State v. Coward ( 2011 )

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

David Lee Coward, Appellant.

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Appeal From Oconee County
Alexander S. Macaulay, Circuit Court Judge

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Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-583
Submitted December 1, 2011 – Filed December 21, 2011   

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AFFIRMED

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Appellate Defender Elizabeth A. Franklin-Best, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, and Assistant Attorney General David Spencer, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Christina T. Adams, of Anderson, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  David Lee Coward appeals his convictions for first-degree burglary and petit larceny, arguing the circuit court erred in admitting his confession because the officer who obtained the confession coerced Coward by threatening Coward's mother.  We affirm^[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following authority:  State v. Dye, 384 S.C. 42, 46, 681 S.E.2d 23, 26 (Ct. App. 2009) ("In criminal cases, this [c]ourt will review errors of law only."); id. ("This [c]ourt is bound by the circuit court's factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous."); id. ("This [c]ourt does not reevaluate the facts based on its own view of the preponderance of the evidence but simply determines whether the circuit court's ruling is supported by any evidence."); id. at 47, 681 S.E.2d at 26 ("On appeal, the circuit court's decision as to the voluntariness of the statement will not be reversed unless so erroneous as to demonstrate an abuse of discretion.").  

AFFIRMED.

SHORT, WILLIAMS, and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.

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[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.