Jolly v. State

338 So.3d 698

Donald Ray JOLLY, Appellant

v.STATE of Mississippi, Appellee

NO. 2021-KA-00318-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 17, 2022

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: JUSTIN TAYLOR COOK

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: SCOTT STUART, Jackson

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McDONALD AND SMITH, JJ.

McDONALD, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. A Neshoba County Circuit Court jury convicted Donald Jolly of four counts of statutory rape in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-65(1)(b) (Supp. 2017). The circuit court sentenced Jolly to serve life in prison for one count and three twenty-year sentences for the remaining three counts, with all sentences ordered to run consecutively. Jolly now appeals his convictions arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to law enforcement. Jolly argued that he did not have the capacity to understand that he had the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, or any of the other accompanying rights; therefore, his statement allegedly was not knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily made. After a review of the record, arguments of counsel, and relevant caselaw, we affirm Jolly's convictions and sentences.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. At eight years old, Stacy¹ began living with her father after her mother passed away. Stacy's father and Jolly were friends and neighbors. Over the years, Stacy and her siblings spent time with Jolly, riding four wheelers around their homes and hunting in nearby communities.

¶3. Stacy made allegations to family members that Jolly had been inappropriately touching her, and on January 7, 2020, Stacy was interviewed by Beth Reynolds, a forensic interviewer at the Wesley House Community Center ("Wesley House") in Meridian.² Officer Gordon Atkins, an investigator for the Neshoba County Sheriff's Department, was present during Stacy's interview at the Wesley House. After witnessing the interview, Atkins and other officers went to Jolly's home to locate him for questioning regarding Stacy's allegations. When Jolly was located, Atkins and Officer Brad Stuart detained and transported him to the Neshoba County Sheriff's Department.

¶4. When they arrived at the sheriff's department, Jolly was placed in Atkins's office. According to Jolly, Sheriff Eric Clark came and spoke with him for a moment after he arrived,³ but his official interrogation was conducted by Atkins and Stuart.⁴ Before the questioning began, Atkins read Jolly a Miranda⁵ warning and waiver form. Jolly signed the waiver form and, thereafter, hand-wrote and signed a statement in which he admitted to having sex with Stacy.

¶5. On July 8, 2020, a Neshoba County grand jury indicted Jolly on four counts of statutory rape, and on March 8, 2021, the case was tried in the Neshoba County Circuit Court. At trial, the State called Stacy as its first witness. She testified about the allegations she made during her interview at the Wesley House. Stacy was unable to give specific dates, but she testified to three specific incidents where she alleged that Jolly raped her. According to Stacy, Jolly raped her many, many times. Stacy testified that the first time Jolly touched her inappropriately she was around the age of eleven.

Direct Examination of Stacy:

Q. When did Mr. Jolly start doing things to you that you thought were inappropriate?

A. When I was like 11, him and me and my brother were sitting in the car in the chicken house, the old chicken house.

....

Q. Tell us what happened then.

A. He told my brother to go get a drink from the compost shed, the refrigerator out there, and after that he slowly put his hand on my leg, and that's when it started.

Stacy further testified that on one occasion, when she was around the age of thirteen, Jolly took her hunting. Usually Stacy's little brother went with her and Jolly hunting, but on this particular day, Jolly did not want her brother to go. Jolly and Stacy rode to Mt. Zion where his shooting house was located. According to Stacy, Jolly took her into the shooting house and told her to lie on the ground. Once on the ground, Stacy testified that Jolly put his "thing" inside of her after he pulled her pants down.

¶6. The State then called Atkins to testify. Atkins described how the Wesley House conducted children's interviews and where he was located on the day that Stacy had her interview. After Atkins witnessed the interview, he went back to Neshoba County to find Jolly. According to Atkins, he and other officers went to Jolly's residence but he was not there. The officers tracked Jolly down and took him to the sheriff's department. As anticipated, Jolly objected to the admission of his handwritten statement. As a result of the objection, the court then conducted a suppression hearing outside the presence of the jury.

¶7. During the suppression hearing, Jolly was asked whether Atkins went over the waiver form with him, and he stated that Atkins had not. Jolly stated, "He didn't give me no rights."

