Officers made no promises of bond and subject’s confession was deemed admissible
Facts In 2014, Henry Brown and two others burglarized a hunting camp while high on methamphetamine. They took two four wheelers and damaged them in the process. After Brown was arrested, he was interviewed several times by Scott County Investigators Willie Anderson and Billy Patrick over the course of several months. Brown sent multiple handwritten […]
Outstanding warrant in another jurisdiction permitted officers to detain him for questioning in suspicion of felony child abuse
Facts In 2012, Larry Watts was living with Sara Lowery and her four year old minor child, BAW, along with Watt’s biological son. Watts would babysit BAW when Lowery worked. One day, Lowery brought BAW to the emergency room for stomach pains and learned from the doctors that he had been physically abused (abdominal trauma […]
You don’t need a traffic citation to make a Terry car stop – also a discussion on consent in the Mississippi constitution
Facts In 2013, Wayne Barrett heard a knock on his door and let Keagan Latham use the phone. Latham was a friend or relative of his former neighbors and left after using the phone. A few minutes later, Barrett heard another knock on his door and this time he did not recognize any of the […]
Express written or oral waiver not needed for statement and inventory search of vehicle proper
Facts In 2015, Sebastopol Chief of police Daniel Ogletree initiated a traffic stop on a Nissan Sentra because the driver, Robert Pinter, was not wearing a seat belt. Ogletree learned he had a suspended drivers license and an outstanding warrant so he placed him under arrest. Ogletree was going to need to tow the vehicle […]
Officers committed Edwards violation while taking statement in death penalty case
Facts In 2010, James Hutto, a resident of Alabama, contacted his ex-girlfriend and agreed to meet at a hotel in Clinton, Mississippi, for the weekend. His car broke down so after she left, he walked from the hotel to the Baptist Healthplex and befriended 81 year old Ethel Simpson. Simpson drove Hutto back to his […]
Phone call between victim’s mother and subject is properly admitted
Facts V.B. lived with Jimmy Brown, her grandfather, between the ages of eight and thirteen and again between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. VB eventually told her family that Brown had sexually abused her on numerous occasions for years. VB went to DeSoto County S.O. and VB’s mother then made a phone call to […]