PEOPLE OF MI V JERRELL JERMAINE JONES
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
December 21, 2010
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 293824
Calhoun Circuit Court
LC No. 2009-000327-FC
JERRELL JERMAINE JONES,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: MARKEY, P.J., and WILDER and STEPHENS, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of assault with intent to commit murder,
MCL 750.83, armed robbery, MCL 750.529, unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.349b, felon in
possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the
commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b(1). Defendant was sentenced as an habitual offender,
second offense, MCL 769.10, to life in prison for his assault with intent to commit murder
conviction, 30 to 50 years’ imprisonment for his armed robbery conviction, 10 to 22-1/2 years’
imprisonment for his unlawful imprisonment conviction, 3 to 7-1/2 years’ imprisonment for his
felon in possession of a firearm conviction, and two years’ imprisonment for each of his four
felony-firearm convictions. Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm.
Defendant’s convictions arose from an incident on January 23, 2009, when he and
another male used a handgun and aluminum baseball bat to beat Clifton Stouder. On appeal,
defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for assault with
intent to commit murder and armed robbery, and, alternatively, that the trial court erred by
denying his motion for directed verdict as to the armed robbery and attendant felony-firearm
count. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case, this Court must review the
record de novo and, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, determine
whether a rational trier of fact could find that the essential elements of the crime were proved
beyond a reasonable doubt. People v Hoffman, 225 Mich App 103, 111; 570 NW2d 146 (1997).
“Circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom may be sufficient to prove
the elements of a crime.” People v Truong (After Remand), 218 Mich App 325, 337; 553 NW2d
692 (1996), quoting People v Jolly, 442 Mich 458, 466; 502 NW2d 177 (1993). The standard of
review for a directed verdict motion is the same as that for the sufficiency of the evidence.
People v Aldrich, 246 Mich App 101, 122-123; 631 NW2d 67 (2001).
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The elements of the crime of assault with intent to commit murder are (1) an assault, (2)
with an actual intent to kill, (3) which, if successful, would make the killing murder. Hoffman,
225 Mich App at 111. Here, defendant argues that there was insufficient evidence of his intent
to kill. We disagree. Intent to kill may be proved by inference from any facts in evidence.
People v McRunels, 237 Mich App 168, 181; 603 NW2d 95 (1999). “Because of the difficulty
of proving an actor’s state of mind, minimal circumstantial evidence is sufficient.” Id.
Stouder testified that on January 22, between 11:45 p.m. and midnight, he solicited a
prostitute, Wendy Hale, in order to engage in sexual intercourse and “do some drugs.” Stouder
and Hale did not have any drugs in their possession, and Hale desired that they stop at a duplex
apartment complex in the area to secure drugs. As soon as Stouder and Hale were admitted into
the kitchen of the apartment, the backdoor was barricaded. Defendant and three other women,
two Caucasian and one African-American, were present. Defendant immediately began accusing
Stouder of being an undercover police officer, and he ordered Stouder to remove all of his
clothes. When Stouder refused to do so, defendant pointed a handgun two inches from Stouder’s
head and said, “I said take your clothes off.” Stouder complied. Defendant then called out,
“Come here a minute, cuz,” and a male entered the kitchen carrying an aluminum baseball bat.
Defendant asked, “Well, what are we going to do with him, ‘cuz,’ and the male walked up to
Stouder and hit him across the front of the head with the bat. Defendant ran up to Stouder and
punched him in the nose, and the other male hit Stouder again on the head with the bat.
Defendant hit Stouder across the back of his head with the handgun, and the men took turns
beating Stouder on the head and upper body. Stouder suffered from lacerations, bruises, scrapes,
and abrasions, and CAT scans were later ordered to test for possible life-threatening head
injuries. The continuous beatings defendant and the other male inflicted are circumstantial
evidence of defendant’s intent to murder Stouder. See Hoffman, 225 Mich App at 111.
Defendant’s actions after the beating showed he had no remorse or concern for the
injuries inflicted, and in fact, he continued to inflict injury on Stouder. While holding the gun,
defendant ordered one of the females to take Stouder into a bathroom, and he forced Stouder to
stand in an ice-cold shower for close to an hour while the females were directed to clean up the
blood in the kitchen. Defendant then ordered one of the females to “[g]et [Stouder] out of the
shower” and told Stouder to get dressed. Defendant led Stouder into a bedroom and commented
to the other male, “Damn, big man, look at the damage you did to this guy.” Defendant
eventually told two of the females, “I want you to get this guy out of here before he dies in my
apartment,” and Stouder was escorted out of the apartment.
