Keys v. State

963 So. 2d 1193, 2007 WL 1248029
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 1, 2007
Docket2006-KA-00138-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 963 So. 2d 1193 (Keys v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keys v. State, 963 So. 2d 1193, 2007 WL 1248029 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

963 So.2d 1193 (2007)

Kenneth Wayne KEYS a/k/a Kenneth Wayne Keyes, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2006-KA-00138-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 1, 2007.
Rehearing Denied September 4, 2007.

*1195 Herbert H. Klein, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jacob Ray, attorney for appellee.

Before LEE, P.J., ISHEE and CARLTON, JJ.

CARLTON, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Kenneth Wayne Keys was convicted by a Perry County Circuit Court jury for the crime of simple assault on a police officer. On appeal, he alleges numerous errors at trial and challenges the sufficiency and weight of the evidence. Finding no *1196 reversible error, we affirm his conviction and sentence.

FACTS

¶ 2. At about 1:00 a.m. on December 14, 2002, Keys was driving a vehicle and passed Perry County Deputy Sheriff Danny Merritt, who was driving in the opposite direction. The road on which the two men were traveling is narrow. Keys testified that the deputy had his high beams on and was pulled to the side of the road as Keys passed by.

¶ 3. Deputy Merritt testified that he noticed a vehicle traveling in the middle of the road with the bright lights activated. The deputy pulled to the side of the road and flashed his bright lights at the oncoming vehicle, then activated his blue lights when the oncoming vehicle did not respond. The oncoming vehicle "seemed to get faster, [and] just kept going." At this point the deputy turned his vehicle around and began to pursue the vehicle that had just passed by.

¶ 4. After pulling in to a driveway behind Keys and approaching the stopped vehicle, the deputy noticed the smell of alcohol and asked if Keys had been drinking. Keys responded that he had not been drinking. The deputy obtained his driver's license and retrieved a portable breathalyzer device from his patrol car to administer to Keys. The deputy asked Keys to step out of his vehicle. The deputy then tried to administer the breathalyzer to Keys twice but was unsuccessful because Keys bit down on the blow tube. Keys stated that he could not blow into the device properly because he had a heart murmur. Deputy Merritt asked Keys what he thought he might register on a breathalyzer. Keys responded that he would probably register "a two." Deputy Merritt understood that to mean a .2 on the breathalyzer. The legal limit is .08. Keys agreed to blow into the device after Deputy Merritt instructed Keys to place his hands on the vehicle to be transported to the sheriff's department for a more thorough blood alcohol content test. Keys agreed to blow into the device a third time rather than be taken down to the sheriff's office to blow into the machine there. The breathalyzer reflected that Keys had a blood alcohol content of .2, well above the legal limit. After Keys failed the breathalyzer, Deputy Merritt asked Keys to place his hands on the vehicle but Keys stated that he was not going to jail. The deputy repeated the command. Keys repeated that he was not going to jail and began to back away from the deputy. Deputy Merritt reached to grab Keys and Keys began to run away. Keys ran behind a nearby shed and tripped over a wire fence. The ground area surrounding the shed was covered with obstructions including: erected wire fence, broken bricks, fallen trees, rocks, and brush. Deputy Merritt pursued Keys and also tripped, causing him to fall on top of Keys. The two men struggled but Keys managing to break free twice.

¶ 5. During the struggle, Deputy Merritt testified that Keys struck him twice, once in the temple area of the head and a second time in the mouth. Deputy Merritt decided not to pursue Keys into the woods alone because he had dropped his portable radio and flashlight during the struggle. Deputy Merritt radioed for backup from his vehicle and three other officers arrived on the scene. Keys was seen pacing and speaking to himself but then ran back into the woods before the deputies could apprehend him. Keys turned himself in to law enforcement two days after the incident. Other relevant facts are discussed in more detail below.

¶ 6. In April 2003, Keys was indicted for the crime of simple assault upon a law enforcement officer under Mississippi *1197 Code Annotated § 97-3-7(1) (Rev. 2006). On December 12, 2003, a jury convicted Keys as charged in the indictment. Keys was sentenced to five years imprisonment. His appeal has been assigned to this Court.

DISCUSSION

1. Self Incrimination

¶ 7. Keys argues that his answer to Deputy Merritt's question, concerning what Keys thought he would register on the breathalyzer, was inadmissible. Keys argues that he was under arrest at the time the question was asked, and should have been given his Miranda warning against self incrimination. Keys concludes that since he was not given his Miranda warning but was in custody, that his statement was inadmissible.

¶ 8. The State argues that the question to Keys was part of a general on the scene investigation. Luckett v. State, 797 So.2d 339, 345 (Miss.Ct.App.2001) (quoting Tolbert v. State, 511 So.2d 1368, 1375 (Miss. 1987)). The State argues that the question was asked prior to Deputy Merritt obtaining the probable cause to arrest Keys.

¶ 9. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution protect citizens from incriminating themselves. To resolve the issue of whether the statement Keys made was made during a custodial interrogation, and therefore inadmissible absent a waiver of Miranda rights, we must first determine whether Keys was in custody and being interrogated when the statement was made. Mingo v. State, 944 So.2d 18, 25(¶ 12) (Miss.2006). The status of whether a person is "in custody" depends on "if a reasonable person would feel that they were going to jail and not just being temporarily detained." Id. (citation omitted). Due to the routine nature of the precise issue before us, we do not engage in a detailed analysis of whether Keys was in custody. This Court has previously applied United States Supreme Court precedent in holding that a motorist is not subject to custodial interrogation prior to an arrest. Levine v. City of Louisville, 924 So.2d 643, 644-45 (¶¶ 6-9) (Miss.Ct.App.2006) (discussing Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 420-39, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 436-44, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966)); see also Millsap v. State, 767 So.2d 286, 289 (¶¶ 7-12) (Miss.Ct.App.2000) (also applying Miranda and Berkemer in concluding that a traffic stop alone is not an arrest or custodial interrogation requiring Miranda warnings).

¶ 10. Keys was being questioned about whether he had been drinking due to the smell of alcohol on him or emanating from within his vehicle. Deputy Merritt testified that Keys twice prevented the portable breathalyzer device from properly producing a reading due to biting down on the mouthpiece. The question to Keys was asked prior to the deputy obtaining an incriminating reading from the breathalyzer device. No arrest had yet been made. Keys was not subject to a custodial interrogation and did not need to receive Miranda warnings at the moment he was asked what he would register on a breathalyzer. The issue is without merit.

2.

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963 So. 2d 1193, 2007 WL 1248029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keys-v-state-missctapp-2007.