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Campbell v. State10/28/2003
es which may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. All credible evidence consistent with the guilty verdict is accepted as true, with issues of weight and credibility resolved by the jury. [An appellate] court will reverse only where reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find the accused not guilty.
Johnson v. State, 642 So. 2d 924, 927 (Miss. 1994) (citations omitted).
. Despite Campbell's contentions, there is ample and overwhelmingly weighty evidence that supports his guilt. As we have previously mentioned, it is not necessary that the State prove that the intoxicating liquor was a proximate or proximate contributing cause of the death. Joiner, 835 So. 2d at 44 ( ). It is sufficient if the proof shows that Campbell was under the influence of intoxicating liquor when he committed a negligent act which resulted in Bonner's death.
. Our supreme court has held that " riving an automobile on the highway under the influence of intoxicants . . . is not only dangerous . . . it is per se negligence." Adams v. Green, 474 So. 2d 577, 583 (Miss. 1985) (citations omitted). Here, Campbell had a blood alcohol level of .24%, his urine specimen contained .30% ethyl alcohol, and a Breathalyzer test showed an alcohol content of .204%. All these aforementioned tests were administered more than two hours after Campbell was first taken into custody by Officer Varnado.
. In regards to Campbell's contention that what happened was not only unavoidable but inevitable because the youths were walking in the street in the path of traffic, we find this contention is not reconciled with the testimony presented at trial. Bonner's companions gave contradictory testimony. Taylor attested that the group walked in the street on the night in question but that his aunt instructed them to get in the grass when they saw a vehicle approaching. On the other hand, Evans, the aunt, avowed that they were never in the street at all.
. It was for the jury to resolve the discrepancy between Taylor's testimony and that of his aunt. Collier v. State, 711 So. 2d 458, 462 ( ) (Miss. 1998). "The jury has a much better vantage point to view and assess the tone, mannerisms, and disposition of witnesses." King v. State, 798 So. 2d 1258, 1262 ( ) (Miss. 2001).
. Campbell stipulated that Bonner died as a result of a direct impact sustained from a motor vehicle driven by Campbell. The proof was overwhelming that Campbell was intoxicated at the time. Whether he committed an act of negligence was a question for the jury to resolve. They resolved it against him notwithstanding the conflicting testimony. We cannot say that, on these facts, reasonable and fair-minded jurors could only find Campbell not guilty of negligently causing the death of Jeremy Bonner.
. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JONES COUNTY OF CONVICTION OF CAUSING THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WHILE DRIVING NEGLIGENTLY AND WHILE INTOXICATED AND SENTENCE OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, WITH FIVE YEARS SUSPENDED, IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANT.
McMILLIN, C.J., KING AND SOUTHWICK, P.JJ., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, MYERS, CHANDLER AND GRIFFIS, JJ., CONCUR.
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