Jessie A. Gainwell v. State of Mississippi
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2001-KA-01442-COA
JESSIE A. GAINWELL
APPELLANT
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DATE OF TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT:
TRIAL JUDGE:
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT:
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
DISTRICT ATTORNEY:
NATURE OF THE CASE:
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION:
DISPOSITION:
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
CERTIORARI FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
APPELLEE
8/7/2002
HON. LAMAR PICKARD
COPIAH COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
JON-MARC KING
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY:
CHARLES W. MARIS
ALEXANDER C. MARTIN
CRIMINAL - FELONY
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGGRAVATED
ASSAULT - 20 YEARS WITH 10 YEARS TO
SERVE, 10 YEARS SUSPENDED, AND 5 YEARS'
POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION.
AFFIRMED - 04/15/2003
BEFORE KING, P.J., THOMAS AND CHANDLER, JJ.
CHANDLER, J., FOR THE COURT:
¶1.
Jessie Gainwell was convicted in a jury trial in the Copiah County Circuit Court for domestic
violence aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced him to twenty years' imprisonment, with ten years
to serve, ten years suspended, and five years' post-release supervision. The court also ordered that
Gainwell be enrolled in an alcohol and drug program. Gainwell raises the following issue on appeal:
I.
WHETHER THE JURY'S VERDICT WAS CONTRARY TO THE WEIGHT AND
SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE.
Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS
¶2.
Jessie Gainwell and Gertrude Warmsley had an "on again, off again" relationship for at least ten
years. Although never married, they were the parents of an eight-year-old son. Since September 2000,
Jessie had resided in Gertrude's home in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, along with their son and Gertrude's
nineteen-year-old daughter, Shaun Warmsley. Both Jessie and Gertrude worked at LCI, Signature Works.
¶3.
On May 5, 2001, a fight began with a box cutter between Gertrude and Jessie in her bedroom.
The testimonies of Gertrude and Jessie differ as to which was the initial aggressor. Both claim they were
acting in self-defense.
¶4.
Gertrude testified that she was asleep when Jessie walked into the bedroom and began accusing
her of sleeping with another man. She said that he then pulled out his box cutter and began to stab at her.
She stated that he was on top of her when her son and daughter ran into the room yelling for Jessie to get
off of her.
¶5.
Jessie testified that he never accused her of being with another man. He stated that they were both
sitting on the edge of the bed discussing Shaun's spreading of rumors about him physically abusing
Gertrude. He stated that he reached for his cigarettes which happened to be in the same pocket as his box
cutter when the weapon fell on to the floor. He stated that Gertrude immediately went for the weapon and
began stabbing at him. Jessie stated that he had the box cutter in his pocket because he used it at work.
¶6.
Shaun testified that she heard her mother screaming, "Oh, he's fixing to cut me." She then ran into
the bedroom and found Jessie on top of Gertrude. She testified that she never saw the box cutter. She
also stated that she had seen Jessie drinking earlier in the night.
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¶7.
Paramedics and the Copiah County police responded to a call at the home of Gertrude concerning
a woman being stabbed. When the paramedics arrived they only found Gertrude. They carried her to the
hospital where she received sixteen sutures. Her wounds consisted of cuts on her left and right thumb, her
right ear, and the right side of her scalp.
¶8.
Jessie stated that after the fight he went to a friend's house to see if he would take him to the
hospital. When his friend was not home, he came back to Gertrude's house.
¶9.
Approximately two hours later, the police received another call from someone in Gertrude's home
stating that the man who had stabbed Gertrude was back in the house. The police found Jessie lying in the
bedroom with a rag wiping the blood from his hand. He was then arrested and escorted by police to the
hospital for treatment. He received three sutures to his right hand between his thumb and index finger. The
treating physician, Dr. Joy Jackson, indicated that she smelled alcohol on his breath.
¶10.
A trial was held in Copiah County Circuit Court on January 30, 2002. The State called the victim,
Gertrude Warmsley, as well as two police officers, the dispatcher, the treating physician, and Shaun, the
eyewitness. For the defense, Jessie testified. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury convicted Jessie of
domestic violence aggravated assault.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
I.
WAS THE JURY'S VERDICT CONTRARY TO THE WEIGHT AND SUFFICIENCY OF
THE EVIDENCE?
¶11.
This Court in reviewing a trial court's denial of a motion for a directed verdict or a JNOV must view
and test the sufficiency of the evidence as a matter of law "in a light most favorable to the State." Lewis v.
State, 832 So. 2d 1266, 1267 (¶3) (Miss. Ct. App. 2002).
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The lower court's ruling will only be
reversed where "no reasonable hypothetical juror could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant
was guilty." May v. State, 460 So. 2d 778, 781 (Miss. 1984).
¶12.
Similarly, the weight of the evidence is reviewed upon the trial court's denial of a defendant's
motion for a new trial. Brown v. State, 825 So. 2d 70, 76 (¶17) (Miss. Ct. App. 2002). Gainwell asserts
that had the jury based its verdict on the evidence, the only conclusion it could have reached was not guilty
by reason of self-defense. However, Gainwell failed to offer a motion for a new trial. This is a matter the
trial judge must decide first, before any appeal is taken, and since Gainwell failed to raise this issue in a
motion for a new trial, he is barred from raising this issue here. Blankenship v. State, 792 So. 2d 1009,
1012 (¶7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2001).
¶13.
Based on the record before us, this Court finds that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in
denying Gainwell's motion for a JNOV. Gainwell asserts that the injury to his right hand indicates that it
was a self-defense wound. However, Dr. Jackson testified that both Jessie and Gertrude obtained cuts
to the hands indicating defensive wounds. Also, she testified that it was not impossible to cause injury to
your own hand if holding the weapon.
¶14.
This Court holds that the State put forth sufficient evidence to create a factual question that
reasonable and fair minded jurors could have formed differing conclusions about whether Gainwell was
acting in self-defense. Therefore, this issue is without merit.
¶15. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COPIAH COUNTY OF
CONVICTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND SENTENCE
OF TWENTY YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS WITH TEN YEARS SUSPENDED AND FIVE YEARS OF POST-RELEASE
SUPERVISION IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO
COPIAH COUNTY.
McMILLIN, C.J., KING AND SOUTHWICK, P.JJ., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE,
IRVING, MYERS AND GRIFFIS, JJ., CONCUR.
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