Fluker v. State

1

LAQUON FLUKER A/K/A LAQUON AKEEM FLUKER A/K/A LAQUAN AKEEM FLUKER APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

No. 2022-KA-00692-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi

February 20, 2024

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 06/23/2022.

FORREST COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HON. JON MARK WEATHERS, TRIAL JUDGE:

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY HUNTER NOLAN AIKENS.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALLISON ELIZABETH HORNE.

BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., WESTBROOKS AND LAWRENCE, JJ.

LAWRENCE, J.

¶1. On June 21, 2022, Laquon Fluker was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault of a fellow prison inmate. He was sentenced as a habitual offender to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections without eligibility for parole or probation. Fluker now appeals, arguing several issues, including insufficient evidence, a wrongful refusal to include a lesser-included-offense jury instruction, inadmissible evidence improperly admitted at trial, insufficient authentication of a prison shank, and cumulative error. Upon review, this Court affirms Fluker's conviction and sentence.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶2. On March 29, 2021, inmate James Bryant was "stabbed" in one of the "Q pod" cells at the Forrest County Adult Detention Center ("the jail"). He alerted the jail authorities about the incident and informed them that a group of inmates, including Laquon Fluker, had "lured" him into a cell and then assaulted him with shanks. The jail conducted an investigation and identified the five conspirators involved Fluker, Kenneth Hogan Smith, Tyler Daw, Joseph Reid, and Sean Turner. On May 10, 2022, a grand jury indicted Fluker for aggravated assault (Count I) and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault (Count II).

¶3. On June 13, 2022, counsel for Fluker filed a motion to suppress evidence-namely a "fashioned shank" allegedly lacking "chain of custody documentation accompanying the physical weapon." The motion explained that the State had provided no "conclusive statement or identification that the shank currently in [the State's] possession . . . was in-fact the same shank utilized in this alleged stabbing." The trial court held a hearing on the motion on June 15, 2022. The State argued that the shank should be admissible because it would "not be attempting to prove that the fashioned shank that was recovered in Q-pod was the [same] shank used to stab James Bryant." Instead, the State continued, the shank was "recovered in the same area" where the assault occurred and was "relevant to show the physical characteristics and traits of the shank." The trial judge took the matter under advisement.^[1] ¶4. Fluker's trial took place on June 20-21, 2022. The State first called Chiquita Caines, a lieutenant with the Forrest County jail, to testify. She explained that the jail was separated into "pods" identified "[b]y letters," and there were "[a]bout 20" pods in total. The pods typically house "24 inmates to one pod" with separate "two men cells[.]" The jail contained a "common area" where inmates housed within any pod had "the freedom to move about . . . throughout the day." The individual cells, where the inmates slept and used the bathroom, were not monitored by camera, but "the day room[ and] common area" were always monitored.

¶5. Caines arrived at the jail on the morning of March 30, 2021, where she "learned that inmate James Bryant had been assaulted in Q pod by several inmates." In her office dropbox, she found a deposited "fork . . . shaved down on one end to make it pointed and . . . wrapped in cardboard from an item purchased off of canteen and . . . wrapped up with Saran wrap." Caines agreed with the State that the weapon was "sharpened on one edge" and could be used as a deadly weapon.^[2] She gave the weapon to Greg Holliman, the investigator assigned to the case. After reading the incident report, Caines "rolled the footage back in an attempt to see where [Bryant] was assaulted and when." Caines testified that inmates would sometimes fashion weapons out of otherwise unsuspicious objects. She herself had seen "[h]undreds."

¶6. The surveillance footage from the "lower level" of Q-pod in the jail was admitted into evidence without objection. As the footage was played for the jury, Caines answered questions from the State to explain what the video was showing. In sum, the video showed Reid enter the common area and sit down at a table where inmates played chess. Bryant was stationed "in the bottom right-hand corner" of the screen and stood up to begin "walking to Q-6," referring to the specific cell. Reid then signaled into the Q-5 cell where Fluker and Kenneth Hogan Smith were located. Reid began "pointing towards Q-6[,]" the cell Bryant had just entered. Fluker and Hogan Smith then walked out of Q-5 and toward Q-6. Hogan Smith's right hand was "[i]nside of his boxers" reaching in his waistband. Reid began walking back toward the chess table and tapped Sean Turner on the back. A few seconds later, Turner "got up from the table" and began looking towards Q-6. Around that time, Bryant is seen running out of Q-6 in an attempt to get away before Turner stops him midway to hit him.^[3] The video shows that Bryant was able to quickly get away from Turner and run upstairs.^[4] Reid started "pointing upstairs," and Hogan Smith, Daw, and Fluker began to go upstairs. The State stopped the video at this point. Still photos taken from the surveillance video were also admitted into evidence without objection.

