Smelling alcohol from the vehicle provides reasonable suspicion that driver is under the influence
Facts In 2008, Fredrick Watts, driving his red Ford Mustang, was stopped at a roadblock manned by officers of the Marion Police Department and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department. One of the officers asked Watts for his driver’s license and commented that he smelled the aroma of alcohol coming from the vehicle. According to the […]
upon search incident to arrest, a subject is charged with a new crime
Facts In 2005, Chad Bell, a deputy with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, observed a vehicle accelerating onto Lehmberg Road in Lowndes County, Mississippi, at a high rate of speed. Bell followed the vehicle and noticed the vehicle did not have a working light illuminating the license tag. Bell determined the vehicle was driving 52 […]
Community caretaking exception will work for some traffic stops but not here
Facts Officer Chris Picou was traveling North on I-55 at approximately 1:17 a.m. when he came upon a red Chevrolet SUV with a Texas license plate traveling in the left hand or inside lane. The SUV was traveling approximately 58-60 miles per hour in an area where the minimum posted speed limit is 45 miles […]
Smell can be the basis for probable cause
Facts In 2005, Robert Robinson was pulled over for speeding in Bolivar County by Mississippi Highway Patrolman Dan Rawlinson. Rawlinson testified that upon reaching the vehicle, he detected the smell of raw marijuana coming from the passenger’s area where Robinson’s nephew, William Wilson, was sitting. Furthermore, Rawlinson noted the vehicle’s inspection sticker was expired, and […]
Removing drugs from a person’s underwear on a search incident to arrest is reasonable
Facts In 2006, Officer Christopher L. Keckler of the Gulfport Police Department stopped a vehicle for speeding. Jason Foxworth was the driver of the vehicle. Initially, Foxworth provided Keckler with a false name but then corrected himself and admitted he did not have a driver’s license. Foxworth was placed under arrest for driving without a license, […]
Under totality of circumstances, the Trooper’s stop for DUI was reasonable in this case
Facts In 2009, Trooper Jason Powell of the Mississippi Highway Patrol went inside the Exxon Truck Stop in Liberty, Mississippi, to buy a soft drink. While standing at the counter, Powell saw a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck pull up to the gas pumps. The driver of the pickup truck, Eric Bondegard, went inside and got a […]