Facts
Seventeen-year-old Jaquez Davonte Porter and his friends Jarvis Jermaine Cook and sisters Willow Onedia-Louise Blackmon and Yakeshia Lashel Blackmon were together on February 24, 2020. Cook, who was driving his mother’s car, picked up Porter, and eventually, they went to the sisters’ house. There, Willow and Yakeshia, who had had a disagreement with the victim Harris (their former friend), talked about wanting to go beat up Harris. During this discussion, the group saw a Snapchat post from Harris, showing a bag of marijuana with the word “Shop,” indicating that Harris was selling marijuana. The group planned to go to Harris’s house, who lived just three houses down the street, where the sisters would fight Harris while Porter and Cook would keep Harris’s boyfriend, Paul White, from getting involved. Porter and Cook would also take Harris’s marijuana.
The group went to Walmart and then to Academy Sports, where Porter bought bullets for his 9mm Jiminez handgun. On the way back to Willow and Yakeshia’s house, they contacted Jasmine Joy-Sade Kelley, who was still friends with Harris. They told Kelley their plan, and she agreed to go to Harris’s house to let the group know where the marijuana was and who was at the house. The group picked up Kelley and dropped her off down the street from Harris’s house, while Willow and Yakeshia went back to their house and changed into dark hoodies and bandanas.
Kelley walked to Harris’s house, and Harris let her in. The two began smoking marijuana and painting their nails. Harris’s boyfriend, White, arrived soon after and started playing a video game. Kelley communicated what was happening inside the house to Cook via Snapchat. She messaged that White was there, but she did not think he had a gun. She said that the marijuana was there as well and that they could come to the house in five minutes.
When Porter, Cook, Willow, and Yakeshia arrived, they went to Harris’s bedroom window. Through the partially open window, Porter saw Harris, Kelley, and White inside and pointed his handgun at them. Porter told White to raise the window, but it was nailed shut and could go no further. While Porter pointed the gun at White, Harris, and Kelley, Willow and Yakeshia entered the home through the carport door. They went to Harris’s bedroom, which was locked, but Kelley opened it and let the sisters in. As the sisters entered the room, Harris was on the phone with 911, but the call was disconnected when Yakeshia took the phone from Harris. Yakeshia then asked Porter for the gun, which Porter handed to her through the opened window. At that point, Porter and Cook went to enter the house through the carport door as well.
Meanwhile, Willow fought Harris, White tussled with Yakeshia, who was holding the gun, and Kelley ran out of the room. As White and Yakeshia struggled, the gun went off, and the bullet struck Harris. Porter and Cook heard the gunshot as they were coming down the hall. They turned as the sisters came out of the bedroom and all fled, including Kelley. White, who had taken the gun from Yakeshia, ran after them. White tried to fire the gun, but it jammed. The group ran to the sisters’ house, where Willow and Yakeshia changed their clothes. The group then left to go to the house of a friend of Kelley’s. Ultimately everyone returned to their respective homes, where they were eventually arrested.
Back at the Harris home, Harris’s father, Stewart Harris, had been in the back yard raking leaves and smoking a cigarette when the break-in occurred. He heard the gunshot and screaming and rushed inside. White ran by him, and Stewart followed him outside. White was running after two figures Stewart saw in black hoodies and Stewart ran back in the house. He found his daughter in the hall, moved her to the couch, and started CPR. White returned and called paramedics and 911. Both law enforcement and medical personnel responded, and Harris was taken to the hospital. Police officers reviewed the doorbell-camera footage that showed the group of intruders. Officers were able to identify the car that the group used. All of them were eventually apprehended and taken into custody.
Porter’s Arrest and Interrogation
After Porter’s arrest at his mother’s house, he was taken to the police station where he was read and waived his Miranda rights. Although Porter’s mother arrived and asked to be in the room with Porter during his interrogation, her request was denied. Porter admitted to the facts of the group’s plan to steal the marijuana and said he had provided the handgun that killed Harris. Porter had no attorney or relative present during his questioning. The interrogation was both audio- and video-recorded.
On May 17, 2021, Porter, Cook, Willow, Yakeshia, and Kelley were indicted for capital murder pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-3-19 (Rev. 2020) for wilfully and unlawfully killing Harris during the commission of the felony crime of robbery. Their cases were severed, and Willow pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery, while Kelley and Cook pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Yakeshia pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery. Porter pleaded not guilty. Porter’s counsel told the court that he tried to negotiate a manslaughter plea for Porter, but the State refused.
