Jasper v. State

302 So.3d 682

Antonio Marqueze JASPER a/k/a Antonio Jasper, Appellant

v.STATE of Mississippi, Appellee

NO. 2019-KA-00684-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

Filed August 25, 2020

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: JOHN KEITH PERRY JR., Walls

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: BARBARA BYRD, Jackson

BEFORE BARNES, C.J., McDONALD AND McCARTY, JJ.

McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. On or about December 24, 2017, Jeremy Jones was murdered at a Waffle House in Robinsonville, Mississippi. At the same crime scene, Ladarius Hibbler was injured by multiple gunshots. A Tunica County grand jury indicted Antonio "Mac-T" Jasper for Count I, being first-degree murder in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19(1)(a) (Supp. 2017); Count II, being aggravated assault in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-7(2)(a) (Supp. 2016); and Count III, being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-37-5 (Rev. 2014).

¶2. On April 5, 2019, a Tunica County Circuit Court jury found Jasper guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the aggravated assault charge. The circuit court sentenced Jasper to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for his murder conviction and five years of imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a felon.

¶3. On April 11, 2019, Jasper filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or, in the alternative, a new trial for the following reasons: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the guilty verdicts; (2) the overwhelming weight of the evidence did not support the guilty verdicts; (3) the circuit court committed reversible error in denying Jasper's motion to dismiss Count III; (4) Juror Sharrelle Steele¹ failed to reveal that Ladarius Hibbler was her first cousin; (5) the circuit court committed reversible error by not granting Jasper's motion for a directed verdict for the State's failure to establish a prima facie case; and (6) Juror Raneisha Appleberry failed to reveal a familial relation. On April 18, 2019, without a hearing, the circuit court held that Jasper's motion was without merit and denied the motion.

¶4. Jasper appealed on April 19, 2019, raising the following issues: (1) the circuit court erred in not considering a post-trial motion that a juror was not competent to serve on the jury; and (2) a surveillance video that is not continuous in sequencing cannot be explained by a lay witness and therefore should not have been admitted into evidence. Finding that the circuit court erred in failing to conduct an inquiry into the alleged juror-misconduct issue, i.e., failing to disclose a family relation, we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine the issue of prejudice, if any.

Statement of the Facts

¶5. On or about December 24, 2017, Jeremy Jones and his girlfriend Denesha Grant went to the 56 Night Club in Robinsonville, Mississippi, on Highway 61. Antonio "Mac-T" Jasper and his friend Maurice "Blood" Ward were also at the club that same night. While at the club, Jones allegedly stepped on Jasper's shoes, and then a fight between Jasper and Jones, as well as other individuals, occurred. After the fight, Jones and Grant caught a ride to BP/Checkers, a convenience store and restaurant. While at BP/Checkers, they saw brothers Ladarius Hibbler and Terrence Hibbler. While conversing with the Hibbler brothers, Jones realized that his phone was missing. Ladarius drove Jones and Grant back to the 56 Night Club. Jones learned that Terrance Brown, the security guard for the 56 Night Club, had given Jones's phone to Ward. Jones also learned that Ward was located at the Waffle House (store number 1802) in Robinsonville on Highway 61. From there, Ladarius, Jones, and Grant headed to the Waffle House.

¶6. Upon arriving at the Waffle House, Ladarius parked the car on the side of the building. Grant got out of the car and went inside the Waffle House. Ladarius and Jones got out of the car and spoke to Ward in the parking lot. After believing that the issue had been resolved, Ladarius and Jones got back into the car and moved the car to the front of the building. Grant remained inside the building. Around 1:40 a.m., while talking to Jones, Ladarius was looking out his front windshield when he saw Jasper running toward his vehicle.

