Reid v. State

• Decision Date: 26 June 1972
• Docket Number: No. 46789,46789
• Citation: 266 So.2d 21
• Parties: Jimmy Dale REID v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 21

266 So.2d 21

Jimmy Dale REID v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 46789.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 26, 1972.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 12, 1972.

Ney M. Gore, Jr., Marks, Walter E. Dreaden, Jr., Lambert, for appellant.

A. F. Summer, Atty. Gen., by J. B. Garretty, Special Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

INZER, Justice:

Appellant Jimmy Dale Reid was jointly indicted with William A. Roberson and Larry Reid in the Circuit Court of Quitman County for the crime of the murder of Otis Bailey, Jr. A severance was granted and appellant was tried separately. The jury found him guilty of manslaughter and he was sentenced to serve a term of ten years in the State Penitentiary. From this conviction and sentence he appeals. We affirm.

The essential facts in this case from which the jury found appellant guilty are that on Friday, September 11, 1970, appellant along with William A. 'Butch' Roberson, Larry Reid, Walker Sanders, and many others were at a place known as 'Jenkins' Place,' north of Sledge in Quitman County. Apparently Jenkins' Place is what is commonly referred to as a 'beer joint'. About 2 A.M. a fight occurred in which several people were involved, including appellant. Jenkins' brother-in-law came in and fired a shot from a shotgun. Appellant, Butch Roberson and Sanders got in appellant's car and left the place. A short distance down the road they picked up Larry Reid who had left on foot. They went to Roberson's house where Roberson obtained his .22 caliber pistol. They left there and stopped near the Ford tractor place where Ed Green had a flat tire on his car. Because Sanders refused to go back to Jenkins' Place for the purpose of 'shooting it up', he and appellant had an argument which resulted in a fight. Larry Reid obtained Green's .38 caliber pistol and they left, stopping at the store of appellant's father where they drank some beer. Ed Green testified that he tried to keep appellant and the others from going back to Jenkins' Place. Appellant, Butch Roberson and Larry Reid then drove past Jenkins' Place, with appellant driving and Larry Reid on the front seat next to him. Butch Roberson was in the back seat and as they drove past the place, Larry Reid and Butch Roberson fired several shots. Ollie Eckles and Otis Bailey were standing outside the building. Bailey was struck by one of the bullets and died as a result of this wound. The bullet which struck Bailey was recovered by a pathologist and identified as a .22 caliber bullet. A witness from the crime laboratory could not identify the bullet as having been fired from Roberson's .22 caliber pistol, but did testify that the bullets taken from the building and the bullet taken from the body of Bailey were made by the same manufacturer. The state introduced in evidence, over the objection of appellant, a written statement made by appellant wherein he admitted the essential facts stated above.

The controlling question in this case is whether the trial court was in error in admitting this confession in evidence. Appellant contends this confession was involuntary for the following reasons:

1. The entire series of events on the day on which the alleged confession was obtained amounted to coercion;

2. The alleged confession was obtained through inducements offered to or hope of leniency created in the appellant by statements made to him by Officers Gatewood and Weems and by a co-indictee, William A. Roberson;

3. The fact that the appellant was neither given nor offered a preliminary hearing rendered the alleged confession involuntary and inadmissible;

4. The failure on the part of the state during the preliminary hearing on the admissibility of the appellant's alleged confession to offer the testimony of Deputy Sheriff Jack Harrison, Patrolman Sewell and County Attorney Larry O. Lewis, all of whom were present at least at certain times during the taking of such alleged confession, or to explain its failure to offer such witnesses, rendered the alleged confession involuntary and inadmissible.

It appears from the evidence that on Wednesday following the death of Bailey, appellant and his brother Larry Reid were questioned by the sheriff relative to the events of the night of the shooting. Both were fully warned of their Miranda rights before being questioned and signed a waiver. Appellant made a statement denying that he returned to Jenkins' Place that night. On the next day appellant and his brother voluntarily went to Jackson with A. D. Gatewood, an investigator with the Mississippi State Highway Patrol, for the purpose of taking a polygraph test. On the way to Jackson they picked up Jon Barnwell, a law student assigned as an intern to the office of the District Attorney in that district. After they reached Jackson, appellant signed a statement that he was voluntarily submitting to the polygraph test, but while it was being administered by Mr. Dewey Weems, it was discovered that appellant had been taking medication which probably would affect the test, so the test was not completed.

