Opinion ID: 1788992
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mississippi Arrest and Confession

Text: For his first point on appeal, Appellant argues that his arrest in Mississippi was invalid because the police lacked probable cause to arrest him without a warrant. He further argues that the spontaneous, incriminating statements he made while in police custody in Mississippi should have been suppressed under the exclusionary rule as the fruit of an illegal arrest. The trial court found the arrest to be valid. This court has stated that all presumptions are favorable to the trial court's ruling on the legality of an arrest and the burden of demonstrating error is on the appellant. Efurd v. State, 334 Ark. 596, 976 S.W.2d 928 (1998); Humphrey v. State, 327 Ark. 753, 940 S.W.2d 860 (1997). This court has previously held that Mississippi law applies in a situation where an Arkansas defendant was arrested in Mississippi, therefore, we apply Mississippi law to determine if the arrest of Appellant was valid. Jackson v. State, 241 Ark. 850, 410 S.W.2d 766 (1967). Mississippi Code Annotated § 99-3-7(1) (1989) governs when arrests may be made without warrants. This section provides in pertinent part: An officer or private person may arrest any person without warrant, for an indictable offense committed, or a breach of the peace threatened or attempted in his presence; or when a person has committed a felony, though not in his presence; or when a felony has been committed, and he has reasonable ground to suspect and believe the person proposed to be arrested to have committed it[.] Mississippi law provides that an arrest is valid if the arresting officer has probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed and probable cause to believe the suspect to be arrested committed the felony. Blue v. State, 674 So.2d 1184, 1202, reh'g denied, cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1030, 117 S.Ct. 588, 136 L.Ed.2d 517 (1996). Probable cause is less than evidence that would justify condemnation, but more than bare suspicion. Id. In Blue , the Supreme Court of Mississippi held that the existence of probable cause or reasonable grounds justifying a warrantless arrest is determined by factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians, act. In Norwood v. State, 258 So.2d 756 (Miss.1972), the Mississippi Supreme Court held that a radio dispatch from the highway patrol describing the getaway vehicle used in a robbery supplied the arresting officer with probable cause to pursue the described automobile and to arrest its occupants. In the present matter, Appellant was arrested after fleeing the scene of the robbery in Helena. An Arkansas deputy sheriff contacted authorities in Mississippi and advised them that he was in pursuit of possible robbery suspects traveling in a white Firebird or Trans-Am at a high rate of speed. The sheriff advised of the car's location and the direction it was traveling, specifically stating that the car was headed for the Mississippi Bridge. While traveling across the bridge, Appellant's car passed a Mississippi sheriff's car. The Mississippi sheriff testified at trial that the car was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour. He also testified that he notified other law enforcement agencies involved in the pursuit of the direction the car was traveling. This broadcast was heard by a Mississippi constable, who in turn proceeded toward the location of the suspects. The constable located the suspects after their car ran off the road. He detained them until sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene and placed them under arrest. Police found trash bags containing money, prescription drugs, rubber masks, and guns across from where the car left the road. Clearly, this information provided law enforcement officials with more than a bare suspicion that Appellant had committed a felony. Based on this evidence, we cannot say that the trial court erred in finding that the arrest was valid. We note that Appellant does not allege that the statements made to Mississippi officials were involuntary or that police interrogated him without first advising him of his Miranda rights. In fact, Appellant was never questioned by Mississippi authorities, although he was advised of his Miranda rights. Appellant's argument that the confession should be suppressed is based solely on his contention that the arrest was unlawful. Because we find that the arrest in Mississippi was indeed valid, we conclude that it was not error to admit the Mississippi confession. This court has stated that where the tree is not poisonous, neither is the fruit. Langford v. State, 332 Ark. 54, 962 S.W.2d 358 (1998).