Walker v. State


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Docket Number: 2010-KA-01440-COA
Linked Case(s): 2010-KA-01440-COA

Court of Appeals: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 04-10-2012
Opinion Author: Irving, P.J.
Holding: Affirmed

Additional Case Information: Topic: Capital murder & Motor-vehicle theft - Jury instruction - Weight of evidence
Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., Barnes, Ishee, Roberts, Carlton, Maxwell, Russell and Fair, JJ.
Procedural History: Jury Trial
Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 07-21-2010
Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court
Judge: Malcolm Harrison
Disposition: CONVICTED OF COUNT I, ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT OF CAPITAL MURDER, AND COUNT II, MOTOR-VEHICLE THEFT, AND SENTENCED AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO LIFE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE OR PROBATION
District Attorney: Robert Shuler Smith
Case Number: 09-34-CR

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: Darrell Walker




PHILLIP W. BROADHEAD LESLIE S. LEE JA’NEKIA W. BARTON JOSHUA C. LAWHORN



 

Appellee: State of Mississippi OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: BILLY L. GORE  

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Topic: Capital murder & Motor-vehicle theft - Jury instruction - Weight of evidence

Summary of the Facts: Darrell Walker was convicted of accessory after the fact to capital murder and motor-vehicle theft. The circuit court sentenced Walker as a habitual offender to life without eligibility for parole or probation. He appeals.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Jury instruction Walker argues that the circuit court erred in giving a jury instruction which was unsupported by the evidence presented at trial and confused and misled the jury. If the instructions fairly announce the law of the case and create no injustice, no reversible error will be found. At trial, Walker did not object to the instruction on the ground that it was unsupported by the evidence or that it would be confusing and misleading. Walker’s counsel objected because the instruction did not match the indictment. Thus, his argument is barred. In addition, it is without merit. Because larceny, which includes motor vehicle theft, is a continuous offense, Walker’s driving the car constituted a “new caption and asportation.” Thus, there was sufficient evidence to support the instruction. Reading the instructions as a whole, the jury was properly informed of the State’s burden of proof in this case. Issue 2: Weight of evidence The jury’s verdict is not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. At trial, the State presented evidence that Walker knew that another person had stolen property. Even though Walker claims that he did not know that the car that he drove belonged to someone else, a jury could have reasonably inferred that, at the very least, Walker knew that the car did not belong to the other person, yet he still agreed to drive the car. Additionally, Walker told the police that he saw the other person with blood on his clothes and even asked him if he had killed someone.


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