that
the [prosecution] is precluded from challenging the acquittal, it is hardly
satisfactory to allow the defendant to receive a new trial on the conviction as
a matter of course.
Curry, 939 So. 2d at 791 (quoting United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 65 105 S. Ct. 471,
83 L. Ed. 2d 461 (1984)).
¶26. In determining whether a jury verdict is supported by sufficient evidence to show the
defendant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the appellate court must accept as true all
evidence presented that supports the verdict. Eakes v. State, 665 So. 2d 852, 872 (Miss.
1995). A jury verdict will be reversed only when the evidence is such that a reasonable and
9
On the other hand, based on today’s record, the jury reasonably could have found
that Davis was not guilty of kidnapping Wells, and that Davis did not “steal” Wells’s vehicle
to travel from the house on Queen Anne Lane to Simpson’s house on Redwood Avenue, but
that Davis was guilty of the theft of Wells’s vehicle when leaving Simpson’s house. The
problem with Davis’s motor-vehicle-theft conviction is not the sufficiency or the weight of
the evidence, but instead the failure to properly instruct the jury on the defense of necessity,
thus requiring a new trial on this charge.
14
fair-minded juror could find the accused only not guilty. Harveston v. State, 493 So. 2d 365,
370 (Miss. 1986). Since there is conflicting testimony in this case, reasonable and
fairminded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment could reach different conclusions as
to the verdict, thus resulting in our finding that there was legally sufficient evidence to
convict Davis of motor-vehicle theft.
¶27. Likewise, as to the weight of the evidence, based on the evidence before the Court,
as set out above, it is clear that the verdicts were not so contrary to the overwhelming weight
of the evidence that to allow them to stand would amount to the sanctioning of an
unconscionable injustice. Nelson v. State, 10 So. 3d 898, 908 (Miss. 2009) (citing Jones v.
State, 904 So. 2d 149, 154 (Miss. 2005)). See also Bush, 895 So. 2d at 844-45. This issue
is without merit.
CONCLUSION
¶28. For the reasons stated, the Hinds County Circuit Court judgment of conviction and
sentence for motor-vehicle theft (Count III) is reversed and this case is remanded to the
Circuit Court for the First Judicial District of Hinds County for a new trial consistent with
this opinion. The Hinds County Circuit Court judgment of conviction for convicted-felon-in-
possession-of-firearm (Count IV) and Steadman Davis’s sentence of three years
imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections are affimed.
¶29. COUNT III: REVERSED AND REMANDED. COUNT IV: CONVICTION OF
CONVICTED FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM AND SENTENCE OF
THREE (3) YEARS IMPRISONMENT IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, AFFIRMED. APPELLANT IS CREDITED
FOR TIME SERVED.
15
WALLER, C.J., GRAVES, P.J., DICKINSON, RANDOLPH, LAMAR,
KITCHENS, CHANDLER AND PIERCE, JJ., CONCUR.
16