Motion to Suppress Statement
On August 27, 2021, Porter filed a motion to suppress Porter’s confession. Before testimony was taken, Porter acknowledged that the law allows questioning of a minor (Porter was seventeen at the time) “if it appears the minor is not being coerced and that he understands the questions and can be responsive.”
At the hearing, Special Agent Larry Barnum testified that in February 2020, he worked with the Biloxi Police Department as a criminal investigator. He and Investigator James Gladden interviewed Porter about an hour and a half after Porter’s arrest and after Porter had been advised of and waived his Miranda rights. Porter’s parents were not present during the interview because Porter was being investigated and charged as an adult, and as such, it was not required that his parents be present. Porter was just a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday. Barnum said Porter was cooperative, calm, and mentally competent.
On his Miranda waiver, Porter indicated that he was in the twelfth grade and able to read and write. During the interview, which was both videotaped and audio-recorded, Porter admitted that he was hanging out with Cook, Willow, and Yakeshia, that the girls “had a beef” with Harris, and that they went over to Harris’s house to fight. But they also knew Harris sold marijuana. So they decided although they were there to assault Harris, they would also take the marijuana. Porter admitted that he brought the gun and held it on Harris and White at the window while the sisters went inside.
Barnum said that Porter gave them his general personal information (address, birthday, social security number, and phone number) clearly and concisely. Porter never requested that his parents be present, and Barnum was not aware that Porter’s mother had requested to be present. Investigator Gladden testified that he was a criminal investigator with the Biloxi Police Department at the time of the shooting. He responded to the 911 dispatch and went to the hospital first to check on Harris and learned that she had died. He was later involved in Porter’s interview. Gladden testified that Barnum was the lead investigator, and he confirmed Barnum’s testimony about giving Porter his Miranda rights. There was nothing about Porter’s demeanor that would suggest he did not understand what was going on. Each right was read to him, and they would stop and ask Porter if he understood it. Gladden said that the whole interview was captured on video and that he never gave Porter any menacing looks or did anything to force him into giving a statement. Porter never requested an attorney or for his parents to be present. Gladden said that the law does not require a parent to be present because Porter was charged with a capital offense.
The State, argued that in Horne, the Mississippi Supreme Court held that if the crime is one where the defendant could receive life imprisonment or death, it is not necessary that a minor have a parent present during interrogation. The circuit court viewed the videotape of the interrogation and ruled that Porter’s statement was freely and voluntarily given with no coercion or undue influence by officers. The court said that Porter, who was close to being eighteen, did not ask for a parent to be present and seemed to understand the questions. Accordingly, the court denied the motion to suppress Porter’s statement. MCOA affirmed.
Analysis
Porter contends that the circuit court erred when it allowed the video and audio tapes of his recorded statement to be entered into evidence because Porter’s mother was not allowed to be present. However, Porter concedes that Mississippi courts have held that a minor’s statement may be entered into evidence if he is charged with a capital offense. Instead, he urges us to change that law, but he gives us little factual justification and no legal precedent to do so.
Under Miranda, 384 U.S. at 479, an individual in custody has the right to remain silent and to have an attorney present during interrogation. The State bears the burden of demonstrating that a defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived these rights.
When determining the admissibility of a minor’s confession, inquiry must be made into the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation. See MSC Clemons. This includes reviewing the testimony of the investigating officers and determining the absence of evidence of mental or intellectual impairment or any factors attributable to the minor’s age. In Clemons, which involved a fourteen-year-old defendant’s confession to shooting one of three victims, the Mississippi Supreme Court found no merit to Clemons’s assertion that he should have been allowed to a have a parent present. The Court cited MSC Blue v. State, 674 So. 2d 1184 (Miss. 1996), stating, “Where the crime is such that circuit court has original jurisdiction, age had no special bearing on his ability to be questioned without a parent and voluntarily waive his rights.” This includes crimes where the minor could receive life imprisonment or death. In such a case, it is not necessary that the minor’s parent be present during interrogation.
In the case at hand, the circuit court viewed the tapes of Porter’s statement and found no threats, coercion, or undue influence by the investigators. The court found that the officers had methodically reviewed and explained each of Porter’s rights to him and that Porter, who was nearly eighteen, could be seen signing the statement. Porter was in the twelfth grade and charged with a capital offense that could result in a sentence of life in prison. He did not ask for either a parent or an attorney to be present. Given the charge he faced, Porter was not entitled to have a parent present, and the court found that he knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his right to remain silent and be represented by counsel during the interrogation. From our review of the record and precedent, we agree with the circuit court and find no error in the court’s denial of Porter’s motion to suppress.