Damian Ladell Brown v. State of Mississippi, 332 So.3d 1287

Late-night traffic stop for nonworking tag lights; officer Derek Romero approached a Toyota Camry with driver Martin Burkett and passenger Damian Brown (who initially gave a false name).
Romero observed a handgun on the passenger-side floorboard behind Brown’s legs and saw Brown slide his foot, moving the gun under the seat.
Romero opened the car, asked Brown to exit; upon Brown exiting Romero observed two bags of white powder on the passenger seat.
Brown pointed to the gun, fled before being patted down, and was chased and arrested; officers recovered a Glock 30, 2.11 grams of cocaine, and multiple oxycodone-containing tablets from the passenger side.
Brown was convicted of three counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; he was sentenced as a habitual offender to 24 years, day-for-day.
On appeal Brown challenged the trial court’s denial of two proposed jury instructions: D-11 (possession—momentary handling language) and D-12 (circumstantial-evidence instruction).

Issue	Brown's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether denial of D-11 (possession instruction defining possession as excluding mere momentary handling) was error	D-11 accurately stated law and fit his defense (momentary handling exception)	The court’s granted instruction (S-5) already and better explained constructive possession (dominion, control, awareness)	Denial affirmed — S-5 fairly and more completely covered the law; D-11 was inapplicable given the facts (no mere momentary handling)
Whether denial of D-12 (circumstantial-evidence instruction) was error	Entitled to circumstantial-evidence instruction because no eyewitness/confession	Under Nevels such instruction is no longer required/available	Denial affirmed — Nevels eliminated the prior entitlement to a circumstantial-evidence instruction

Curry v. State, 249 So. 2d 414 (Miss. 1971) (defines constructive possession: dominion/control plus awareness)
Nevels v. State, 325 So. 3d 627 (Miss. 2021) (overruled prior rule requiring circumstantial-evidence jury instruction)
Victory v. State, 83 So. 3d 370 (Miss. 2012) (jury-instruction rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion; instructions read as whole)
Newell v. State, 49 So. 3d 66 (Miss. 2010) (instructions assessed collectively; no error if they fairly announce the law)
Rubenstein v. State, 941 So. 2d 735 (Miss. 2006) (instruction-review principles)
Stringfellow v. State, 595 So. 2d 1320 (Miss. 1992) (older precedent recognizing circumstantial-evidence instruction, later overruled)
Berry v. State, 652 So. 2d 745 (Miss. 1995) (example of momentary-handling cases distinguished here)