Jairus Collins v. State of Mississippi

172 So. 3d 724, 2015 Miss. LEXIS 435, 2015 WL 4965886
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 20, 2015
Docket2013-CT-00761-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 172 So. 3d 724 (Jairus Collins v. State of Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jairus Collins v. State of Mississippi, 172 So. 3d 724, 2015 Miss. LEXIS 435, 2015 WL 4965886 (Mich. 2015).

Opinion

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

KING, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Jairus Collins was convicted of murdering Ebony Jenkins. He appealed, alleging several points of error, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Finding that Collins’s statement to police should have been suppressed and that, one of the State’s witnesses should have been qualified as an expert prior to giving opinion testimony regarding the locations of Collins’s and Jenkins’s cellular phones, we reverse the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Forrest County Circuit Court and remand the case for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1

On December 9, 2011, Ebony Jenkins’s body was discovered behind a building in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. During the course of their investigation, police officers identified Collins as a suspect in Jenkins’s murder. In November 2012, a grand jury indicted Collins as a habitual offender for Count-1, the murder of Jenkins, and Count II, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The circuit court granted Collins’s motion to sever the offenses charged in his indictment.

Collins v. State, 172 So.3d 816, 817 (¶ 2), 2014 WL 4977498, at *1, at (¶ 2) (Miss.Ct.App. Oct. 7, 2014).

¶ 2. Prior to trial, Collins moved to suppress the majority of his statement to the police, arguing that everything after he requested an attorney should be suppressed. The entire transcript of the statement to police regarding Collins’s request for an attorney and the re-initiation of the interview is as follows:

Jairus: I can stop talking right now? And ask to speak to a lawyer?
Sims: you, you can choose that, but I wouldn’t do that — but I mean
*728 Jarras: why ... why wouldn’t I
Sims: well — well that’s your constitutional right, just like I read them to ya, that’s your constitutional right, if you want to do that, that’s fíne
Jairas: alright
Sims: but, like I said, if you ain’t got — if you ain’t done nothing wrong, you ain’t got nothing to hide
Jairas: I ain’t done nothing wrong
Sims: (inaudible)
Jairas: How do I know if I’m
Sims; — . that’s what I’m sajfn, that’s why I — I’m told a lot of people in here ain’t done nothing wrong, that was completely truthful with me, and gave me everything, and they talk to me without a lawyer, and then and they ain’t done nothing wrong, so they walk right out of here. And if that’s, that’s the case here then that’s what
Jairas: — . That’s why I asked to speak to a lawyer, I can’t walk out of here Sims: I’m not saying that either, I’m just saying if you ain’t got nothing to hide why — I mean why you going to wait? Cause we trying to get to the investigation, to figure out what happened
Jairas: right. I just rather speak to a lawyer, (low voice) rather speak to a lawyer.
Sims: ok
(Detectives get up to leave the room)
Jairas: what I do now? ,
Sims: sit here
(door closes)
(Time • lapse — Approximately five minutes)
(Jairas gets up, knocks on door)
(Detective Scott opens door)
Scott: yes’sir
Jairas: hey (inaudible) everything (inaudible) but, I can just call and get my lawyer, he can be present, I going to tell ya’ll everything, ... I don’t need a lawyer, don’t need a lawyer....
Scott: ok, It’s going to be just a few minutes alright
Jairas: alright. Because, I’m gonna need to know, because I’m going to call to see if I’ve got to go to work, I go to work
Scott: alright, I’ll get you in here in a second ok, (Scott continues to walk into room)
Jairas: the thing is officer I
(Scott and Jairas sits down)
Scott: — alright man, sit down, I’m just going to sit here and listen.
Jairas: [redacted]. I don’t know what’s going on, but I mean there’s some strange stuff going on even before this stuff happened with ahh what’s her name, Eve? Even before ... there’s been some strange stuff going on but, (faintly) dang, I don’t know what’s going on and I mean
Scott: I’ll be more than happy to talk to you, but I can’t right now
Jaira?: right
Scott: you know, but you know if you want to talk man, I’ll sit right here and listen
Jairas: (inaudible) when can they, how long they going have to hold me for the the questioning and talking?
Scott: well I mean right now like I said, we can’t do nothing because you said you wanted your lawyer
Jairas: umm hmm
Scott: you know, It’s going to be a little bit, then you can, you know, we’ll, we’ll do something, ok?
(Jairas strumming his finger on the table)
*729 Scott: but like I said man I can’t — that’s your right you know, you don’t want to talk I
Jairus: — .... you ask me about guns and all of that
Scott: let me ask you something. If I didn’t ask you about a gun would you talk to me?
Jairus: huh? I mean, what I’m gonna get investigated for a gun?
Scott — . Oh now, what we’re doing — we just trying — remember—we trying to narrow everything down and push everything out of the way that’s hot involved and
Jairus: I mean with something like that, that’s something (shaking head)
Scott: like I said man
Jairus:- — . That’s something like — when you — alright I don’t live in that area. But I got people I care about in that area and people ya know, then when you got stuff that’s going on — alright we all getting together even — ya’ll, ya’ll ain’t the only ones getting together, cause my little brother — like we done hung out with this person. I don’t know this person like that
Scott: umm hmm
Jairus: not myself
Scott: well look
Jairus:- — •.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
172 So. 3d 724, 2015 Miss. LEXIS 435, 2015 WL 4965886, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jairus-collins-v-state-of-mississippi-miss-2015.