ACCEPTED 07-15-00112-CR SEVENTH COURT OF APPEALS AMARILLO, TEXAS 12/3/2015 2:33:56 PM Vivian Long, Clerk
NO. 07-15-00112-CR STATE REQUESTS ORAL ARGUMENT FILED IN 7th COURT OF APPEALS ONLYAMARILLO, IF APPELLANT TEXAS REQUESTS ARGUMENT 12/3/2015 2:33:56 PM VIVIAN LONG IN THE CLERK
COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE
SEVENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS
AMARILLO, TEXAS ****************************************************************** DANIEL ORES PULVER, APPELLANT,
VS.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE ****************************************************************** ON APPEAL FROM THE 222ND DISTRICT COURT CAUSE NO. OCR-141-065 OLDHAM COUNTY, TEXAS HONORABLE ROLAND D. SAUL, PRESIDING ****************************************************************** STATE’S BRIEF ****************************************************************** KENT BIRDSONG OLDHAM COUNTY ATTORNEY SBN 02333630 P.O. BOX 698 VEGA, TEXAS 79062 (806) 267-2233 Kent.Birdsong@oldham-county.org
ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE i TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………ii
LIST OF AUTHORITIES…………………………………………………….... iv
THE CASE IN BRIEF…………………………………………………………...…1
STATEMENT OF THE CASE…………………………………………………….2
STATE’S RESPONSIVE POINTS………………………………………. 3
RESPONSIVE POINT ONE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE ONE”): The trial court correctly denied appellant’s motion to suppress evidence seized at the scene of a traffic stop.
RESPONSIVE POINT TWO (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE TWO”): Indistinct evidence appellant had previous drug offense arrests was relevant to explain the arresting trooper’s reasonable suspicion at the traffic stop scene, given appellant’s untruthfulness about his arrest record; no error attaches to the admission of the evidence.
RESPONSIVE POINT THREE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE THREE”): The State acknowledges the judgement, if necessary, should be modified to remove any requirement appellant pay court-appointed attorney fees.
ii FACT STATEMENT …………………………………………… 4
RESPONSIVE POINT ONE RESTATED……………………………… 11
RESPONSIVE POINT TWO RESTATED……………………………… 21
RESPONSIVE POINT THREE RESTATED …………………… 27
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER…………………………………………… 29
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE…………………………………………… 30
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE…………………………………………… 30
iii LIST OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
Berkemer v.McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984) 14 Crockett v. State, 803 S.W.2d 308-11 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991.) .......................... 16 Davis v. State, 947 S.W.2d. 240, 245 n. 6 (Tex.Crim.App.1997) ...................... 15 Denmon v. State, No. 03-12-00347-CR, 2014 WL 857671(Tex.App. - - Austin Aug. 20, 2014, pet. ref’d.)(memorandum opinion not designated for publication) 26 Estrada v. State, 30 S.W.3d 599, 603(Tex.App. - - Austin 2000, pet. ref’d) 14, 15, 16, 18, 20 Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983) .. 14 Green v. State, 93 S.W.3d 541, 547 (Tex.App. - - Texarkana 2002, pet. ref’’d) 18 Greene v. State, 287 S.W.3d 277, 281(Tex.App. - - Eastland 2009, pet. ref’d) 24 Hamal v. State, 390 S.W.3d 302, 307-08 (Tex.Crim.App. 2012.) ............... 18, 25 Hughes v. State, 334 S.W.3d 379, 383 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2011, no pet.) .. 13 Josey v. State, 981 S.W.2d 831, 841 (Tex.App. - - Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, pet. ref’d.) .............................................................................................................. 19, 20 Matthews v. State, 431 S.W.3d 596, 602-03 (TexCrim.App. 2014)............. 15, 16 Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552, 557 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010) ...................... 27, 28 Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391-92 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991)............. 13 Motilla v. State, 78 S.W.3d 352, 355 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002) ............................. 24 Nuttall v. State, 87 S.W.3d 219, 222 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2002, no pet.) 15, 18 Orean v. State, 201 S.W.3d 724, 726 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002) ............................ 24 Parker v. State, 297 S.W.3d 803, 811 (Tex.App. - - Eastland 2009, pet. ref’d) 18, 19 Romero v. State, 800 S.W.2d 539, 543 (Tex.Crim.App. 1990) ........................... 13 Sanders v. State, 255 S.W.3d 754, 760 (Tex.App. - - Fort Worth 2008, pet. ref’d)25