Defendant argues that the evidence was sufficient only to convict him for assault with
intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder, and that intent to place the victim in fear of
being murdered is insufficient to satisfy the intent to kill element. Defendant points to Stouder’s
testimony that as defendant was walking Stouder into the bedroom, defendant said, “Don’t
worry. . . . [W]e’re not going to hurt you no more,” as evidence that he had not intended to kill
Stouder. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, however, this
statement made after the assault occurred does not detract from the circumstantial evidence of
defendant’s intent to kill during the assault or his recognition of the severity of the injuries he
caused, specifically his recognition that he did not want defendant to die in the apartment.
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Defendant next argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for
armed robbery, and that the trial court should have granted his motion for directed verdict on this
charge. The court instructed the jury on the elements of aiding and abetting and denied
defendant’s motion for directed verdict based on this theory. The offense of armed robbery
includes: “(1) an assault, (2) a felonious taking of property from the victim’s presence or person,
(3) while the defendant is armed with a weapon described in the statute.” People v Carines, 460
Mich 750, 757; 597 NW2d 130 (1999). The elements of aiding and abetting include: (1) the
offense charged was committed by the defendant or some other person; (2) the defendant
performed acts or gave encouragement to assist the commission of the offense; and (3) the
defendant intended to commit the offense or had knowledge that the principal intended its
commission at the time the defendant gave aid and encouragement. Id. at 768.
After Stouder was forced to remove his clothes, and while defendant held the gun up to
him, the African-American female grabbed Stouder’s clothes and began going through the
pockets, which contained his cellular telephone, wallet, and $144. The female later looked
through Stouder’s wallet while defendant held the gun and forced Stouder to stay in the shower.
Stouder could not recall whether defendant told the female to “go through [his] belongings,” and
he did not observe defendant touch his wallet, the contents, or the telephone. Defendant thus
argues that there was no evidence that he ordered the female to go through Stouder’s pockets or
performed any act or gave any encouragement to assist her, and that there was no evidence that
he acquiesced in the permanent deprivation of Stouder’s property. We disagree.
“‘Aiding and abetting’ describes all forms of assistance rendered to the perpetrator of a
crime and comprehends all words or deeds that might support, encourage, or incite the
commission of a crime. . . .” People v Bulls, 262 Mich App 618, 625; 687 NW2d 159 (2004),
quoting Carines, 460 Mich at 757. “An aider and abettor’s state of mind may be inferred from
all the facts and circumstances.” People v Turner, 213 Mich App 558, 568; 540 NW2d 728
(1995), overruled in part on other grounds People v Mass, 464 Mich 615; 628 NW2d 540 (2001).
The evidence sufficiently showed that defendant aided and abetted the robbery where he held a
gun to Stouder’s head, forced him to remove his clothes, and continued holding the gun as the
female went through Stouder’s pockets. Although defendant did not instruct her to perform
these actions, Stouder testified that the females did “what they were told to do” and did not do
anything not requested by defendant. Furthermore, Stouder’s property was not returned to him
before he left the apartment. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution,
a reasonable juror could infer that defendant used the handgun in order to deprive Stouder of his
property, and the trial court was correct in denying defendant’s motion for directed verdict.1
1
In light of our conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to prove that defendant aided and
abetted the armed robbery, defendant’s argument that the trial court erred by failing to dismiss
the attendant felony-firearm count because there was insufficient evidence that he committed
armed robbery also fails. People v Avant, 235 Mich App 499, 505; 597 NW2d 864 (1999) (“The
elements of felony-firearm are that the defendant possessed a firearm during the commission of,
or the attempt to commit, a felony.”).
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Affirmed.
/s/ Jane E. Markey
/s/ Kurtis T. Wilder
/s/ Cynthia Diane Stephens
Defendant further argues that he was not charged in the criminal information with aiding and
abetting the armed robbery, but rather was charged only with armed robbery. However, aiding
and abetting is not a separate charge, but is merely a separate theory for conviction under the
same charge, and the amended information provided adequate notice of the charge to defendant.
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