Blair v. State, 27726
| Decision Date | 13 April 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. 27726,27726 |
| Citation | 230 Ga. 409,197 S.E.2d 362 |
| Parties | James BLAIR v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Barker & Edenfield, Tom A. Edenfield, Savannah, for appellant.
J. Max Cheney, Dist. Atty., Reidsville, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Harold N. Hill, Jr., Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Courtney Wilder Stanton, David L. G. King, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
James Blair appeals his conviction and sentence to life imprisonment for the murder of Jerome Jones. Held:
1. Based on the assertion of an illegal arrest and the detention resulting therefrom, the defendant contends that the trial judge erred in admitting evidence, including statements from the defendant, and, more particularly, statements concerning the alleged weapon used, a knife.
It is undisputed that the homicide by stabbing occurred on January 1, 1971; that on the same day within hours after the event, the defendant, who was at the scene of the incident when it occurred, was apprehended some ten miles away; but that a warrant for his arrest was not issued until January 3, 1971, which mistakenly dated the event on January 3, 1971, although the warrant is supported by an affidavit fixing the date as January 1, 1971.
The stabbing occurred in the home of Gene Autry McFearin, Sr., in Bryan County, where a party was in progress celebrating McFearin's birthday. Officer Raulerson, a deputy sheriff of Bryan County, acting pursuant to a report of a stabbing at the McFearin home and accompanied by another deputy who had reported the matter to him, proceeded to the McFearin home. Raulerson recalled that when he arrived McFearin's wife, four children, and his father, 'old man McFearin,' were there. He entered the house and observed blood in the bathroom. Other testimony discloses that all of these persons were in the immediate area when the incident occurred, and to some degree were familiar with events which transpired before, during, and after the stabbing. While the extent of investigation made by Raulerson on the scene at this point is not entirely clear, he was unequivocal in testifying that 'after arriving, it was determined that James (Blair) was the one that did it.' He proceeded from there to a hospital and ascertained that Jones was dead on arrival. He received permission to look at the body and observed a stab wound in the chest. Gene Autry McFearin and Harley Waters had brought Jones to the hospital and were there when Raulerson arrived. They accompanied Raulerson at his request when he left, and were with him and the other deputy when he located and arrested Blair in Chatham County at Morgan's Bridge. Before arresting Blair, Raulerson told McFearin and Waters that he had information 'that James Blair did it.'
In our opinion the evidence, as above detailed, and the logical inferences arising therefrom, clearly support the arrest of James Blair on January 1, 1971, as a prime suspect for the murder of Jerome Jones, within the authority of Code § 27-207 authorizing a law enforcement officer to make an arrest of a suspected offender without a warrant where the offense is not committed in his presence, if the suspect is endeavoring to escape or for other cause there is likely to be a failure of justice for want of an officer to issue a warrant. For this reason it is unnecessary to consider the efficacy of the arrest warrant subsequently issued in respect to the assertions here under consideration.
Enumerations 5, 6, and 9 are without merit.
2. The defendant complains of a failure to comply with the provisions set forth in Code Ann. § 27-212, requiring the release of a person arrested without a warrant unless brought within 48 hours before an officer authorized to receive an affidavit and issue a warrant, and Code Ann. § 27-210, requiring a commitment hearing within 72 hours for a person arrested under a warrant.
The only fact to be gleaned from the record and transcript to support any violation of § 27-212 is that the warrant as issued within 48 hours is invalid because of the mistaken reference to the date of the offense as January 3, 1971, instead of January 1, 1971, as shown by the supporting affidavit. This technical deficiency did not invalidate the warrant. See Kumpe v. Hall, 167 Ga. 284, 145 S.E. 509.
The mere fact that the defendant was thereafter detained until January 8, 1971, without a commitment hearing is not per se sufficient to invalidate further proceedings or render evidence obtained from him during this period inadmissible. For a discussion of the considerations involved in an analogous situation, see Wilson v. State, 229 Ga. 395, 191...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Earnest v. State
...did not improperly draw attention to Appellant's failure to testify. See id. at 447, 231 S.E.2d 364. See also Blair v. State, 230 Ga. 409, 413, 197 S.E.2d 362, 365 (1973). Given the context of the comment and the strong evidence of the State, including Appellant's detailed confessions, this......
-
Fredrick v. City of Brunswick
... ... forma pauperis on appeal. Because I have found Plaintiff has ... failed to state a claim, I DENY as moot Plaintiff's ... Motion to Invoke Supplemental Jurisdiction and ... 12:00AM and 11:59PM on a certain day); Blair v ... State, 197 S.E.2d 362, 364 (Ga. 1973) (finding technical ... error of stating ... ...
-
Pless v. State
...constitutional rights, and his statement was freely and voluntarily given without hope of reward or fear of punishment. Blair v. State, 230 Ga. 409(3), 197 S.E.2d 362; Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, 10 A.L.R.3d 974. The court made a determination of th......
-
Jones v. State
...13. Id. (four corners of officer's affidavit provided "fair probability" that evidence would be found). 14. See Blair v. State, 230 Ga. 409, 411(2), 197 S.E.2d 362 (1973) (arrest warrant was not defective on account of an incorrect date for the offense giving rise to the arrest). 15. OCGA §......