iv Spight v. State, 76 S.W.3d 761, 766 (Tex.App. - - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, no pet) 14 State v. Dixon, 206 S.W.3d 587, 590 (Tex.Crim.App. 2006) ..................... 13, 14 State v.Ross, 32 S.W.3d 853, 856 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000) ................................. 14 State v. Story 445 S.W.3d 729, 732 (Tex.Crim.App. 2014) ............................... 13 Strauss v. State, 121S.W.3d 486, 491 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2003, pet. ref’d.) 14 Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21-22, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968) ........ 15 United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 686, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 1575, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985) ............................................................................................................. 15, 19 Valtierra v. State, 310 S.W.3d 442, 447 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010) ........................ 13 Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589, 595 (Tex.Crim.App. 1995) ............................. 24
Statutes
Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. Sec. 481.115 (f)(West. 2010) ............................... 2
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. Art. 26.05 (g)(West. Supp. 2015) .............................. 28
Rules
Tex.R.Evid. 403 .................................................................................................23, 25
Tex.R.App.P. 44.2 (b) .............................................................................................. 24
v vi NOS. 07-15-00112-CR
IN THE
AMARILLO, TEXAS ****************************************************************** DANIEL ORES PULVER, Appellant,
VS. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee. ****************************************************************** TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:
COMES NOW the State of Texas, appellee in the above entitled and
numbered appeal, by and through its Oldham County Attorney, and submits its
brief in response to the brief of appellant, Daniel Ores Pulver. Appellant was
convicted in the 222nd Judicial District Court of Oldham County, Texas of
possession of a controlled substance, heroin, in an amount 400 grams or more;
punishment was enhanced by proof of appellant’s previous felony conviction.
1 STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Appellant Daniel Ores Pulver appeals his conviction for possession of a
controlled substance, heroin, in an amount 400 grams or more. See Tex. Health &
Safety Code Ann Sec. 481.115(f) (West 2010). By his three “Issues Presented,” he
asserts the trial court erred in: not granting his pretrial motion to suppress as
evidence the contraband forming the basis of the prosecution; allowing evidence of
his prior criminal record at the guilt-innocence phase; and, including in its
judgment an order he pay appointed attorney fees.
The Oldham County grand jury on September 17, 2014 indicted appellant
for the offense, which was alleged to have occurred on or about March 12, 2012.
CR: 6. Included in the indictment was a punishment-enhancing allegation
appellant had previously been convicted of a felony.
Appellant filed a motion to suppress as evidence the contraband made the
subject of the prosecution. CR: 10. After a hearing, the trial court denied the
suppression motion. Thereafter, a jury convicted appellant of the indicted offense.
Following a trial of the punishment issue, the jury assessed appellant’s punishment
at 70 years imprisonment and a $70,000 fine; the court on March 5, 2015 imposed
sentence accordingly. CR: 99. Appellant timely, on March 11, 2015, filed a notice
of appeal. CR: 95.
2 STATE’S RESPONSIVE POINTS
RESPONSIVE POINT ONE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE ONE”):
The trial court correctly denied appellant’s motion to suppress evidence seized at the scene of a traffic stop.
RESPONSIVE POINT TWO (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE TWO”):
Indistinct evidence appellant had previous drug offense arrests was relevant to explain the arresting trooper’s reasonable suspicion at the traffic stop scene, given appellant’s untruthfulness about his arrest record; no error attaches to the admission of the evidence.
RESPONSIVE POINT THREE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE THREE”):
The State acknowledges the judgement, if necessary, should be modified to remove any requirement appellant pay court-appointed attorney fees.
