A driving under the influence case against Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn will move to circuit court after special prosecutor George Mitchell appealed a justice court judge’s directed verdict from September.
Oktibbeha County Justice Court Judge Tony Boykin issued the verdict in the case against Vaughn on Sept. 4, during the case’s trial.
A directed verdict is issued before a trial has concluded when a judge determines the prosecution has failed to prove the elements of the underlying offenses. In issuing the decision, Boykin declared Vaughn not guilty of the first-offense DUI charge.
It is unknown if Mitchell’s appeal, which was filed Sept. 29, could change the outcome of the case, as state law, which is cited in Mitchell’s filing, allows some appeals to “not subject the defendant to further prosecution, nor shall the judgment of the acquittal be reversed.”
Mitchell’s appeal also notes that justice court is not a court of record.
Documents associated with the filing list Nov. 23 as a hearing date.
Vaughn was charged with DUI first, careless driving and no proof of insurance on June 19, 2014, after an Oktibbeha County deputy claims she observed the car the alderman was driving cross Highway 25’s middle line and right-hand line multiple times.
Deputy Denise Crocker, the arresting officer, testified during the justice court trial last month that Vaughn smelled of alcohol, had red eyes and struggled with fine motor skills as he attempted to retrieve his driver’s license and insurance during the traffic stop.
Vaughn attempted a portable Breathalyzer test at the scene, she testified, but refused further testing at the sheriff’s department.
Vaughn admitted to having “one drink” after Crocker asked him if he had consumed alcohol, she testified.
“I could smell it talking to him, and I could smell it once we were both in my vehicle,” Crocker testified.
Mary Brandon, a booking officer at Oktibbeha County Jail, also testified Vaughn said he had consumed alcohol while he was being booked.
“One of the questions (asked during the booking process) is ‘Are you under the influence of alcohol or narcotics?'” she testified. “He stated that yes, he was, and he wanted to make sure that I understood that it was alcohol and not narcotics. That’s why it stands out, because I don’t get that very often.”
Ward 6 Alderman and Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who represented Vaughn in the trial, contended Vaughn never admitted to drinking alcohol.
Perkins also criticized the state’s testimony because Crocker couldn’t remember where exactly she pulled Vaughn over and because of a number of errors on the sheriff department’s paperwork.
Perkins also questioned a decision to follow Vaughn for more than two miles until she pulled him over. Crocker said she was looking for a safe spot on the side of the road to initiate the traffic stop.
“We didn’t have an impaired driver on the road like the state wants you to believe,” Perkins said during the trial. “There’s no evidence, judge, that there’s been any type of impairment here.”
Mitchell said none of the facts of the case would be in question if Vaughn had taken the sobriety tests offered to him.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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