Edwards v. State

355 So.3d 784

Kelvin EDWARDS, Appellant

v.STATE of Mississippi, Appellee

NO. 2021-KM-01348-COA

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

February 7, 2023

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: B. BRENNAN HORAN, Grenada

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: RUSSELL BARTON JORDAN

BEFORE WILSON, P.J., McDONALD AND LAWRENCE, JJ.

LAWRENCE, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶1. Kelvin Edwards was found guilty of first-offense driving under the influence (DUI) and driving without headlights in the Horn Lake Municipal Court on October 16, 2018. Edwards appealed only the DUI charge to the County Court of DeSoto County. Edwards was again found guilty of first-offense DUI following a bench trial. Edwards then appealed to the DeSoto County Circuit Court, which affirmed the conviction. Edwards now appeals claiming that the State failed to prove the requisite probable cause for the traffic stop and that law enforcement officers were required to inform him of his right to alternative testing of his blood-alcohol content (BAC) under Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-13 (Supp. 2015). Finding no error, we affirm the circuit court's judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2. On April 18, 2018, Officer Joshua Parrot with the Horn Lake Police Department initiated a traffic stop on Kelvin Edwards. He was cited for operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-30(1)(d)(i) (Supp. 2017). Edwards was also cited for driving without headlights in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 63-7-11 (Rev. 2013) and for having an open container of alcohol in violation of Horn Lake City Ordinance 05-09-151. On October 16, 2018, Edwards appeared in the Horn Lake Municipal Court and, following a trial, was found guilty of all these charges.

¶3. Edwards appealed only the DUI conviction to the County Court of DeSoto County. A de novo trial was held on January 11, 2021. The State called Officer Parrot, who was employed at the time of the traffic stop with the Horn Lake Police Department. Parrot testified that on April 18, 2018, "[I was] driving down Nail Road. I saw a white vehicle pull out of Donnie's Deli with no lights on. I turned around and initiated a traffic stop." Parrot testified it was around eleven o'clock at night and "very dark" outside. When asked how far the car traveled before its headlights were on Parrot responded, "[A]pproximately 500 yards." Parrot stated he was driving in the opposite direction of the white car and had to turn around to safely initiate a traffic stop. The "violation location" listed on the DUI ticket was on Nail Road near Somerset Road. Parrot testified Edwards, the driver, had slurred speech and glassy eyes. Parrot testified he called to the scene Officer Brandon McCary, who was the DUI officer for the Horn Lake Police Department.

¶4. Officer McCary was the State's next witness. McCary testified, "[I] made contact with [Edwards,] and I noticed that he had extremely glassy, bloodshot eyes. I asked him how much he had to drink tonight. He said two beers two hours ago." Further, McCary testified he "observed an open corona bottle wedged between the passenger's seat and center console half empty." McCary testified he then asked Edwards to step out of the vehicle so he could administer standardized field sobriety tests. McCary administered the field sobriety tests. McCary stated, "[B]ased on the totality of the circumstances, I decided that Mr. Edwards was under the influence and unable to operate a motor vehicle safely and placed him into custody for DUI." McCary stated Edwards was then transported to the station where Edwards provided two breath samples to an Intoxilyzer 8000 machine. McCary stated the "overall reading was a .20."

¶5. Edwards testified at his county court trial. Edwards admitted to drinking the beer found in the car with him and stated that he "had had a couple beers" over "about a hour and a half, two hours." Edwards stated that on the night in question, "[I] got my cigarettes, got back in my car, and pulled out on Nail Road. Then I pulled out from up under the lights that was shining at that gas station, and when I pulled out on the road, I hit my lights and turned my light switch on and headed down Somer ... no, Nail Road to Somerset." Edwards continued, "[W]hen I pulled up there before I pulled on the street, I couldn't tell my lights were on because I had just left out from up under the gas pump. And I was in that little Versa car. Normally, I drive my GMC truck and which normally when I turn the switch on, my lights automatically comes up." Edwards stated that when he turned his lights on he was "still in the parking lot pulling onto the road."

¶6. The defense then re-called Officer Parrot as an adverse witness. The defense focused on the location of the stop. The defense asked, "[B]ut you're saying McCary pulled him over at a different spot than you pulled him over?... [F]irst of all did you pull the officer [sic] over, or did McCary pull him over?" Parrot responded, "I did." Parrot testified that Edwards was pulled over at "Nail and Somerset." On cross-examination, Parrot clarified that when he initiated the traffic stop, he was "on Nail Road approaching Somerset," and then "the vehicle made a right turn onto Somerset, which puts you near the intersection of Somerset and Laurel."