3 FACT STATEMENT
Suppression Hearing
The heroin appellant was prosecuted for possessing was seized in a search of
appellant’s automobile following a March 22, 2012 traffic stop. Appellant filed a
motion to suppress as evidence the heroin seized; the essence of appellant’s
grievance in the suppression motion was that the length of the stop leading to the
search was unreasonable. CR: 10. Hearing on the suppression motion was had on
December 16, 2014. In support of the seizure, the State presented testimony of two
Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) troopers involved in the search.
Central to the issue on appeal is the testimony of the arresting trooper, Paul Weller.
About 5:17 p.m. March 22, 2012, Weller, on his patrol car radar, detected an
eastbound vehicle being driven 78 m.p.h. in a 75 m.p.h. zone on Interstate 40.
RR2: 7, 20. Weller activated the patrol car’s overhead lights, and pursued the
vehicle; its driver pulled to the side of the highway at about the mile 29 marker.
RR2: 7. Through the vehicle’s passenger side window, Weller asked the driver,
appellant, for his driver’s license and the rental agreement for the vehicle;
appellant provided those documents. RR2: 8. Weller told appellant he was going
to give appellant a warning ticket for the speeding infraction, and asked appellant
to accompany him to the patrol car; as Weller directed, appellant sat on the patrol
car’s front passenger seat. RR2: 9. 4 In the patrol car, appellant was “extremely nervous,” exhibiting “real heavy,
shallow breathing.” RR2: 10. Appellant avoided eye contact with Weller, and was
unsure in answering some of Weller’s questions; when appellant had to think about
a response to Weller’s questions, he “was just stammering over himself.” RR2: 10,
38. Weller asked appellant where appellant and his passenger were traveling to;
appellant replied, “a concert.” RR2: 10. When Weller asked where the concert was
to be, appellant hesitated for a time before answering; finally, appellant replied,
“Chicago;” according to appellant, the concert was to be two days later, March 24.
RR2: 10, 11. Appellant could not immediately identify who was performing at the
concert. He described the performer as “the old guy with glasses . . the gay guy.”
Appellant answered in the affirmative Weller’s query whether appellant was
referring to the singer Elton John. RR2: 11.
On his cell phone with internet capability, Weller checked to see if indeed
Elton John indeed was performing in Chicago on March 24. R2: 11. Weller
learned that Elton John was not going to perform in Chicago; instead, he would be
performing in Grand Forks, North Dakota on March 24. RR2: 11.
When Weller asked about appellant’s criminal history, appellant said he had
convictions for DUI and domestic assault. RR2: 13. Weller did a computer check
and learned that appellant had arrests for at least two drug possession cases he had
not mentioned. RR2: 13. 5 After inquiring about appellant’s criminal history, Weller went back to the
stopped vehicle and spoke with the passenger, Brandi Grammer. Grammer
confirmed she and appellant were en route to Chicago for an Elton John concert.
RR2: 15. She and appellant had traveled to the Los Angeles area, Grammer
explained. RR2: 16. Grammer said she did not know where they were, i.e., what
state they were in. RR2: 16.
By this point in the interaction, Weller’s suspicions were aroused about the
travelers’ involvement in ongoing criminal activity. RR2: 16. Proceeding back to
the patrol car, Weller asked appellant where the trip had originated; appellant
indicated they had begun the trip in Jerome, Idaho. RR2: 16.
Appellant said he and Grammer had planned to drive to the Pacific Coast,
but at Riverside or Chino, California, decided the ocean was “too far.” RR2: 16-17.
Weller knew that the Pacific Ocean was only about 50 minutes driving distance
from Chino or Riverside. RR2: 17. To Weller, appellant and Grammer’s itinerary
did not make sense: the purported purpose of their trip was to see Elton John in
concert in Chicago, but Elton John was not going to be in Chicago; and, they
professed an intention to travel to the Pacific Ocean, but, within 50 minutes of it,
they decided that trip was too far. RR2: 27-28.
6 Weller asked appellant whether anything illegal was in the car. Following
up, Weller specifically asked whether marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine,
prohibited weapons, or a large sum of cash were in the car; to all questions,
appellant responded, “No.” RR2: 17, 18, 19. Weller then asked whether he,
Weller, could search the car; Weller’s request to search was made 11 minutes after
the traffic stop had been effected. RR2: 22. Appellant asked why Weller wanted to
search it; Weller answered he wanted to search because he thought appellant was
“hauling contraband.” RR2: 19. Appellant told Weller “he was kind of in a hurry.”
