State v. Hampton

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.
Levario M. Hampton, Appellant.

__________

Appeal From Berkeley County
Kristi Lea Harrington, Circuit Court Judge
__________

Unpublished Opinion No. 2012-UP-398
Submitted May 1, 2012 – Filed July 11, 2012
__________

AFFIRMED
__________

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

Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy
Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Senior
Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott,
and Assistant Attorney General William M. Blitch
Jr., all of Columbia; and Solicitor Scarlett Anne
Wilson, of Charleston, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Levario M. Hampton appeals his convictions of
armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a
violent crime, arguing the trial court erred in denying his motion for a
directed verdict because the State's evidence amounted only to a mere
suspicion he was guilty. Because Hampton's accomplice testified Hampton
committed the armed robbery and other testimony and circumstantial
evidence corroborated it, we affirm1 pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and
the following authorities: State v. Weston, 367 S.C. 279, 292, 625 S.E.2d
641, 648 (2006) ("When ruling on a motion for a directed verdict, the trial
court is concerned with the existence or nonexistence of evidence, not its
weight."); id. at 292-93, 625 S.E.2d at 648 (stating an appellate court views
the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the
State when reviewing a denial of a directed verdict and must find the case
was properly submitted to the jury if any direct evidence or any substantial
circumstantial evidence reasonably tends to prove the guilt of the accused);
State v. Needs, 333 S.C. 134, 144, 508 S.E.2d 857, 862 (1998) ("[T]he jury is
the judge of which contradictory statement of the witness is the truth."
(citation and internal quotation marks omitted)); State v. Smith, 363 S.C. 111,
115, 609 S.E.2d 528, 530 (Ct. App. 2005) ("The weight of the evidence is a
question for the jury.").

AFFIRMED.

FEW, C.J., and HUFF and SHORT, JJ., concur.

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