Awolusi v. State

615 S.E.2d 177, 273 Ga. App. 332, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 1685, 2005 Ga. App. LEXIS 495
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 20, 2005
DocketA05A0238
StatusPublished

This text of 615 S.E.2d 177 (Awolusi v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Awolusi v. State, 615 S.E.2d 177, 273 Ga. App. 332, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 1685, 2005 Ga. App. LEXIS 495 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

SMITH, Presiding Judge.

Marta Awolusi was charged by accusation with two counts of felony theft by taking. A jury found her guilty on one count and not guilty on the other. Her motion for new trial, which was amended twice, was denied. Awolusi appeals, raising three enumerations of error in which she challenges the trial court’s denial of her motions to suppress evidence and inculpatory statements and claims that her trial counsel was ineffective. We find no merit in Awolusi’s contentions, and we affirm the judgment below.

The record shows that Awolusi was employed by Macy’s at-its Perimeter Mall store from 1989 to 1996, working in the fine jewelry department. She left Macy’s in 1996 when she purchased a boutique, known as Side Street, in another mall. In June 1998, she closed her store and returned to Macy’s. In November 1998, while still working at Macy’s as a sales associate in the fine jewelry department, she opened another jewelry and clothing boutique in Buckhead.

In January 1999, Macy’s discovered a shortage in the fine jewelry department’s inventory. A review of employees’ records showed nothing that “stood out.” Because Macy’s loss prevention officers received information that Awolusi had a store in the Atlanta area, they focused their attention on her. Macy’s investigators went to Awolusi’s store to see if any Macy’s merchandise was for sale there. The investigators found that Awolusi was, in fact, selling in her boutique fine jewelry [333]*333that still had Macy’s tags attached. A private investigator then was brought in to make a purchase of the suspect merchandise from the boutique. In addition to the Macy’s price tag, the item the investigator bought at the boutique had a stock-keeping unit, or SKU, number that matched an item that had been in Macy’s Perimeter location. After making another purchase at the boutique, Macy’s investigators notified the DeKalb County police department.

Awolusi was confronted and interviewed by the Macy’s loss prevention officers in April 1999. The interview took place in the store manager’s office at Perimeter Mall, and at first Awolusi denied any knowledge of the inventory shortages. After she was informed that the investigators had obtained a search warrant for her store, however, she admitted that she had “removed merchandise from Macy’s without paying for it.” She stated that she took “four to five pieces per day,” concealing the j ewelry in her handbag, and that the small thefts added up to approximately eighty items. A written statement was prepared for Awolusi’s signature, and she signed it. This statement was read to the jury and admitted into evidence over objection.

While Awolusi was being interviewed, the police executed the search warrant at Awolusi’s Buckhead boutique and seized over 200 pieces of jewelry, several of which still had Macy’s price tags attached. Later that evening, Awolusi was taken to the DeKalb County police station and questioned again, this time by a police detective and a Macy’s security officer, in the presence of several other Macy’s employees. Awolusi was Mirandized and signed a waiver of her Miranda rights. Written and taped statements admitting the thefts were taken, and Awolusi was then arrested. Awolusi’s statements were also admitted over objection and read to, shown to, or played for the jury.

Awolusi testified at the trial, stating that she used her employee discount and Macy’s sale prices to purchase merchandise to resell at her store at a markup. She was unable, however, to produce any receipts for these purchases.

1. Awolusi first contends the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress the jewelry seized from her store because the affidavit given in support of the search warrant contained false and misleading information. Atlanta police detective J. K. Sutton prepared the affidavit for the search warrant. He testified before the magistrate that the SKU numbers found on the jewelry in Awolusi’s store could be used to trace each individual item missing from the inventory list at Macy’s Perimeter Mall store because SKU numbers are similar to vehicle indentification numbers on cars. At trial, however, this information was shown to be incorrect. As demonstrated at trial, SKU numbers are the same for identical merchandise, so that identical pieces of jewelry would display the same SKU [334]*334number. Macy’s regional jewelry coordinator testified that by “looking at the item and even looking at a SKU, there is nothing that would show me by looking at the ticket specific location, no.” But when an item is brought into a store for sale, its SKU number is added to the store’s inventory via computer. When that item is sold, the SKU number is scanned at the register, and the computer deletes the item from the store’s inventory list.

A Macy’s security officer testified at the hearing on the motion to suppress that she was present when the affidavit was presented to the magistrate. The security officer further testified that the magistrate asked the same questions raised by defense counsel regarding the uniqueness of the SKU numbers, and that she gave the magistrate the correct information regarding those numbers, as outlined above. She testified that SKU numbers were nevertheless helpful, because using the inventory list, she could account for all the jewelry except pieces with certain SKU numbers, which were missing. The unaccounted for jewelry with those SKU numbers was found at AwoluSi’s boutique.

During the motion to suppress hearing, the trial court conducted a lengthy colloquy with counsel regarding the defense contention that the statements in the affidavit were false and misleading and did not constitute probable cause to issue the warrant.

In determining probable cause for a search warrant, the magistrate is merely to make a practical, common-sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before the magistrate, including the veracity and basis of knowledge of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Ultimately, this Court’s role on review is to determine if the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed to issue the search warrant.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) State v. Graddy, 262 Ga. App. 98 (1) (585 SE2d 147) (2003), aff'd, Graddy v. State, 277 Ga. 765 (596 SE2d 109) (2004). The burden of proving a lawful search and seizure is on the State. OCGA § 17-5-30 (b); Davis v. State, 266 Ga. 212, 212-213 (465 SE2d 438) (1996). Great deference is accorded to the magistrate’s finding of probable cause. The trial court resolved the credibility issues inherent in the evidence in favor of the State. We agree with the trial court that, even disregarding the information concerning the SKU numbers, sufficient probable cause existed for the magistrate to issue the warrant.

[335]*335Awolusi worked in the fine jewelry department at Macy’s, where the jewelry was kept under lock and key, and she had access to the key. The inventory showed certain specific pieces of jewelry missing, and pieces of that same description, some still bearing Macy’s tags, were found offered for sale at a store owned by Awolusi. We agree with the trial court that under the totality of the circumstances, probable cause existed for issuing the warrant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
State v. Graddy
585 S.E.2d 147 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2003)
Davis v. State
465 S.E.2d 438 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1996)
State v. Roberts
543 S.E.2d 725 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2001)
Graddy v. State
596 S.E.2d 109 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2004)
Wyley v. State
577 S.E.2d 32 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2003)
Prince v. State
587 S.E.2d 637 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2003)
Wynn v. State
491 S.E.2d 149 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Nicholson v. State
462 S.E.2d 144 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1995)
Brown v. State
483 S.E.2d 318 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Griffin v. State
496 S.E.2d 480 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
615 S.E.2d 177, 273 Ga. App. 332, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 1685, 2005 Ga. App. LEXIS 495, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/awolusi-v-state-gactapp-2005.