RR2: 20. Weller regarded that response as a refusal, and told appellant he was
going to call for a canine. RR2: 20.
When Weller said he would call for a dog, appellant countermanded his
earlier hesitant response and told Weller he would agree to the search. RR2: 20.
Weller’s protocol was, when a suspect refused a search he would call for a drug
dog, regardless of whether the suspect then agrees to the search; he took that
position, Weller explained, to avoid any suggestion of coercion in the suspect’s
acquiescing to the search. RR2: 20.
Weller contacted the DPS communications office in Amarillo to ask for a
canine; he was told no canines were available. RR2: 22. He then contacted the
Oldham County Sheriff’s Office, and again learned that no canine was then
available. RR2: 22. Weller contacted the Deaf Smith County Sheriff’s Office; 7 once again he was told no dog was available. RR2: 23. Having several times been
unsuccessful in obtaining a dog, Weller again called the DPS communications
office in Amarillo and solicited its help in securing one. RR2: 24. Twenty-four
minutes into the stop, someone from the DPS communications office contacted
Weller and related that a deputy with a dog was en route from the Randall County
Sheriff’s Office. RR2: 24. From a distance Weller estimated at 50 miles, a deputy
and dog, traveling at a high rate of speed, arrived at the scene about 25 minutes
later, at about 6:10 p.m. RR2: 24-25.
When the drug-sniffing dog was led around the vehicle, it “alerted,”
signaling its detection of drugs. RR2: 26. Recovered from the vehicle, inside the
passenger right side rear door panel, in the ensuing search were 4 bundles of
heroin. RR2: 26. Appellant and Grammer were arrested at the scene. Grammer
soon was released after law enforcement investigators were satisfied she had no
involvement with the heroin. RR2: 41 After the presentation of evidence, the trial
court denied the suppression motion. RR2: 63. The search was lawful, given the
totality of the circumstances and appellant’s consent to the search, the court
concluded. RR2: 63; CR: 52.
8 B. Trial on the Merits
Before the jury, the prosecutor presented evidence about the traffic stop of
appellant, the search, and arrest, which was substantially the same as was presented
at the suppression hearing. Beyond urging that the contraband seized should have
been suppressed as evidence, appellant does not contest the sufficiency of the
evidence supporting his conviction. In the interest of brevity, the State will here
present only a bare narrative of those trial facts useful for an overview of the
offense’s nature.
Margie Robinson, a forensic scientist with the DPS Regional Crime
Laboratory in Amarillo, testified that the contraband seized from appellant’s car
weighed 2.67 kilograms, or 2,670 grams. RR5: 55. That weight equates to about
5.85 pounds, Robison noted. RR5: 55. The substance comprising the exhibit
seized, Robison related, contained 69% heroin. RR5: 57.
DPS criminal investigation agent Brian Frick testified to his interview of
appellant following appellant’s arrest. When a suspected drug courier is
apprehended, DPS agents, in appropriate circumstances, attempt to enlist the
suspect in a “controlled delivery,” Frick explained. RR5: 111. The goal, Frick
related, is to accompany the cooperating suspect to the suspect’s destination; there,
without compromising the suspect, the DPS agent works with law enforcement
9 persons in that jurisdiction to obtain necessary search warrants and make arrests
and seizures of even more drugs. R5: 112.
Frick and another agent were unable to gain appellant’s cooperation for a
controlled delivery. But, in the recorded interview, appellant told the agents details
about the delivery appellant was attempting when arrested. Grammer rented the
car, appellant noted. RR5: 122. The drug run itself began in a hotel near Indio,
California; he was to be paid $1500 for delivering the drugs and received $800
“front money,” appellant told the agents. RR5: 120, 125. To practice for the
delivery, appellant explained, he earlier did a “dry run” drive, without drugs, from
Indio to Chicago. RR5: 124. Appellant told the agents he had dealt with the
persons in Jerome, Idaho who had involved him in drug trafficking “a fairly long
time.” R5: 124.
