McInnis v. State
| Docket Number: | 2008-KA-01576-COA Linked Case(s): 2008-KA-01576-COA ; 2008-CT-01576-SCT ; 2008-CT-01576-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-16-2010 Opinion Author: King, C.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Burglary of dwelling - Accomplice instruction - Circumstantial evidence instruction Judge(s) Concurring: Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Irving, Griffis, Barnes, Ishee, Carlton and Maxwell, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: Roberts, J., without separate written opinion. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-25-2008 Appealed from: Jones County Circuit Court Judge: Billy Joe Landrum Disposition: CONVICTED OF BURGLARY OF A DWELLING HOUSE AND SENTENCED AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO TWENTYFIVE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS District Attorney: Anthony J. Buckley Case Number: 2008-102-KR2 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | JOHNNY MCINNIS |
JUSTIN TAYLOR COOK |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: DEIRDRE MCCRORY | ||
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 of dwelling - Accomplice instruction - Circumstantial evidence instruction |
| Summary of the Facts: | Johnny McInnis was convicted of burglary of a dwelling and sentenced as a habitual offender to twenty-five years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Accomplice instruction McInnis argues that the record is void of any evidence to support the State’s accomplice jury instruction. An accomplice may be convicted of accomplice liability only for those crimes as to which he personally has the requisite mental state. He must have a community of intent for the commission of the crime. In this case, the evidence is insufficient to prove that McInnis was an accomplice; therefore, the evidence does not support granting of an accomplice jury instruction. The State did not present any evidence that McInnis acted as accomplice of another person. However, the evidence does not warrant reversal of this case. The record contains sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable juror could have properly found McInnis guilty of burglary of a house. The victim identified the burglar as a black male wearing a plain white T-shirt, and McInnis was identified as the alleged suspect in the vicinity of the burglarized dwelling house within seconds of the 911 call. After the officer pulled McInnis over, she discovered the victim’s purse in a car driven by McInnis, and two wadded up Trustmark envelopes, which the victim identified as hers, were found on the ground on the driver's side of the car driven by McInnis. This evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction of burglary of a dwelling house. Issue 2: Circumstantial evidence instruction McInnis argues that the trial court erred in denying his circumstantial-evidence instruction, because he neither confessed to the burglary nor was there any eyewitness testimony indicating that McInnis was in fact the person who had burglarized the victim’s home. Where the State’s evidence is entirely circumstantial, the trial court is required to instruct the jury regarding the use and treatment of circumstantial evidence by granting a circumstantial-evidence instruction and a two-theory instruction. However, courts are not required to grant a two-theory instruction when its substance is covered by other instructions or where there is direct evidence. Here, the instruction was not required because the evidence was not purely circumstantial. In addition, the substance of the two-theory instruction was found within another jury instruction. |
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