Jolly Direct Examination

Q. What about in his office? Did he read you those rights?

A. No, sir.

Q. Did he say that anything you say can be used against you in a court of law?

A. No, sir. He didn't say that.

Q. Did he tell you can talk to a lawyer?

A. No, sir.

¶8. During the interrogation, Jolly gave both an oral and written statement to Atkins and Stuart.⁶ Although he did write and sign the statement, according to Jolly, Atkins allegedly told him what to write.

Jolly Direct Examination Q. Who gave you the words and the language to write down on those two pieces of paper?

A. Mr. Gordon told me what to say. He told me when he said that you had sex with you but you did not force her. I said I didn't – I ain't even writing that because I ain't had sex with nobody. He told me – he said, "If you want a bond, you know, you will."

¶9. In response to Jolly's testimony, Atkins and Stuart both testified during the suppression hearing. Both officers countered Jolly's testimony, stating that Jolly was fully advised of his Miranda rights and that he voluntarily gave his oral and written statements. Further, both officers denied promising Jolly a bond in exchange for his confession.

Atkins Direct Examination

Q. Prior to talking to the Defendant, was he advised of anything?

A. Yes, sir. His Miranda rights.

....

Q. Is that the Miranda form that was read to the Defendant?

A. Yes, sir.

....

Q. The rights in that form – was he advised of those rights?

A. Yes, sir.

¶10. Jolly's written statement contained several misspelled words, and some were scratched through and marked with his initials. In the statement, Jolly stated that he and Stacy had sex fifty to sixty times or more, but he never forced her. Jolly identified specific places where he and Stacy engaged in sexual intercourse, including the shooting house in Mt. Zion, the fields by his house, and in the chicken house. He further stated that he and Stacy were like boy-girl friends in a way. Jolly was forty-seven years old at the time he wrote his statement.

¶11. However, at the suppression hearing, Jolly stated that he never had sexual intercourse with Stacy. Jolly argued that he only wrote and signed the statement because Atkins promised him that he would receive a bond. Jolly also testified that on the day of the interrogation, he had been up for a couple days and was on "crystal."⁷ However, Jolly admitted that he did not tell the officers this information because he did not want his boss and family members to know of his drug use. Atkins and Stuart testified that Jolly did not appear to be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol while being questioned. Based on their observations, Jolly fully understood his rights and that he was waiving those rights by signing the waiver. Stuart testified that neither he nor Atkins threatened or offered Jolly any type of reward for his statement.

¶12. At the close of the suppression hearing, Jolly argued that his statement should be suppressed because he was threatened and intimidated by Sheriff Clark and was not read his rights before he wrote his statement. Jolly further argued that he did not understand he had the right to a lawyer or the right to remain silent, nor did he understand that he could ask for an attorney and stop the questioning. According to Jolly, he was told that if he ever wanted a bond he would have to write a statement.

¶13. After hearing testimony from Atkins, Stuart, and Jolly, as well as arguments of counsel, the circuit court found that "the Defendant was properly read his rights, ... properly advised of [those] rights, and that he freely and voluntarily waived those rights." Thus, the circuit court held that Jolly's confession was admissible.

¶14. Testimony before the jury then resumed. Jolly testified and maintained his contention that he never engaged in sexual intercourse with Stacy. Concerning his written statement, Jolly told the jury that he only confessed to having sexual intercourse with Stacy because Atkins promised him a bond in exchange for doing so. According to Jolly, he did not understand that he was confessing to having sex with Stacy when he wrote his statement. Jolly admitted that he did not really talk with the officers before he began writing out his statement. The officers just told him that they had some questions for him and that he needed to answer them. He further alleged that Atkins told him the words to write in his statement. At the end of the trial, the jury found Jolly guilty of all four counts of statutory rape.

¶15. Jolly now appeals his convictions and sentences, raising as the sole issue whether the circuit court manifestly erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement because it was not knowingly, intelligently, nor voluntarily made.

Standard of Review

¶16. In reviewing the trial court's denial of a motion to suppress a statement, the general rule that the "trial court sits as the fact-finder when determining the issue of whether an accused's confession...