Appellant did not testify. In his behalf, he presented testimony from the two
troopers involved in the search of the car, Weller and Brandon Riefers. In the
prosecutor’s cross-examination, Riefers quantified the street value of 2,670 grams
of heroin at $757,472.34. RR5: 137.
10 RESPONSIVE POINT ONE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE
ONE”)(RESTATED):
The trial court correctly denied appellant’s motion to suppress evidence seized at the scene of a traffic stop.
I. The Error Appellant Sees in the Trial Court’s Denial of his Suppression Motion
The length of Trooper Weller’s stop of him was unreasonable; the trial court
erred in upholding the detention of him and search of his automobile, appellant
asserts. In that connection, appellant urges, the circumstances of the traffic stop did
not lend reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify Weller’s detention of
him pending the arrival of a drug-sniffing dog. Specifically, says appellant: he was
cooperative with the trooper; he had a valid driver’s license and car rental
agreement; his description of the trip itinerary was matched by that of the
passenger, Brandi Grammer; no outward indication of concealed contraband was
present; and, neither appellant nor passenger Grammer had outstanding arrest
warrants. Brief of Appellant, pp. 21-23. The harm from denial of the suppression
motion and receipt of evidence of the contraband is seen in his conviction and the
harsh punishment assessed, appellant argues. Brief of Appellant, p. 24.
11 II. Summary of the State’s Response
Trooper Weller pointed to articulable facts and circumstances at the scene
causing him to reasonably suspect appellant was engaged in transporting
contraband: appellant’s explanation of the route he was taking from the point of
origin to the destination defied logic; appellant was extremely nervous in
interacting with Weller, even after Weller told him was getting only a warning
ticket for the traffic infraction; appellant spent an inordinate amount of time in
answering uncomfortable questions, stammering as he did so; appellant was
untruthful in relating his criminal history, pointedly omitting mention of his
previous drug cases; and, Weller exposed as fictitious the supposed concert
appellant said he was going to Chicago to attend.
Upon his observations, Weller could reasonably hold appellant in place pending
the arrival of a K-9 unit to conduct a free-air drug sniff search. Weller and other
law enforcement officers were confronted with limited availability of a canine in
the area; the other officers responded as expeditiously as possible to send a K-9
unit to the remote scene of the traffic stop. Under those circumstances, viewed in
light of appellant’s consent to the search, the 55-minute duration of the stop and
search was reasonable. The trial court correctly denied appellant’s suppression
motion.
12 III. Argument and Authority
A. Standard of Review
An appellate court should review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress
for an abuse of discretion. State v. Story, 445 S.W.3d 729, 732 (Tex.Crim.App.
2014); State v. Dixon, 206 S.W.3d 587, 590 (Tex.Crim.App. 2006). The record
should be reviewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s determination,
and the judgment should be reversed only if it is arbitrary, unreasonable or ‘outside
the zone of reasonable disagreement.’ Story, 445 S.W.3d at 732, citing
Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391-92 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991).
The reviewing court should uphold the judgment if it is correct on some theory
of the law applicable to the case, even if the trial judge made the judgment for a
wrong reason. Story, 445 S.W.3d at 732, citing Romero v. State, 800 S.W.2d 539,
543 (Tex.Crim.App. 1990). The trial judge is the sole trier of fact and judge of the
credibility of any witness’s testimony and the weight to be assigned to that
testimony. Hughes v. State, 334 S.W.3d 379, 383 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2011, no
pet.), citing Valtierra v. State, 310 S.W.3d 442, 447 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010).
Because the trial court is the sole trier of fact, the appellate court should give
almost total deference to the trial court’s determination of historical facts. Story,
13 445 S.W.3d at 732, citing State v. Dixon, supra, 206 S.W.3d at 590. The trial
court’s application of the law to those facts is reviewed de novo. State v. Ross, 32
S.W.3d 853, 856 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000).
B. The Trial Court’s Denial of Appellant’s Motion to Suppress Evidence Was a Correct Application of the Law to the Facts Appellant does not question the legality of Trooper Weller’s traffic stop of him
for speeding. Brief of Appellant, p. 20. Instead, appellant centers his appeal on the
continued detention of him beyond the time reasonably required for Weller to write
a warning; that prolonged detention to await arrival of a K-9 unit constituted a
Constitutional deprivation of right, he contends.
