IRVING, P.J., for the Court:
¶ 1. This appeal arises out of George Martin's petition for post-conviction relief (PCR), which was denied by the Tate County Circuit Court. Feeling aggrieved, Martin appeals and asserts: (1) the circuit court was without jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea; (2) he was illegally sentenced; (3) his motion under Rule 59(e) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure was improperly denied; and (4) he received ineffective assistance of counsel when he pleaded guilty.
¶ 2. We find no error; therefore, we affirm the circuit court's judgment.
¶ 3. In July 2005, Martin was indicted for burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, grand larceny, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Each count also alleged Martin's status as a habitual offender. In 2006, Martin pleaded guilty to burglary. In return, Martin was not convicted as a habitual offender, and the remaining counts of the indictment were remanded to the file.
¶ 4. In March 2008, Martin filed a first PCR petition, which was denied. The denial of that petition was affirmed on appeal by this Court. Martin v. State, 20 So.3d 734 (Miss.Ct.App.2009). On July 27, 2009, Martin filed the present PCR petition. The petition argued that the indictment did not allege felonious intent, that Martin received ineffective assistance of counsel, and that there was an insufficient factual basis for his plea. The circuit court denied the petition in February 2010. Martin challenged that denial by means of a Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend the judgment. On March 3, 2010, the circuit court denied the motion, noting that Martin's PCR petition was a successive writ and, thus, subject to the procedural bar found in Mississippi Code Annotated section 99-39-23(6) (Supp.2010). Martin appeals.
¶ 5. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our analysis and discussion of the issues.
¶ 6. Martin alleges that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea because his indictment did not allege the specific crime on which the burglary was predicated. In relevant part, Martin's indictment states the following:
During the plea colloquy, the prosecutor stated the following when asked for the factual basis for Martin's plea:
Upon questioning by the circuit court, Martin agreed that he could recall the events related by the prosecutor. Martin's attorney averred to the judge that the State had enough evidence to "get this case before a jury[.]"
¶ 7. On the basis of the above, we find that Martin's indictment was sufficient. The Mississippi Supreme Court has stated, "so long as a fair reading of the indictment, taken as a whole, clearly describes the nature and cause of the charge against the accused, the indictment is legally sufficient." Sanderson v. State, 883 So.2d 558, 561 (¶ 9) (Miss.2004) (quoting Farris v. State, 764 So.2d 411, 421 (¶ 28) (Miss. 2000)). In Sanderson, William Sanderson was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Id. at 560 (¶ 7). Sanderson's conspiracy count failed to allege the name of the victim of the aggravated assault. Id. Our supreme court found that the indictment was sufficient nonetheless, in part because the indictment as a whole put Sanderson on notice as to the identity of his victim, since another count of the indictment identified the victim. Id. at 561 (¶ ¶ 9-10). Ultimately,
¶ 8. In the present case, Martin was charged with burglary in Count II of his indictment. That count alleged that Martin broke and entered into the Tripletts' home with the intent to commit some crime therein; Count III then charged Martin with larceny and listed the items removed from the Tripletts' home. Read as a whole, we find that Martin had sufficient notice of the elements of burglary. Furthermore, at the time that Martin entered his guilty plea, the prosecutor clearly stated that Martin broke and entered into the Tripletts' home with the intent to commit larceny therein. Martin never expressed surprise at this statement or attempted to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial. Clearly, Martin understood the elements and nature of his burglary charge.
¶ 9. Since the circuit court had jurisdiction to accept Martin's guilty plea and his sentence is legal, the circuit court properly denied Martin's PCR petition as a successive writ. This contention of error is without merit.
¶ 10. Martin's argument that his sentence is illegal is based on the same contention as his jurisdictional claim. As we have already found, Martin's indictment was sufficient to charge him with burglary and allow him to plead guilty to that charge.
¶ 11. This contention of error is also without merit.
¶ 12. This argument is also based on Martin's contention that his indictment was insufficient. Accordingly, it is also without merit.
¶ 13. Martin claims that his attorney was ineffective for not objecting to the indictment. As we have found that the indictment was sufficient, there is no merit to this argument. Martin also appears to claim other grounds for his attorney's ineffectiveness, such as his attorney's failure to investigate properly the factual basis for Martin's plea. Any additional arguments concerning the effectiveness of Martin's counsel should have been brought in his first PCR petition; those arguments are now barred as a successive writ. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-23(6). In fact, this Court already addressed the effectiveness of Martin's counsel in disposing of his first PCR petition. Martin, 20 So.3d at 737-38 (¶ ¶ 14-21).
¶ 14. This contention of error is without merit.
¶ 15.
LEE, C.J., GRIFFIS, P.J., MYERS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS, CARLTON, MAXWELL AND RUSSELL, JJ., CONCUR.