BRUCE CALVIN MCCOY A/K/A BRUCE MCCOY A/K/A BRUCE C. MCCOY APPELLANT
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE
DATE
OF JUDGMENT: 12/14/2015
LINCOLN
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HON. DAVID H. STRONG JR., Judge
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: BRUCE CALVIN MCCOY (PRO SE)
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY:
LAURA HOGAN TEDDER
BEFORE
LEE, C.J., BARNES AND FAIR, JJ.
BARNES, J.
¶1.
Bruce McCoy, appearing pro se, appeals the judgment of the
Circuit Court of Lincoln County dismissing his motion for
post-conviction relief (PCR). While McCoy was convicted for
numerous crimes, this motion challenges only his convictions
for burglary of a dwelling and petit larceny. The circuit
court dismissed the motion as successive. Finding no error,
we affirm.
STATEMENT
OF THE FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2.
On November 10, 2004, McCoy was charged by a Lincoln County
grand jury in four separate indictments for nine different
crimes involving four different victims. In the indictment at
issue here, McCoy was charged with burglary of a dwelling
house and petit larceny, as a habitual offender under
Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-19-83 (Rev. 2015).
¶3.
The State moved to amend this indictment to charge McCoy
under the lesser habitual- offender statute of Mississippi
Code Annotated section 99-19-81 (Rev. 2015), instead of
section 99-19-83, "because of his willingness to enter a
blind plea to all of his charges at arraignment." On
December 6, 2004, McCoy pleaded guilty to two counts of
burglary of a dwelling, one count of burglary of a building,
four counts of grand larceny, and two counts of petit
larceny. At his sentencing hearing in January 2005, McCoy was
sentenced to the maximum terms of imprisonment of twenty-five
years for both charges of burglary of a dwelling, seven years
for the charge of burglary of a building, five years for each
of the four grand-larceny charges, and six months for each of
the petit-larceny charges. All of the sentences were ordered
to run concurrently without the possibility for early release
or parole.
¶4.
McCoy's first PCR motion timely challenged all four of
his sentences resulting from his guilty pleas entered on the
nine different counts. The circuit court denied relief, and
McCoy appealed to this Court. We dismissed McCoy's appeal
without prejudice for failing to file separate motions
challenging each judgment as required by Mississippi Code
Annotated section 99-39-9(2) (Rev. 2000). McCoy v.
State, 941 So.2d 879, 881 (¶4) (Miss. Ct. App.
2006). McCoy was then free to file separate PCR motions for
relief on each judgment. McCoy filed another PCR motion in
2007, which the circuit court denied. McCoy appealed, but his
appeal was dismissed for failure to pay the appeal costs.
McCoy v. State, 2007-TS-00951-COA (Aug. 16, 2007).
¶5.
On March 15, 2011, McCoy filed three separate PCR motions
challenging his guilty pleas and sentences. He argued there
was newly discovered evidence - that one of the victims was a
court administrator, and the circuit judge should have
recused himself. Additionally, he argued there was an
intervening decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court, his
indictments were insufficient, and his defense counsel was
ineffective. The circuit court summarily dismissed each of
the PCR motions as untimely and successive. McCoy appealed,
and finding no viable exceptions to the procedural bars, this
Court affirmed the dismissal in McCoy v. State, 111
So.3d 673, 675 (¶1) (Miss. Ct. App. 2012).[1]
¶6.
On October 8, 2015, McCoy filed the PCR action at issue in
this appeal, challenging only the indictment in Cause No.
2014-312-MS - for burglary of a dwelling and petit larceny.
In his thirty-page motion, McCoy argued that the habitual
portion of his sentence under section 99-19-81 should be
vacated because there was no proof presented that he had been
imprisoned over a year. He also claimed his indictment was
invalid because it did not contain the words "against
the peace and dignity of the state" required by Uniform
Rule of Circuit and County Court 7.06(7). The circuit court
dismissed his PCR motion as successive, noting that this
motion was McCoy's fourth. McCoy timely appealed.
STANDARD
...