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IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON
Assigned on Briefs June 7, 2011 STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MYRON MCNEAL
Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County No. 09-03099 James C. Beasley, Jr., Judge

No. W2010-01130-CCA-R3-CD - Filed February 16, 2012

A Shelby County Criminal Court jury found the appellant, Myron McNeal, guilty of attempted second degree murder and employing a firearm during a felony. For the convictions, the trial court imposed a total effective sentence of thirty-eight years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions and the sentences imposed by the trial court. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court are Affirmed. N ORMA M CG EE O GLE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J AMES C URWOOD W ITT, J R., and A LAN E. G LENN, JJ., joined. Stephen Bush and Phyllis Aluko (on appeal) and Russell White (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Myron McNeal. Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Pamela Fleming, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. OPINION I. Factual Background The appellant's convictions arose from the shooting of the victim, LeRico Bland, in East Memphis. The proof at trial revealed that on December 9, 2008, two days before the shooting, the appellant, a man named "Bay Bay" and some other men were in the victim's apartment in the Wood Dale Condominiums at a time when the victim was not there and

without the victim's permission. When the victim returned home, he asked the men to leave, and they complied. Later that day, the victim saw that a window in his apartment was broken. The victim walked outside to see if his father, Lee Wright, who also lived in the apartment complex, was home. Bay Bay approached the victim and provoked a fight. Bay Bay's brother, Mike; the appellant; and two other men joined the fight against the victim. During the fight, the victim heard a gunshot and saw the appellant point a gun at him. Another man hit the right side of the victim's face and knocked him down. One of the victim's friends helped him up and guided him to Wright's apartment. The victim testified that he did not see the appellant for two days, and he assumed the dispute was over and "water under the bridge." On December 11, 2009, as the victim was leaving Wright's apartment, he saw the appellant, Bay Bay, and Mike in a field about twenty or thirty feet away. The men told the victim that he needed a gun because they planned to kill him. The victim, who was unarmed, took off his shirt to prepare for a fight. The victim said that he knocked on the door of Wright's apartment to let him know the men were outside. The victim's pregnant stepsister, Victoria Powell, came out of the apartment and began arguing with the men who were harassing the victim. When the men approached Powell in a threatening manner, the victim and Powell walked toward the apartment. Powell looked back and told the victim that one of the men had a gun. The victim saw the gun and pushed Powell out of the way, fearing the appellant would shoot her. The victim heard a gunshot and realized that he had been shot. The bullet went into one side of the victim's stomach, out the other side, and lodged in his right forearm. The victim was taken to the hospital where he was placed in a medically-induced coma. Shortly after the shooting, Officer Anthony Billingsley heard that the appellant was seen running toward the Fox Hollow Apartments, which were located across from the Wood Dale Condominiums. Because he was nearby, Officer Billingsley joined in the search and found the appellant hiding in the corner of a building. Officer Billingsley took the appellant into custody and handcuffed him. Although officers searched the appellant and the surrounding area, they were unable to locate a gun. Detective Robert Wilkie spoke with the appellant on December 13, 2008. After being advised of his Miranda rights and signing a waiver of those rights, the appellant denied any involvement in the shooting. He explained that he went to the Wood Dale Condominiums that day to see a friend. Upon his arrival, he saw police cars and tried to avoid the police because he was in possession of marijuana. The appellant said that he did not know about the shooting until after he was arrested. -2-

When the victim woke from his coma on December 26, he informed Detective Wilkie that the appellant had shot him. While in the hospital, the victim underwent several procedures. At the time of trial, the victim had a "JP drain" because of damage to his stomach and the loss of half of his liver. The victim left the hospital on January 6, 2009, but had to return on January 8. He was discharged for the last time on January 16. While the victim was in the hospital, he had two female visitors whom he had never seen before. One of the women was wearing a visitor's pass that revealed her name was Ariel. She asked if the victim could remember who shot him and if she could bring him a gift. The victim told Detective Wilkie about the visit. Detective Wilkie checked the visitor's registry and found the name and picture of the victim's visitor, Ariel Boyd. The appellant later told Officer Wilkie that Boyd was his girlfriend. The State rested its case, and the defense did not put on proof. The jury found the appellant guilty of attempted second degree murder and employing a firearm during a felony. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of thirty-eight years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and the sentences imposed. II. Analysis A. Sufficiency of the Evidence On appeal, a jury conviction removes the presumption of the appellant's innocence and replaces it with one of guilt, so that the appellant carries the burden of demonstrating to this court why the evidence will not support the jury's findings. See State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 913, 914 (Tenn. 1982). The appellant must establish that no reasonable trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e). Accordingly, on appeal, the State is entitled to the strongest legitimate view of the evidence and all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom. See State v. Williams, 657 S.W.2d 405, 410 (Tenn. 1983). In other words, questions concerning the credibility of witnesses and the weight and value to be given the evidence, as well as all factual issues raised by the evidence, are resolved by the trier of fact, and not the appellate courts. See State v. Pruett, 788 S.W.2d 559, 561 (Tenn. 1990).

The appellant was convicted of attempted second degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Second degree murder is the knowing killing of another. Tenn. Code Ann.

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