Barnes v. State

Citation162 So.2d 865,249 Miss. 482
Decision Date20 April 1964
Docket NumberNo. 43855,43855
PartiesRanzy BARNES v. STATE of Mississippi.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

Lawrence D. Arrington, Hattiesburg, for appellant.

Joe T. Patterson, Atty. Gen., by G. Garland Lyell, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

ETHRIDGE, Justice:

Ranzy Barnes, appellant, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Forrest County of the possession of integral parts of a whiskey still. However, the conviction must be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial, since the verdict was based in part on testimony derived from an illegal search of his truck on which the parts of a still were found.

Around four o'clock in the early morning of April 11, 1963, two Federal Alcohol Tax Unit agents, Langton and Doyle, who had been hiding in the woods near certain premises in Harrison County, heard noises near a house indicating a truck was being loaded. They saw the headlights of two vehicles coming out and proceeding down the road. One of them was a pickup truck, with a solid tailgate and open slats on the sides. When they got to U. S. Highway 49, the first of the two vehicles turned south, and the truck was preparing to turn north, toward Hattiesburg. Langton got out of his car, and hopped in the back of the truck, where he hid in a large condensing drum. This vehicle proceeded north toward Hattiesburg.

South of that city Constable Kitchens was parked in his car, after having received an anonymous telephone call advising him that a green Studebaker pickup truck was coming north carrying whiskey. Observing the similarity of this particular vehicle, in which Langton was hiding, Kitchens followed it for a mile and a half. He said he noticed that the 'method of operation' of the truck was unusual, it was 'wobbling and swaying * * * back and forth.' The driver cut across the line dividing the two northbound lanes, but there was no traffic. Under these circumstances, Kitchens stopped the truck, which was being driven by Ranzy Barnes, saw the parts of the still, and arrested Barnes and for a time, the ATU agent. Langton, Doyle, the constable and a deputy sheriff testified that the objects found in the vehicle constituted integral parts of a rather large still. Defendant offered no witnesses.

The wobbling, swaying and weaving back and forth by defendant while driving the truck constituted such reckless driving as to justify the constable in stopping Barnes. The driving of a vehicle in such a manner as to indicate 'either a wilful or a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property' is reckless driving. Miss.Code 1942, Rec., Sec. 8175. This provision, based on the Uniform Vehicle Code, seeks 'to prohibit conduct jeopardizing even the driver's own safety and property, not merely that 'of others.' No qualifying language restricts a protection to the person or property of another.' Reckless driving means the commission of conscious acts or omissions which the driver knows or should know create an unreasonable risk of injury or damage. That which is necessary is that the driver should realize the strong probability of harm likely to ensue. Fisher, Vehicle Traffic Law (1961) 324. Somewhat similar to the present case is Shaw v. State, Miss., 161 So.2d 629. Gause v. State, 203 Miss. 377, 34 So.2d 729 (1948...

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14 cases
  • Perkins v. State of Mississippi
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • June 2, 1972
    ...the center line several times, once almost hitting another automobile. This was a valid arrest for reckless driving, Barnes v. State, 249 Miss. 482, 162 So.2d 865 (1964); Section 8175 Mississippi Code of Baldwin further testified that he had received no radio message to stop the van. It was......
  • Shinall v. State, 44352
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • May 15, 1967
    ...Moreover, reckless driving is a misdemeanor under the statutory law of Mississippi. Miss.Code Ann. § 8175 (1956). See Barnes v. State, 249 Miss. 482, 162 So.2d 865 (1964). We are of the opinion that the attempted arrest of the defendant, under the facts shown here, was not an illegal attemp......
  • Watts v. State, 44236
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • March 6, 1967
    ...377, 34 So.2d 729 (1948), and Sanford v. State, 195 Miss. 896, 16 So.2d 628 (1944). However, under the authority of Barnes v. State, 249 Miss. 482, 162 So.2d 865 (1964), there can be no doubt that the arrest of appellant for reckless driving was lawful. In that case we The wobbling, swaying......
  • Butler v. State, 44914
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • July 8, 1968
    ...such an arrest. The following cases, in addition to Clay v. State, supra, show that this rule applies in Mississippi: Barnes v. State, 249 Miss. 482, 162 So.2d 865 (1964); One 1948 Pontiac Automobile v. State, 221 Miss. 352, 72 So.2d 692 (1954); Haney v. State, 43 So.2d 383 (Miss.1949); She......
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