Wallace v. State


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Docket Number: 2007-KA-01275-COA
Linked Case(s): 2007-KA-01275-COA ; 2007-CT-01275-SCT

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 11-25-2008
Opinion Author: ROBERTS, J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Attempted armed robbery - In-court identification - Sufficiency of evidence
Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Irving, Chandler, Griffis, Barnes, Ishee, and Carlton, JJ.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 06-21-2007
Appealed from: TATE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
Judge: Robert Goza, Jr.
Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I, CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ARMED ROBBERY, AND SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS, AND COUNT II, ATTEMPTED ARMED ROBBERY, AND SENTENCED TO TWELVE YEARS, WITH THE SENTENCE IN COUNT II TO RUN CONSECUTIVELY TO THE SENTENCE IN COUNT I, ALL IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, AND WITH SENTENCES IN COUNTS I AND II TO RUN CONCURRENTLY WITH A FIVE YEAR SENTENCE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
District Attorney: John W. Champion
Case Number: CR-2004-168-LT

  Party Name: Attorney Name:   Brief(s) Available:
Appellant: JOHNNY WAYNE WALLACE A/K/A JOHNNY SPENCER




JOHN D. WATSON



 
  • Appellant #1 Brief

  • Appellee: STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JEFFREY A. KLINGFUSS  

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    Topic: Attempted armed robbery - In-court identification - Sufficiency of evidence

    Summary of the Facts: Johnny Wallace was convicted of attempted armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He appeals.

    Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: In-court identification Wallace argues that the trial court erred in determining that an out-of-court identification was not so impermissibly suggestive so as to preclude the victim from making an in-court identification. An impermissibly suggestive pre-trial identification does not preclude in-court identification by an eyewitness who viewed the suspect at the procedure unless from the totality of the circumstances surrounding it, the identification was so impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. The victim testified that he saw all three individuals who came into his home that night and that he saw Wallace draw his gun and begin shooting. He testified that he did not know who Wallace was at the time, but he immediately noticed Wallace’s distinctive gold teeth. He was unable to give law enforcement any description of his shooter on the night of the attack other than that his attacker was a black male. Based upon the totality of the circumstances, the trial court did not err in allowing the victim to make an in-court identification of Wallace. Issue 2: Sufficiency of evidence Wallace argues that there was no testimony that the victim was placed in fear of immediate injury. An attempt to commit a crime consists of three elements: an intent to commit a particular crime; a direct ineffectual act done toward its commission; and the failure to consummate its commission. The facts of this case satisfy the elements of an attempted armed robbery. The jury could have easily inferred that the only reason that the robbery was not completed was because Wallace’s cohorts fled the scene once the shooting began.


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