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REED v. STATE12/4/1997
Appellant Adrian Reed appeals the judgment of the Pope County Circuit Court convicting him of driving while intoxicated (DWI), second offense, and sentencing him to nine months in jail, suspending his driver's license for twelve months, and assessing a fine of $2,500. This appeal was certified to us from the court of appeals on the basis that it presents a question requiring statutory interpretation; hence, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1-2(d). Appellant's sole point for reversal is that the trial court erred in failing to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of an illegal stop and arrest. We find no error and affirm.
Appellant was arrested for DWI on June 15, 1996. He was initially stopped and detained by Constable Bill Parks in Pope County near Pea Ridge, which is outside the constable's jurisdiction of Jackson Township. Appellant moved to suppress the evidence that resulted from his arrest on the ground that the constable lacked the authority to pursue a criminal suspect beyond his jurisdiction without first having a reasonable belief that the suspect had committed a felony. The trial court concluded that Constable Parks was a peace officer and that Ark. Code Ann. § 16-81-301 (1987) authorized him to stop and detain Appellant under the circumstances, even though the constable admittedly did not suspect that Appellant had committed a felony. The trial court accordingly denied Appellant's motion to suppress, and he was found guilty of the charge by a jury.
On appeal, Appellant challenges Constable Parks's authority to arrest him outside the constable's jurisdiction. He contends that pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 16-19-301 (Repl. 1994) a constable is not permitted to arrest a person for a misdemeanor offense outside the jurisdiction of his township. He asserts that such an arrest is only permitted if the constable reasonably believes that a felony has been committed within his jurisdiction.
Section 16-19-301, titled "Peacekeeping duties and authority — Neglect of duty," provides in pertinent part:
(a) Each constable shall be a conservator of the peace in his township and shall suppress all riots, affrays, fights, and unlawful assemblies, and shall keep the peace and cause offenders to be arrested and dealt with according to law.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent the fresh pursuit by a constable of a person suspected of having committed a supposed felony in his township, though no felony has actually been committed, if there are reasonable grounds for so believing. "Fresh pursuit" as used in this section shall not necessarily imply instant pursuit, but pursuit without unreasonable delay. [Emphasis added.]
Appellant asserts that the language in subsection (d) prohibits a constable from engaging in the fresh pursuit of any person unless that person is suspected of having committed a felony.
The State argues that the trial court correctly ruled that a constable's authority to freshly pursue a suspect beyond his jurisdiction is derived from section 16-81-301. The State argues that because section 16-81-301 was passed subsequent to the passage of section 16-19-301, this court should conclude that the later act controls.
Section 16-81-301, which is part of the Uniform Act on Intrastate Fresh Pursuit, provides:
Any peace officer of this state in fresh pursuit of a person who is reasonably believed to have committed a felony in this state or has committed, or attempted to commit, any criminal offense in this state in the presence of such officer, or for whom the officer holds a warrant of arrest for a criminal offense, shall have the authority to arrest and hold in custody su
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