Guyton v. State
| Docket Number: | 2006-KA-01111-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-14-2007 Opinion Author: IRVING, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Burglary & Armed robbery - Sufficiency of evidence - Mistrial Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-26-2006 Appealed from: LEE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Thomas J. Gardner Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I, BURGLARY; COUNT II, ARMED ROBBERY; AND COUNT III, ARMED ROBBERY. SENTENCED TO CONSECUTIVE TERMS OF TWENTY YEARS ON COUNT I, TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ON COUNT II, AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ON COUNT III, ALL IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. District Attorney: John Richard Young Case Number: CR05-326 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | JAMES H. GUYTON |
WILLIAM C. BRISTOW |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: STEPHANIE BRELAND WOOD |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Burglary & Armed robbery - Sufficiency of evidence - Mistrial |
| Summary of the Facts: | James Guyton was convicted of one count of burglary and two counts of armed robbery. He was sentenced to twenty years on the burglary count and twenty-five years on each of the armed robbery counts. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Sufficiency of evidence The evidence was sufficient to sustain Guyton’s burglary and armed robbery convictions. The evidence is clear that Guyton unlawfully entered someone’s apartment with the intent to rob the victim. Although the victims could not positively identify Guyton as the second gunman, they were able to provide the police with a description of the perpetrator, the stocking cap used by the perpetrator to disguise his identity, the type of clothing worn by the perpetrator, and the type of gun used in the crime. Additionally, the blue stocking cap and blue shirt matching the description given by the victims were found in Guyton’s girlfriend’s apartment. Issue 2: Mistrial Guyton argues that the court committed reversible error in denying his motion for a mistrial, because the State violated the rules of discovery by failing to inform him that a witness would testify that he initially told the officers that a man named Leon was his accomplice in the crime. The decision to declare a mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial judge, and there was no error in the trial judge’s decision. |
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