The parties were preparing to return to Marks when Gatewood received a telephone call from Sheriff Harrison informing him that Butch Roberson had walked into his office and confessed, and that his confession implicated appellant and his brother. Gatewood then took appellant and his brother back to Mr. Weems' office. Jon Barnwell was also there. Appellant contends that at this time Gatewood and Weems made statements promising him leniency, if he would confess. Appellant refused to make a statement at that time. The parties then returned to Marks. Appellant, after talking with Butch Roberson and again being advised of his rights, made the statement introduced in evidence.

Appellant argues that the entire series of events on the day the confession was made amounted to coercion. Appellant bases this assertion on the fact that he was in custody from about 6:30 A.M. until 4:30 P.M. when his statement was made to the officers. Appellant admits that he voluntarily went to Jackson and that during the trip in the patrol car he was not subjected to any questions. He testified that he felt free to refuse to go with Gatewood and that he was free to leave at any time before the call from the sheriff. He contends they told him it would be better for him if he confessed, but he does not contend he was subjected to any prolonged questioning. He admits that on the return trip to Marks, Gatewood did not attempt to question him in any way. While in Jackson he was fed, and when he arrived back in Marks he was allowed to talk to Roberson. It was only after he talked with Roberson that he ever made any statement admitting any part in the affray which resulted in the death of Bailey. After talking with Roberson, he was again fully advised of his Miranda rights and then made the statement introduced into evidence. Under these circumstances we are unable to see how he was in any way coerced into making the confession. The trial court correctly held that the confession was not a result of coercion.

Appellant urges that the trial court was in error in failing to hold that the confession was the result of an offer of leniency which induced him to make the confession. Appellant contends that this offer of leniency was made by Gatewood and Weems in Jackson. Appellant and his brother testified that after Gatewood received word from Sheriff Harrison that Roberson had confessed, he, Gatewood, informed appellant and his brother that Roberson had confessed and implicated them. Gatewood asked him if he did not want to give a statement. They told Gatewood they did not. Appellant then stated that Weems told him that Mr. Gatewood knew what he was talking about and that Mr. Gatewood could help them and would help them if they told him the truth. He said that Gatewood asked them several times if they did not want to give a statement, and Mr. Weems told them that if he had to get up in court and testify that they denied knowing anything about the shooting after knowing about the telephone call, it would hurt them in court. Appellant testified that he relied on the statements and that they induced him to confess when he got back to Marks later that day.

Larry Reid testified to substantially the same facts, except he said Mr. Weems told them:

'Boys, here's a man here that can help you and will help you if you tell him the truth, but if you don't tell him the truth, there's no way he can help you,' and about this time Mr. Gatewood got in the conversation again and asked if we have anything we wanted to tell him about what had happened.

Jon Barnwell was present and he testified as follows:

A. I will say the only impression that I could get from the statement, at looking back on what was said, that it would be good if everyone-in other words, everyone in the-involved in it would clear up the inconsistencies in the statements, and I believe he touched on the fact that there were inconsistencies in the two statements. I don't believe and I cannot testify to the fact that whether he actually said it would be better off for them in particular, I cannot say that. I don't believe that's the way it was; it was more like, 'We shoud clear this matter up now; it should be cleared up.'

Q. But, Mr. Weems did say it would be better for them-

A.-well, he did say it would be better; I presume he said better; I don't remember the exact words, but it was to that effect, and he probably did use the word better.

Gatewood testified that after he learned of Roberson's confession, he advised appellant and his brother of the fact that it looked like they were going to be involved. He asked them if they wanted to make a statement at this time. They told him that they did not want to make any statement until they talked to Butch Roberson. He denied he made any promise to them at any time that it would be to their advantage or better for them if they made a statement and further denied that he made any promise of...