Denman v. State


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Docket Number: 2006-KA-00513-COA

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 09-11-2007
Opinion Author: ISHEE, J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Armed robbery - Sufficiency of evidence - Habitual offender sentence
Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 02-14-2006
Appealed from: LEE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
Judge: Thomas J. Gardner
Disposition: CONVICTED OF ARMED ROBBERY AND SENTENCED TO SERVE TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AS AN HABITUAL OFFENDER AND PAYMENT OF A $10,000 FINE
District Attorney: John Richard Young
Case Number: CR 05-622

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: KELVIN E. DENMAN A/K/A KALVIN E. DENMAN




WILLIAM C. BRISTOW



 

Appellee: STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: DEIRDRE MCCRORY  

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Topic: Armed robbery - Sufficiency of evidence - Habitual offender sentence

Summary of the Facts: Kelvin Denman was convicted of armed robbery and was sentenced, as an habitual offender, to serve twenty-seven years. He appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Sufficiency of evidence Denman challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. The witnesses testified that the victim had the purse and bank deposits in her hand when the suspect snatched them and ran away. The women also testified that they interpreted the suspect’s comments, such as telling them not to move and not to be a hero, as threats and that they were afraid. Not only was there testimony concerning the comments, but the suspect was wearing a mask, was dressed all in black, and displayed a knife. As far as Denman being the robber, the police dog picked up his scent from the location where the women last saw him. Along the route the dog followed, they found the victim’s abandoned purse. The officers continued to track the scent around the rear of the building and discovered Denman lying on the ground in the woods and in the same spot as the bank bags. He was dressed all in black, as was the suspect, and a few feet from that same spot were two black stockings that matched the type that the robber had worn over his face. Taken in the light most favorable to the verdict, there was sufficient evidence to prove each element of the crime of armed robbery. Issue 2: Habitual offender sentence Denman argues that his sentence as an habitual offender is a violation of the prohibition against double jeopardy. This argument was found to be without merit in Perkins v. Cabana, 794 F.2d 168, 170 (5th Cir. 1986).The court held that section 99-19-81 “fixes the punishment for future felony offenses,” and that it “does not punish or increase the punishment for those past offenses.”


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