Advice for a friend

[Taylortractornut]

Saturday night I got a call from a friend that called me from Jail. He was on his tractor a 1/4 from any public road when a deputy pulled up to ask him directions to another farm that wasnt on his GPS. When he got off his tractor to show the deputy where he needed to be. The deputy smelled the alcohol on his breath and placed my friend under arrest for DUI, called a rollback to confiscate his tractor to. He was in the legal BAL if he hadnt had CDLS. I was in shock I gave him the Bail money of 450 bucks till his wife came in from work.

The worse thing is that The company he will more than likely lose his job if the DUI sits because he will lose his CDL. My friend was in tears especially because his tractor was found being used at a deputies house on his drive way with a big dent in the grill.

The thing is his place is on 2 counties. The field he was in is in a completly different county than the deputy. My friend is really worried.

Heres my friends situation as I see it. His drive way and road are privately owned and usually gated. he was over 1/4 of a mile away from any public road, and about 300 yards out of the deputies jurisdiction. And his tractor was taken and used by another deputy and damaged.


I told my friend not to worry, and to get the most viscious lawyer he can find and lay it to them and the deputy involved and the one using his tractor. Plus any time off from work he may recieve.

This really gets to me because I know his property and the fact that occasionally that I have a beer or 2 when on my place even though Im in another county. Any advice on the situation would be apreciated, My frind is pretty shaken up by this and hasnt ever had to have a lawyer.

 

[ayelvington]

If the tractor was taken as evidenc, I would hope that photographs were taken prior to being removed. That said, the defense attourney should request the photos under discovery as proof of damage while in police custody.

Now, the ugly part: Even if it's proven that the tractor was damaged while in police custody, that may not compel them to pay restitution.

The best leverage that your friend has is to swap charges of misappropriation for the DUI. If he pushes the missappropriation charge into a public venue he will be the bane for law enforcement throughout the area.

Jurisdiction is not really as much of an issue as you might hope. At least there can't be a claim of "hot pursuit".

Good luck.

 

[ayelvington]

Oh yeah, if the tractor was indeed on private property owned by your friend, then the case could be tested against the issue "is a man drinking a beer on his riding lawnmower while mowing his own lawn in violation of statute?" I don't think so...

 

[Scooby074]

WOW.

And people wonder why some are distrusting of law enforcement.

Not saying its right to drink and drive, but given his location and BAC (under the limit for regular drivers) i mean come on

Then to have a deputy take his tractor, his personal property, and use on his own land

Tell him to get a lawyer and soon. Pictures of the tractor on the deputies land would do wonders too.

Im usually a supporter of law enforcement, but this has me steamed. TBN's policies prevent me from expressing, but the cops in his area sure sound like crooked SOBs.

About the guy on a lawnmower being charged... It has happened here, but the persons are really , truly drunk, and usually on the public highway. I dont know of anyone ever being charged for having a beer while mowing on their lawn.

 

[Bartcephus]

While I am not a Mississippi Lawyer, and I am not dispensing Mississippi Legal Advice, it appears that Mississippi Law states that it is the fact of operation of a vehicle in the State of Mississippi. So private roads may not make a difference. Folks, be careful on those four wheelers and dirt bikes. I wish him the best of luck. Hopefully there is something that can be done with the judge as this just seems CRAZY. With a commercial license, that may foreclose some opportunities to keep this off his record.

 

[MarkV]

I agree that he seems to have a case, from what I have heard. It can also get very expensive to make "what's right" right. He for sure needs to fight the DUI charge. When you say he was a "1/4 mile from any public road", do you mean the deputy was on a private farm road looking for another farm?

MarkV

 

[arrow]

Driving under the influence??? Did the arresting officer give him a breathalyzer or field sobriety test? Under the influence is the key here as I believe one has to prove one way or another that enough alcohol was consumed to be "influenced" by. Sounds to me that one of the police officers had a tractor job to do and was not of the integrity to take into account his own responsibility and rent one. This is simply an abuse of power if the man was arrested w/o cause. He could have taken a swig of cough medicine with the same results. What steps were taken by the police (other than smelling) to prove your friend was influenced?

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

unless Miss law is different than Il. law the lower blood alcahol level for a CDL holder only applys if he is in a comercial vehicle that requires a CDL. This has been proven in court . It sound to me like a young cop who doesn't know the law. Or there is more to this story.
Bill

 

[Mousefield]

unless Miss law is different than Il. law the lower blood alcahol level for a CDL holder only applys if he is in a comercial vehicle that requires a CDL. This has been proven in court . It sound to me like a young cop who doesn't know the law. Or there is more to this story.Bill

Best thing is for him to get a good lawyer. This started off as second hand and I have found that sometimes there can be more to it. We are just speculating about things when we probably don't have all the information.

 

[2manyrocks]

Whole story sounds suspicious. Since when does a deputy go out looking for a place and not know where it is? Then the tractor winds up on another deputy's farm instead of an impound lot?

Arrest on a private road? Driving a tractor?

Time for a good, not a hack, lawyer.