354 So.3d 944
Miss. Ct. App.2023Background
- On Nov. 6–7, 2019, after prior altercations, Jose Melendez shot Tasha Fuentes and Dalton White outside a trailer; White died and Fuentes was paralyzed. Witnesses testified neither victim was armed or advanced on Melendez.
- Melendez had earlier reported being assaulted by Fuentes’s ex-husband; he returned to the trailer to collect belongings and confronted White and others.
- Melendez admitted in a recorded interview that he shot twice to make people leave, then fled to Louisiana; police later arrested him hiding in a closet.
- A recovered gun was forensically tied to the casing and bullet recovered from the scene.
- A jury convicted Melendez of second-degree (depraved-heart) murder and aggravated assault; he received consecutive terms of 34 and 20 years. Melendez appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Melendez's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the evidence for second-degree murder | Evidence only supported manslaughter or justified/self-defense; he feared for his life | Witnesses placed Melendez as the shooter who fired on unarmed victims and then fled; evidence supports depraved-heart murder | Affirmed — reasonable jurors could find elements of second-degree (depraved-heart) murder beyond a reasonable doubt |
| Ineffective assistance for failure to request imperfect self-defense and culpable-negligence manslaughter instructions | Trial counsel should have requested these instructions; omission prejudiced the defense | Decision whether to request instructions is trial strategy; record does not affirmatively show deficiency | Dismissed without prejudice to PCR — record inadequate to resolve Strickland on direct appeal; no plain-error shown |
| Flight instruction | N/A (did not object at trial) — argued on appeal instruction improperly guided weight to give flight evidence | Flight was provable from record (flight to Louisiana) and is probative; jury told to weigh flight with other evidence | No abuse of discretion — flight instruction properly given; issue procedurally barred but without merit if reached |
Key Cases Cited
- Garrett v. State, 344 So. 3d 849 (Miss. 2022) (standard for sufficiency review)
- Swanagan v. State, 229 So. 3d 698 (Miss. 2017) (defines depraved-heart/second-degree murder)
- Renfrow v. State, 202 So. 3d 633 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016) (applies Strickland two-prong test)
- Wilcher v. State, 863 So. 2d 776 (Miss. 2003) (when ineffective-assistance claims may be resolved on direct appeal)
- Ambrose v. State, 133 So. 3d 786 (Miss. 2013) (counsel strategy and limits of direct-review ineffective-assistance claims)
- Anderson v. State, 185 So. 3d 966 (Miss. 2015) (standards for admitting a flight instruction)
- Reynolds v. State, 658 So. 2d 852 (Miss. 1995) (flight may be probative of guilt when unexplained)
- United States v. Myers, 550 F.2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1977) (probative inquiry for flight evidence)