Mann v. State

The trial court did not violate the defendant's due process rights when it instructed the jury on the law of parties to a crime, despite the fact that the indictment accused the defendant of personally committing the crimes.

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Following a jury trial, Willie Lee Mann was found guilty of the felony murder and aggravated assault of Dennis Bennett.1 On appeal, Mann contends that, among other things, the trial court erred by failing to suppress one of his statements and trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

1. In the light most favorable to the verdict, the record shows that, after work, on January 26, 2000, Bennett and Duke Gravitt went to a local bar in Gravitt’s red truck. After a while, Bennett told Duke that he wanted to”pick up a little smoke.” Duke allowed Bennett to borrow his truck to drive to the nearby Leila Valley Apartments. When Bennett arrived, he drove to a back corner and asked Tyrone Robinson if anyone had marijuana to sell. Robinson called out to Mann, who happened to be sitting outside with Rontae Smith. Mann and Smith approached the truck. After some negotiation, Mann left momentarily and returned. Mann and Bennett exchanged words, and then gun shots were fired. Mann fled the scene of the shooting. When police arrived later, they found Bennett fatally wounded by a gunshot to the back. Investigators processed the truck for fingerprints, and discovered Mann’s palm prints on the driver’s door. Two eyewitnesses were later found by police. Tamara Johnson testified that she heard shots, went to her window, and saw Mann standing by the driver’s side of the truck. In her original statement, she said that she also saw Smith nearby. Gweenda Ward testified that, while standing outside, she witnessed Mann walk up to the driver’s side of the truck, she heard gunshots, and then she saw Bennett slump over in the truck. Neither Johnson nor Ward testified that they actually saw Mann holding a weapon, although Ward stated that, before the shooting, she heard Mann ask Robinson to bring him a gun.

Mann v. State

The trial court did not violate the defendant's due process rights when it instructed the jury on the law of parties to a crime, despite the fact that the indictment accused the defendant of personally committing the crimes.

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