Bacon v. State
| Docket Number: | 2005-KA-01057-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-27-2007 Opinion Author: CHANDLER, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Fleeing a law officer - Sufficiency of indictment Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-12-2005 Appealed from: Leake County Circuit Court Judge: Marcus D. Gordon Disposition: CONVICTED OF FLEEING A LAW OFFICER IN A MOTOR VEHICLE AND SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND TO PAY A FINE OF $1,500. District Attorney: MARK SHELDON DUNCAN Case Number: 04-CR-078-LE-G |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | STEPHEN RASHAD BACON |
EDMUND J. PHILLIPS, JR. |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JOHN R. HENRY |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Fleeing a law officer - Sufficiency of indictment |
| Summary of the Facts: | Stephen Bacon was found guilty of fleeing a law officer in a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to three years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Bacon argues that his indictment did not include every essential element of the crime charged. The indictment must provide a clear and concise statement of the crime charged and must fully notify the defendant of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. Bacon argues that the indictment did not effectively accuse Bacon of a failure to obey a signal to stop by operating his motor vehicle in a reckless manner. The language of Bacon's indictment was sufficiently precise and certain to charge him with felonious fleeing of a law enforcement officer. Logically, a person's failure to obey a signal to stop a motor vehicle signifies that the person is continuing to operate the motor vehicle. Bacon's indictment charged him with failing to obey a visible signal to stop his motor vehicle and then operating his motor vehicle with reckless disregard for the safety of others. Therefore, it successfully alleged that, after Bacon was signaled to stop, Bacon continued to operate his motor vehicle with reckless disregard for the safety of others. Bacon also argues that the indictment omitted an essential element of the crime charged because it did not identify what crime the officer reasonably suspected Bacon of having committed. To secure a conviction for fleeing a law officer in a motor vehicle, the State need not prove the defendant's guilt of an underlying crime. Therefore, an underlying crime is not an essential element of fleeing a law officer in a motor vehicle. |
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