Jason Rush v. State of Mississippi

── Jason Rush v. State of Mississippi ── Court: Court of Appeals of Mississippi Date: May 19, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI NO. 2024-KA-01353-COA JASON RUSH APPELLANT v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE DATE OF JUDGMENT: 10/10/2024 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. WILLIAM HUNTER NOWELL COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: QUITMAN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: OFFICE OF STATE PUBLIC DEFENDER BY: GEORGE T. HOLMES SETH THOMAS CURREN ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ALLISON ELIZABETH HORNE BARBARA WAKELAND BYRD DISTRICT ATTORNEY: BRENDA FAY MITCHELL NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - FELONY DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 05/19/2026 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: BEFORE CARLTON, P.J., WESTBROOKS AND WEDDLE, JJ. WEDDLE, J., FOR THE COURT: ¶1. On July 24, 2024, a Quitman County grand jury indicted Jason Rush on three counts of receiving stolen property in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 97-17-70 (Rev. 2020). After trial, the jury convicted Rush of all three counts. He was sentenced to serve one year in custody for Count I; ten years, with five years suspended and five years of post-release supervision upon serving five years in custody for Count II; and one year suspended and one year of post-release supervision for Count III. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The circuit court denied Rush’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial. Aggrieved, Rush appeals, arguing that the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to support the convictions and that the verdicts were against the weight of the evidence. Finding no error, we affirm Rush’s convictions and sentences. FACTS ¶2. On October 23, 2023, Phillip Barnett discovered that several items were missing from his farm in Sunflower County, Mississippi, including two-way radios and a generator. After noticing that two of the radios were missing, Barnett contacted William Smith, the individual from whom he had purchased the radios, to determine whether they could be tracked. Smith assisted Barnett in pinging the radios to determine their location. After the radios were located, when he and Smith determined that the signals traced to Rush’s address, Barnett contacted law enforcement. ¶3. Chief Deputy Peter Clinton of the Quitman County Sheriff’s Department testified that after verifying the location of the pinged radios, he recognized the address as Rush’s residence because he had been there on numerous occasions. Law enforcement subsequently obtained a search warrant and conducted a drone flyover of the property before entering. Barnett accompanied officers during the execution of the search warrant and identified several items belonging to him, including tools, a generator, and the two-way radios. He also identified property belonging to another farmer, Ross Dickard. These items were located throughout Rush’s residence and inside a vehicle where Rush’s driver’s license was also found. Rush was present at the residence when law enforcement executed the search warrant. 2 ¶4. As the search continued, officers noticed a burned utility truck on Rush’s property. Chief Deputy Clinton testified that Rush told him that a person named Danny Campbell brought the truck to his property so he could take parts off it. Chief Deputy Clinton also questioned Danny Campbell near Rush’s residence. Chief Deputy Clinton testified that Danny was still under inv