A traffic stop is analogous to a temporary investigative detention. Estrada v.
State, 30 S.W.3d 599, 603 (Tex.App. - - Austin 2000, pet. ref’d), citing Berkemer
v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 439, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984). Such a
detention may last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop.
Id., citing Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229
(1983). An officer is nonetheless entitled to conduct a brief and minimally
intrusive investigation. The office may require the driver to identify himself and
produce a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance. Strauss v. State, 121
S.W.3d 486, 491 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2003, pet. ref’d), citing Spight v. State, 76
S.W.3d 761, 766 (Tex.App. - - Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, no pet.]. Similarly, the
14 officer may check for outstanding warrants, ask about the driver’s destination and
purpose in travelling, and direct the driver to exit the vehicle. Id., citing Davis v.
State, 947 S.W.2d 240, 245, n.6 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997), Nuttall v. State, 87
S.W.3d 219, 222 (Tex.App. - - Amarillo 2002, no pet.) and Estrada v. State,
supra, 30 S.W.3d at 603.
Under the Fourth Amendment, a brief investigatory detention must be justified
by reasonable suspicion. A police officer has reasonable suspicion to detain if he
has specific, articulable facts that, combined with rational inferences from those
facts, would lead him reasonably to conclude that the person detained is, has been,
or soon will be engaged in criminal activity. Matthews v. State, 431 S.W.3d 596,
602-03 (Tex.Crim.App. 2014), citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21-22, 88 S.Ct.
1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The investigatory detention must be ‘reasonably
related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first
place.’ Matthews,431 S.W.3d at 603, citing Davis v. State, supra, 947 S.W.2d at
242. In assessing whether a detention is too long in duration to be justified as an
investigative stop, the reviewing court should examine whether the police
diligently pursued a means of investigation that was likely to confirm or dispel
their suspicions quickly. United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 686, 105 S.Ct.
1568, 1575, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985).
15 If the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the automobile contains
narcotics, he may temporarily detain the occupants to allow an olfactory inspection
by a trained police dog. Estrada v. State, supra, 30 S.W.3d at 603, citing Crockett
v. State, 803 S.W.2d 308-11 (Tex.Crim.App. 1991). The “reasonableness” of a
traffic stop detention involving suspicion of drug trafficking was analyzed by the
Matthews court in this language:
An officer must act to confirm or dispel his suspicions quickly. But
the temporary detention may continue for a reasonable period of time
until the officers have confirmed or dispelled their original suspicion
of criminal activity. One reasonable method of confirming or
dispelling the reasonable suspicion that a vehicle contains drugs is to
have a trained drug dog perform an ‘open air’ search by walking
around the car. If the dog alerts, the presence of drugs is confirmed,
and police may make a warrantless search. If the drug dog does not
alert, the officer’s suspicions will normally have been dispelled, and
the citizen may go on his way.
431 S.W.3d at 603.
16 Here, Trooper Weller, who effected the traffic stop, pointed to these
articulable facts and circumstances as justifying his suspicion appellant was
engaging in criminal activity:
- Appellant was “extremely nervous,” exhibiting shallow breathing
and shaking hands, even after being told he was merely getting a
warning ticket for the traffic infraction; Appellant stumbled over
words, and took an unusual time in answering routine questions
which appellant perceived as disconcerting;
- Appellant said he and his passenger were travelling to Chicago for
a March 24 concert, but he could not identify who was to be
performing in concert until Weller suggested the performer, Elton
John;
- From a quick computer check, Weller exposed as false appellant’s
avowed purpose for the trip; Elton John was performing in Grand
Forks, North Dakota, not Chicago, on March 24.
- The circuitous route of the trip, as described by appellant, was
illogical; the trip originated in Jerome, Idaho, proceeded to the Las
Angeles area with the ostensible interim destination of the Pacific
Coast; despite being within 50 minutes’ drive from the Pacific,
appellant decided the coast was “too far”; after a stop in Las Vegas
17 at some point in the journey, appellant ended up in Oldham
County, en route to Chicago, when he was stopped; and,
- Appellant was untruthful in relating his arrest record to Weller;
specifically, appellant omitted any mention of his drug arrests.