¶7. Caines testified that Bryant filed an inmate grievance on March 23, 2021, stating that "one of the officers [was] antagonizing him and several other inmates were saying stuff . . . please do something about this matter because [he was] really thinking about f*cking him up if this happens again."^[5] He complained again on March 25, claiming that he was missing funds that were supposed to have "been added to [his] account." He also asked to be moved to another pod "to get away from the ignorance that's on this pod."

¶8. Bryant filed another complaint on March 26, apologizing "for cursing when [he] was asking . . . about moving to G pod." He reiterated his request, stating that he "want[ed] to be where there is some people with some sense and not so childish." Bryant filed additional grievances on March 27 and March 29, warning that "if [he] stab[bed] one of these guys it w[ould] be because of you all . . . reading my message and doing nothing during my situation." Caines testified that Lieutenant Cooley answered the grievances and that they "get grievances like that all the time." On March 30, 2021, Bryant filed a grievance, stating:

Lt. Caines, Cooley, Major Flowers. Last night I was stabbed on Q pod by Kenneth Smith, Tyler Daw, and almost stabbed by Laquon Fluker. As I ran out of the room to prevent from being stabbed anymore, Sean Turner hit me as I was getting away from danger. He messed up me coming to be stabbed. My left arm got stabbed. I know where they keep their knives. I have info on officers.

¶9. Two days after this incident, Caines spoke to Bryant while "making [her] rounds just checking on the pods." Bryant "came out [of his] cell [and] broke down crying and he told [her] he was stabbed" and "showed [her] a wound in his arm." He identified Hogan Smith, Daw, Turner, Reid, and Fluker as the people responsible for the stabbing. On crossexamination, defense counsel questioned Caines about this testimony that "five co- defendants stabbed" Bryant. She responded that she was "just going off what [Bryant] told [her]." Defense counsel noted that the surveillance footage did not show all five men "stabbing" Bryant.

¶10. James Bryant, the victim, was then called to testify. Bryant had been convicted of child exploitation and possession of a controlled substance and was incarcerated at the Forrest County jail at the time of the incident. Bryant resided in Q-pod, which had "six cells on the bottom and six cells on the top." He stated that he "had made some comments to a guy on the zone named Kenneth [Hogan] Smith," and Hogan Smith "and his friends, they didn't like" what he said. Bryant stated that he "guess[ed] they got together and talked about what they were going to do to [him]." Bryant continued, "[T]hey lured me into the room in Q-6 . . . a previous friend of mine had called me in there .... I went in there to see what he . . . wanted. And two more people came in there and jumped and stabbed me." He stated that Daw, Hogan Smith, and Fluker were in Q-6 when the attack occurred and identified Hogan Smith and Fluker as the people responsible for stabbing him. Bryant ran out of the room and "was hit by Sean Turner" as he ran to his cell upstairs.^[6] Once inside his cell, Bryant went into "lock-down" and "called for the police to come down there to come aid and assist [him]." Bryant "was stabbed twice: . . . [o]nce in the shoulder and once in the arm." A photo of Bryant's shoulder wound that had been taken in the course of the investigation was entered into evidence without objection.

¶11. Bryant described the incident in further detail, stating that Daw had asked him to come into his cell (Q-6). He entered Q-6 and began a conversation with Daw. As they were speaking, Fluker and Smith entered the cell. Bryant was "sitting on the table that's bolted to the wall in the cell." Fluker "came up to the rear" of Bryant and Smith "sat down at the head of his bed while [Daw] stood at the foot of the bed with his back to [Bryant]." As Bryant got up to leave the cell, "Smith jumped up . . . [and] got in front of [him] and started stabbing [Bryant] .... Fluker started stabbing [him] from behind."

¶12. Bryant testified that the weapon "looked like a little knife or like a little shank."...