¶7. In closing, the defense argued Parrot lacked probable cause to pull Edwards over. Further, the defense argued Parrot's testimony had been inconsistent. The State argued there was sufficient evidence to find that Edwards was guilty of first-offense DUI.

¶8. The county court found Edwards guilty. The court found beyond a reasonable doubt that Edwards "did operate his motor vehicle on the roadway without headlights, and therefore, the officer was within his rights to make the stop."

¶9. Edwards appealed that decision to the DeSoto County Circuit Court, arguing two issues. Edwards claimed that the State failed to prove probable cause to support the traffic stop. Edwards also argued law enforcement officers failed to disclose to him that he had a right to an alternative BAC test under Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-11-13.

¶10. On November 5, 2021, the circuit court affirmed the county court's DUI conviction.

The circuit court explained its reasoning:

[T]his Court notes that a trial judge, sitting without a jury, is the ultimate finder of fact and the sole judge of a testifying witness's credibility. Van Norman v. State , 114 So. 3d 799, 802 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013) (citing City of Jackson v. Lipsey, 834 So. 2d 687, 691 (Miss. 2003) ). And this Court cannot reverse such determinations where they are supported by substantial evidence. Id. (citing Yarborough v. State , 514 So. 2d 1215, 1220 (Miss. 1987) ) .... As to the issue of probable cause, the United States Supreme Court has held that "the decision to stop an automobile is reasonable where the police have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred." Whren v. United States , 517 U.S. 806, 810, 116 S. Ct. 1769 [135 L.Ed.2d 89] (1996). "Well-settled Mississippi law provides that ‘when a police officer personally observes a driver commit what he reasonably believes is a traffic violation, he then has probable cause to stop the vehicle.’ " Casey v. State , 302 So. 3d 617, 625 (Miss. 2020) (quoting Martin v. State , 240 So. 3d 1047, 1052 (Miss. 2017) ).

¶11. The circuit court found that Officer Parrott had testified he observed Edwards pull out of Donnie's Deli and travel west for approximately 500 yards down Nail Road without his headlights on. The court stated that "[b]ecause Edwards's operation of a motor vehicle at eleven o'clock at night without headlights on constituted a violation of Miss. Code Ann. Section 63-7-11, this court finds that Officer Parrot had the necessary probable cause to initiate a traffic stop of Edwards's vehicle."

¶12. As to the argument that a defendant should be made aware of the statutory right to have an additional blood-alcohol test performed, the circuit court explained that "in Green v. State , 710 So. 2d 862 (Miss. 1998), the Mississippi Supreme Court addressed and rejected the same argument." Likewise, in Ivy v. City of Louisville , 976 So. 2d 951, 953 (¶13) (Miss. Ct. App. 2008), the Mississippi Court of Appeals repudiated the argument that Edwards presents. The circuit court found that Edwards's arguments lacked merit. Edwards now appeals and presents the same arguments.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶13. "In a bench trial the trial judge sits as the trier of fact and is accorded the same deference in regard to his findings as that of a chancellor, and the reviewing court must consider the entire record and is obligated to affirm where there is substantial evidence in the record to support the trial court's findings." Barnett ex rel. Gordon v. Lauderdale Cnty. Bd. of Sup'rs , 880 So. 2d 1085, 1088 (¶7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2004) (quoting City of Newton v. Lofton , 840 So. 2d 833, 835-36 (¶¶6-7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2003) ). "The findings of the trial judge will not be disturbed unless the judge abused his discretion, was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or an erroneous legal standard was applied." Id. "[T]he trial judge, sitting in a bench trial as the trier of fact, has sole authority for determining credibility of the witnesses." Ulmer v. State , 292 So. 3d 611, 613 (¶7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2020) (quoting Mullins v. Ratcliff , 515 So. 2d 1183, 1189 (Miss. 1987) ).

ANALYSIS

I. Whether the State failed to prove the requisite probable cause for the traffic stop.

¶14. On appeal, Edwards argues, "Officer Parrot's testimony is so discredited by the State's own other witness, Officer McCary and exhibits as to have made it impossible for the Judge to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Edwards had his lights off when he entered Nail Rd." Edwards claims Parrot's testimony was inconsistent regarding where the alleged traffic violation and traffic stop took place: "[h]e somehow is 100 yards from Nail Rd., and Tulane...