Walls v. State

326 So. 2d 322
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 27, 1976
Docket48835
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 326 So. 2d 322 (Walls v. State) 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
Walls v. State, 326 So. 2d 322 (Mich. 1976).

Opinion

326 So.2d 322 (1976)

Rickey L. WALLS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 48835.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

January 27, 1976.

*323 *324 John D. Sibley, Okolona, James S. Gore, Houston, for appellant.

A.F. Summer, Atty. Gen., by Wayne Snuggs, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before RODGERS, INZER and SMITH, JJ.

SMITH, Justice.

This case came to this Court from the Circuit Court of Pontotoc County, Mississippi. The appellant Rickey L. Walls has appealed from a judgment of conviction and sentence on a charge of a sale of a controlled substance, to-wit, barbiturates and methamphetamine, controlled drugs under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1971.

The appellant was tried on March 12, 1974, and during the course of the trial he admitted selling pills to Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Agent Danny Lowery. Dr. Arthur Hume, Director of the State Crime Laboratory, testified that the pills sold contained a derivative of barbituric acid phenobarbital and an amphetamine. The appellant alleged that he was entrapped into selling the controlled substance by actions of Agent Lowery and one Jerry Whitehead.

According to the testimony of Rickey L. Walls, he first met Jerry Whitehead on August 16, 1972, at a restaurant in Pontotoc. There was a later meeting between the two on either the 18th or 19th of August, 1972, at the same restaurant; and at this meeting Whitehead asked the appellant about the purchase of some marijuana. On August 20, 1972, Whitehead introduced Agent Danny Lowery to the appellant, and the agent inquired about purchasing some marijuana.

According to the appellant, Agent Lawery and Jerry Whitehead came to his home on August 27, 1972, and asked about purchasing some pills. The appellant informed the two that he did not have any pills, but would check to see if any of his acquaintances in Houlka might have some. He also informed them that they would have to give him the money to make a purchase if he found any pills. Rickey L. Walls located a man in Houlka who had some pills; thereupon, he returned and obtained fifteen dollars ($15.00) from Agent Lowery to make the purchase. He told the agent that it would be after dark before he would be able to pick up the pills. At this point, the agent and Jerry Whitehead asked the appellant if he would bring the pills to Pontotoc after obtaining them. He agreed to do so. The appellant, according to his testimony, gave the man in Houlka fifteen dollars ($15.00) as partial payment for eighty (80) pills, which he later gave to the agent. Agent Lowery gave Rickey L. Walls another thirty-eight dollars ($38.00) upon delivery of the pills, and since the appellant did not have any change, the agent instructed him to keep the fifty cents (50¢) change due. At the time of this transaction, Rickey L. Walls was seventeen (17) years of age.

The state offered testimony to contradict the appellant and his charge of entrapment by the authorities. Agent Lowery testified that he and Whitehead were to meet the appellant in Pontotoc on August 27, 1972, to make a purchase of "a hundred hits of speed." Because the appellant did not show up for the meeting, they went to his home. After talking with the appellant, the agent and Jerry Whitehead left. They later returned to his home and were informed by the appellant "that he couldn't get the stuff" because "there were two narcs watching people in Houlka." He informed them that he could get the pills later that night, but he needed some purchase money. According to Agent Lowery, Ray Walls, the appellant's father, agreed to give him the money to make the purchase. *325 Lowery specifically denied giving the appellant fifteen dollars ($15.00) or any money as an advancement for a purchase.

As grounds for appeal to this Court, the appellant argues:

(1) The court erred in failing to sustain appellant's motion to transfer the cause to the Youth Court of the First Judicial District of Chickasaw County.

(2) The court erred in overruling appellant's motion to dismiss the indictment.

(3) The court erred in failing to grant a mistrial after objections to irrelevant, inflammatory and prejudicial testimony by two of the state's witnesses.

(4) The verdict is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence in that the actions of the state constituted illegal entrapment of appellant.

(5) The court erred in giving oral instructions to the jury.

(6) The court erred in sentencing appellant to three (3) years in the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

It is this Court's opinion that no error was committed when the Youth Court of Pontotoc County refused to certify the appellant to the Youth Court of the First Judicial District of Chickasaw County, his resident county. We reach this conclusion after studying the language of Mississippi Code Annotated § 43-21-7 (1972), as follows: "Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in all proceedings concerning any delinquent, neglected or battered child residing or being in the county."

The act of selling a controlled substance by the appellant took place in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Looking to the language of Mississippi Code Annotated § 43-21-7 (1972), we determine that this meets the requirement set forth by the legislature of being in the county; thus, the case was properly before the Youth Court of Pontotoc County. We construe the language of the statute "being in" to mean in criminal matters as being in the county where the scene of the crime is located.

Thus, in keeping with this ruling, there are two places where a juvenile offender can be adjudged a delinquent child under the statutes of this state — one being where the crime was committed, the other being the place where the youth is residing.

If the crime is committed in a county other than the place where a youth is residing, the youth court judge in that county can, in his discretion, transfer the cause to the youth court where the child is residing; or he can retain jurisdiction of the case if he deems it in the best interest of the child; or he may certify the case for prosecution to the circuit court.

We wish to emphasize that if a child is to be certified over to circuit court, certification must be to the circuit court which would have jurisdiction in the county where the crime was committed. This is dictated by Art. 3, § 26, Miss.Const. 1890. Certification to circuit court can be either by the youth court of the county where he is residing or the youth court where the crime was committed.

If a child is to be transferred to another youth court, the transfer hearing must be prior to any adjudicatory hearing. Once an adjudicatory hearing has been held, any further adjudicatory action on the part of either a youth court or a circuit court will constitute double jeopardy. See Breed v. Jones, 421 U.S. 519, 95 S.Ct. 1779, 44 L.Ed.2d 346 (1975).

There is nothing in the record of this case that reflects a motion was made on behalf of the appellant to have the cause transferred to his home county.

There is no merit in the appellant's assignment that the trial court erred in overruling the appellant's motion to dismiss *326 the indictment. He sought to have this Court rule that the lower court was in error when it refused to sustain his motion to dismiss the indictment based on his denial of a speedy trial. We have said in Baldwin v. State, 297 So.2d 157 (Miss. 1974):

... In Brown v. State,

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Bluebook (online)
326 So. 2d 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walls-v-state-miss-1976.