¶7. Because Jasper had a gun, Ladarius got out of the car and ran. While running across the parking lot, after four or five steps, Ladarius was shot two times in the arm and one time in the hip. Jones never got out of the car and died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, including a fatal gunshot wound to the head.²

¶8. Ladarius was able to get into a car with a friend and was rushed to a hospital. Jasper fled the scene. Officer Jaylin James was dispatched to the Waffle House. Dispatch told Officer James that witnesses identified the shooter as Jasper. Officer James was familiar with Jasper because of community policing, narcotics' investigations, and a previous traffic stop. Officer James searched locations where Jasper would frequent but failed to find him. After Officer James failed to locate Jasper, he reviewed the video footage provided by the Waffle House and was able to identify Jasper as the shooter. On the same day, an arrest warrant was issued for Jasper by the Justice Court of Tunica County. Jasper was detained on December 27, 2017, on the charges of murder and attempted murder.

¶9. On August 15, 2018, a Tunica County grand jury indicted Antonio Jasper for one count of first-degree murder in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19(1)(a) ; one count of aggravated assault in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-7(2)(a) ; and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-37-5. On August 22, 2018, Jasper waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment.

¶10. On August 24, 2018, Jasper filed a "motion to invoke discovery" pursuant to Rule 17.2 through Rule 17.9 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure.

¶11. Jasper filed a motion to quash Count III of the indictment on September 28, 2018, because an additional charge was added to his indictment: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On that same day, Jasper also filed a motion in limine to prevent the State from presenting any witness for the sole purpose of narrating the video. However, the court later allowed witnesses to testify to the video footage.

¶12. On April 1, 2019, in camera, the court denied Jasper's motion to quash Count III. Although the State agreed to dismiss the additional charge at a preliminary hearing at justice court, the circuit court found that the State was not bound by promises made in justice court by the county attorney and additionally the gun charge was dismissed without prejudice in justice court. Therefore, the State could indict on this particular charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

¶13. Jasper's trial took place on April 3-5, 2019. On April 3, 2019, the court voir dired prospective jurors. During jury qualifications, the trial court asked numerous questions regarding relationships with potential witnesses, victims, attorneys, and investigators. Relative to this case, the circuit court questioned the prospective jurors regarding if any of them had any relations to or knowledge of Ladarius Hibbler:

THE COURT: Okay. And, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get more into this later, but this morning we're dealing with a multi-count indictment and Mr. Hibbler is one of the alleged victims in this two-count indictment. Is anyone here related by blood or marriage to Ladarius Hibbler? Is there anyone here who knows or who has a relationship with Ladarius Hibbler?

Only one juror (Juror 76) responded in the affirmative. The juror explained that she had been Ladarius's substitute teacher and felt that she could still sit as a fair and impartial juror. No other prospective juror stated that they knew or had any other relation to Ladarius. After the conclusion of voir dire, the selected jurors were sworn in.

¶14. On April 4, 2019, the State presented Earnest Willis, the Waffle House's regional manager, as a witness to testify about the video surveillance system. The defense objected to the admission of the video surveillance footage because the video did not appear to be continuous. The State told the court that there were nine different cameras (one of which was inoperable), so the video would cut to different views. Therefore, the circuit court overruled the defense's objection and allowed Willis to testify as to his knowledge of the surveillance system.

¶15. Although the court allowed Officer Jaylin James to testify as to Jasper's identification in the video footage, the State rested its case without calling Officer James as a witness.

¶16. The defense moved for a directed verdict because the State failed to prove Count II, the aggravated assault on Ladarius. The court denied the defense's motion for a directed verdict, holding that based upon circumstantial evidence, the jury could have found that Jasper committed aggravated assault. Both parties proceeded to make their closing arguments.

¶17. On April 5, 2019, the jury found Jasper guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the aggravated assault charge. The circuit court sentenced Jasper to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for his murder conviction and five years of imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a felon.

¶18. On April 11, 2019, Jasper filed a JNOV motion or, in the alternative, a new trial for the following reasons: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the guilty verdicts; (2) the overwhelming weight of the evidence did not support the...