Weller was authorized, consistent with Fourth Amendment parameters, to detain
appellant beyond the initial purpose of the traffic stop. See and compare Hamal v.
State, 390 S.W.3d 302, 307-08 (Tex.Crim.App. 2012)(reasons justifying the
extended detention included the driver’s nervousness and misrepresentation of her
criminal history); Parker v. State, 297 S.W.3d 803, 811 (Tex.App. - - Eastland
2009, pet. ref’d)(circumstances justifying continued detention after traffic stop
included: the defendant’s eating a hamburger while trooper questioned him;
defendant’s [the passenger] and driver’s criminal histories; defendant’s
nervousness, and defendant’s and driver’s discrepancies about duration of their
stay in California); Green v. State, 93 S.W.3d 541, 547 (Tex.App. - - Texarkana
2002, pet. ref’d)( driver’s detention based on her nervousness, and smell of
alcohol, which sometimes is used to mask odor of drugs in vehicle); Nuttall v.
State, supra, 87 S.W.3d at 222-23 (driver and the defendant, in separate vehicles
traveling together were involved in a curious, seemingly unnecessary round-trip
journey between Lubbock and El Paso in a rental car; the defendant was nervous
and evasive; and he and/or the other party had previously been arrested for drug
18 offenses); and, Estrada v. State, 30 S.W.3d at 603 (defendant and passenger were
very nervous and gave confusing accounts of their trip’s origin and destination).
Weller detained appellant, upon reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, and
promptly undertook to secure a trained drug-detecting dog to confirm or dispel his
suspicion. He contacted the DPS communications headquarters in Amarillo, the
Oldham County Sheriff’s Office, and the Deaf Smith County Sheriff’s Office, to
no avail in obtaining an available dog. After again asking the DPS office for
assistance, he was informed a K-9 unit was en route from the Randall County
Sheriff’s Office, Driving to scene from perhaps 50 miles away at high speed the
K-9 unit arrived after about 25 minutes.
Weller’s immediate and persistent efforts to get a dog on the scene satisfied
the requirement of a diligent pursuit of “a means of investigation that was likely to
confirm or dispel his suspicions quickly,” as specified in United States v. Sharpe,
supra, 470 U.S. at 686, 105 S.Ct. 1568. See e.g, Parker v. State, supra, 297
S.W.3d at 812 (drug dog, summoned from 30 or 40 minutes from the scene, alerted
70 minutes after Trooper discovered motorists’ criminal histories); Strauss v. State,
supra, 121 S.W.3d at 492 (75-minute time lapse between traffic stop and drug
dog’s arrival was not unreasonable); and Josey v. State, 981 S.W.2d 831, 841
(Tex.App. - - Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, pet. ref’d)( 90-minute duration of
19 investigatory detention, from traffic stop to arrest after drug dog alert, was not
unreasonable).
Notably in that connection, appellant consented to the search after Weller
indicated he would summon a K-9 unit. Weller insisted on securing a drug dog
only to foreclose any possible appearance of coercion, in light of appellant’s initial
hesitancy about the requested search. Weller’s extra caution underscores the
search’s reasonableness. See Estrada v. State, supra, 30 S.W.3d at 602 (defendant
consented to search of automobile; drug dog arrived about 20 minutes after the
stop, and alerted about 30 minutes into the stop).
The trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress evidence was not
an abuse of discretion. The Court should uphold the trial court’s ruling.
20 RESPONSIVE POINT TWO (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE TWO”)(RESTATED):
Indistinct evidence appellant had a criminal history was relevant to explain the arresting trooper’s reasonable suspicion at the traffic stop scene, given appellant’s untruthfulness about his arrest record; no error attaches to the admission of the evidence.
I. Background
Before the jury at the guilt-innocence phase, Trooper Weller related his
interaction with appellant at the traffic stop scene, after Weller asked appellant to
be seated in the patrol car. As the prosecutor questioned Weller, the following
exchanges occurred:
Q. What else did you talk to the Defendant about?
A. I asked them where they were going. He informed me that they
were going to a concert in Chicago. And then I asked about where
they came from. He informed me they were coming from Jerome,
Idaho.
