Appeals court upholds Thompson verdict, prison sentence

Charles Thompson's public defenders Walter Stokley, left, and David Wallis, right, talk to their client after sentencing by Judge Pat Joyce in Cole County Circuit Court on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Thompson was found guilty on a burglary charge and pleaded guilty to charges surrounding a police chase while he was driving a stolen vehicle.
Charles Thompson's public defenders Walter Stokley, left, and David Wallis, right, talk to their client after sentencing by Judge Pat Joyce in Cole County Circuit Court on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Thompson was found guilty on a burglary charge and pleaded guilty to charges surrounding a police chase while he was driving a stolen vehicle.

Cole County Presiding Circuit Judge Pat Joyce didn't make any errors in July 2016 when she sentenced Charles T. Thompson to a 15-year prison sentence for a burglary conviction, the state appeals court in Kansas City ruled Tuesday.

Thompson, now 20, is serving that sentence - and an additional five years for an unrelated case - at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking.

At the end of a three-day trial in March 2016, a Cole County jury convicted Thompson of first-degree burglary but found him not guilty of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery and armed criminal action.

A grand jury indicted Thompson and two other men for the crimes, following the February 2015 death of Johnny Evans, 52, during a robbery at Evans' residence in the 1100 block of East High Street.

In his appeal, Thompson argued there wasn't enough evidence to support his burglary conviction.

But the appeals court disagreed.

In reciting the case history, the nine-page opinion written by Judge Cynthia L. Martin notes Thompson and his girlfriend drove into Jefferson City from St. Louis on Feb. 14, 2015, and stayed at a friend's apartment.

Then on Sunday morning, Martin wrote, "Thompson left the apartment and met with Vincent Smith, (and) talked about 'going to take something from someone'" - deciding to take drugs from Evans because they had heard he would have drugs and money.

They asked Robert Burks for a ride to Evans' apartment, then Smith kicked in the back door, and Smith and Thompson threatened Evans.

Smith testified he was looking around the room when Evans was shot with a gun Thompson had taken from the friend's apartment.

Evans died later.

In his appeal, Thompson told the court there was insufficient evidence he had the "intent" to steal at the time he entered Evans' apartment unlawfully.

Martin wrote: "Thompson concedes that the evidence was sufficient to permit the jury to conclude that he was 'present for discussions about Mr. Smith's plan to "get a lick off some weed" and when Mr. Smith admittedly entered Mr. Evans' apartment with a purpose to take drugs and money.'"

The three-judge panel concluded: "The evidence was more than sufficient to permit the jury to reasonably infer Thompson had the purpose to deprive Evans of his property without his consent."

The appeals court also rejected Thompson's complaint Joyce didn't ask if he had any legal cause to show why the judgment and sentence should not be pronounced against him - a legal process called "allocution" that generally is required by state law.

But, Martin wrote, the Supreme Court's rules include an exemption "if the defendant has been heard on a motion for new trial."

In Thompson's case, his public defenders had filed a motion for a new trial, and Joyce asked if they wished to make any additional argument on that motion.

They said no, and Joyce denied the new trial motion then imposed the 15-year sentence.

"Thompson was heard on his motion for new trial," the appeals court determined, so Joyce wasn't required to do the allocution as well.

Before Thompson was sentenced in the burglary case, he was charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, second-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident - all connected with a crosstown high-speed chase.

He pleaded guilty to those charges, and on the same day she ordered the 15-year sentence in the burglary case, Joyce also sentenced Thompson to a total of five years for the other charges, with those sentences to be consecutive to the 15-year burglary sentence.

In a footnote, the appeals court noted that sentence on those "separate crimes (were) not related to this appeal."