State v. Coward

THIS OPINION HAS NO
PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY
PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

David Lee
Coward, Appellant.

Appeal From Oconee County

 Alexander S. Macaulay, Circuit Court
Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-583

Submitted December 1, 2011 – Filed
December 21, 2011   

AFFIRMED

Appellate Defender Elizabeth A. Franklin-Best, of Columbia, for
Appellant.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John
W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, and Assistant
Attorney General David Spencer, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Christina T. Adams,
of Anderson, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  David
Lee Coward appeals his convictions for first-degree burglary and petit larceny,
arguing the circuit court erred in admitting his confession because the officer
who obtained the confession coerced Coward by threatening Coward's mother.  We affirm[1] pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and
the following authority:  State v. Dye, 384 S.C. 42, 46, 681 S.E.2d 23,
26 (Ct. App. 2009) ("In criminal
cases, this [c]ourt will review errors of law only."); id. ("This
[c]ourt is bound by the circuit court's factual findings unless they are
clearly erroneous."); id. ("This [c]ourt does not reevaluate
the facts based on its own view of the preponderance of the evidence but simply
determines whether the circuit court's ruling is supported by any
evidence."); id. at 47, 681 S.E.2d at 26 ("On appeal, the
circuit court's decision as to the voluntariness of the statement will not be
reversed unless so erroneous as to demonstrate an abuse of discretion.").  

AFFIRMED.

SHORT, WILLIAMS, and
GEATHERS, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.