Jabroski Lloyd v. State of Mississippi, 228 So. 3d 953

Defendant Jabroski Lloyd was indicted for kidnapping and aggravated assault after an incident on March 9–10, 2013 in which a blue car driven by Kendrick Cage (with passengers Keith Thomas and Patrick Adams) struck a red car driven by off‑duty deputy Touman Reed; Lloyd jumped into the blue car with a gun and ordered Cage to drive away.
As the blue car drove, Thomas and Adams jumped out; Lloyd allegedly fired at Reed’s red car from the blue car and threatened Cage to keep driving; Cage later fled the vehicle and reported the incident to law enforcement.
Investigator Williams arrested Lloyd the same night, collected gunshot‑residue (GSR) samples from Lloyd; lab analysis found particles "indicative of gunshot residue" on Lloyd’s left hand.
At trial, Cage identified Lloyd as the shooter; defense attempted to impeach Cage with a purported recantation letter Cage had signed while incarcerated, claiming he falsely accused Lloyd to avoid charges for ramming Reed’s car.
Cage testified he signed the letter without reading it after meeting defense counsel in jail and denied authoring or mailing it; the letter was used only for impeachment and was not admitted as substantive evidence.
Jury convicted Lloyd of aggravated assault; kidnapping charge resulted in mistrial. Lloyd moved for a new trial arguing the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence; the trial court denied the motion and this appeal followed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence	State: Cage’s eyewitness ID, GSR results, and Reed’s testimony support the conviction	Lloyd: Cage is unreliable; his signed jail letter recants his identification and shows false accusation	Court affirmed: verdict not against overwhelming weight; impeachment letter not substantive evidence and jury credibility findings control

Bush v. State, 895 So. 2d 836 (Miss. 2005) (standard for overturning verdict as against the overwhelming weight of the evidence)
Moffett v. State, 456 So. 2d 714 (Miss. 1984) (prior inconsistent out‑of‑court statements by a nonparty witness are not substantive evidence)
Turner v. State, 771 So. 2d 973 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (recantation alone does not automatically require a new trial)
Jones v. State, 95 So. 3d 641 (Miss. 2012) (appellate court will not reassess witness credibility where evidence supports the verdict)
Massey v. State, 992 So. 2d 1161 (Miss. 2008) (deference to jury credibility determinations)
Brown v. State, 764 So. 2d 463 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (jury as factfinder tasked with assessing witness demeanor and credibility)