And then I believe I asked him about his criminal history and his
driver’s license history, if it had ever been suspended or revoked for
any reason and then if he had ever been arrested before.
21 Q. And while you were asking him these questions, were you able to
look at your in-car computer?
A. Yes, whenever I sat down in the patrol car. When I’m talking to
them, I’m also typing in the driver’s license number and - - running
the criminal history as I’m speaking with them.
Q. So you can compare their answers to what you’re reading on the
computer screen?
A. Yes, I can.
Q. And did that cause you any concern?
A. When I ran the criminal history, he informed me that he’d been
arrested for, I believe, a DUI and an assault or a battery, but there was
some other drug offense that - - that he did not mention.
MR. DENHAM [Appellant’s trial counsel]: Objection your honor. It’s
prejudicial, Your Honor. It has no materiality as to the charge today,
Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, that’s overruled. I think he’s explained that.
RR4: 82-83.
22 II. Appellant’s Complaint
The highlighted portion of Weller’s testimony was objectionable, appellant
contends, as presenting evidence of other wrongs or crimes he committed beyond
the offense on trial. Before allowing that evidence, the trial court should have
conducted the balancing test prescribed in Rule 403 of our evidentiary rules,
appellant maintains; that is, the court should have determined whether the
evidence’s probative value outweighed its prejudicial potential. Brief of Appellant,
pp. 24-25.
III. Summary of the State’s Response
The contextual purpose of the evidence’s proffer was obvious: to explain
one of the reasons Weller developed suspicion appellant was engaged in
wrongdoing. The reference was vague and generalized; no elaboration of
appellant’s prior drug arrests occurred. No evidence was presented at that stage of
the trial appellant had ever been convicted of a drug offense.
Appellant did not ask for a limiting instruction that evidence of his previous
drug arrests be considered only to help explain his detention at the scene. Given
the setting in which the reference to appellant’s non-descript drug arrests was
made, the jury reasonably would have considered it only as bearing on Weller’s 23 suspicion. The prosecutor did not mention the evidence in his jury argument; no
harm is shown.
IV. Argument and Authority
An appellate court should review a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude
evidence under an abuse of discretion standard. Greene v. State, 287 S.W.3d 277,
281 (Tex.App. - - Eastland 2009, pet. ref’d), citing Orean v. State, 201 S.W.3d
724, 726 (Tex.Crim.App. 2006). The trial court’s ruling should not be reversed
unless that ruling falls outside the zone of reasonable disagreement. Greene v.
State, supra, 287 S.W.3d at 282, citing Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589, 595
(Tex.Crim.App. 2003). To obtain a reversal based on error in the admission of
evidence, an appellant must show that the trial court’s ruling was erroneous and
that the error affected his substantial rights. Id.; Tex.R.App.P. 44.2 (b). Substantial
rights are not affected by the erroneous admission of evidence ‘if the appellate
court, after examining the record as a whole, has fair assurance that the error did
not influence the jury, or had but a slight effect.’ Id. quoting Motilla v. State, 78
S.W.3d 352, 355 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002).
24 B. Evidence Appellant Had Drug Arrests He Had Not Disclosed Was Admissible to Explain a Reason Trooper Weller Detained Him at the Traffic Stop Scene
At least one instance in which evidence a suspect’s untruth in reporting
criminal history contributed to an officer’s suspicion in a traffic stop was before
the jury at the guilt-innocence phase is seen in the appellate decisions. See, e.g.,
Hamal v. State, supra, 390 S.W.3d at 306-07. This writer has found no decision in
a drug case in which the admission of such evidence was the specific subject of a
complaint on appeal.
As the State understands appellant’s grievance here, he is not contending
that the evidence appellant concealed a history of drug offense arrests was per se
inadmissible as extraneous misconduct evidence. Instead, he faults the trial court
for not conducting a proper “probative vs. prejudicial” balancing analysis under
evidentiary rule 403.
In overruling a Rule 403 objection, the trial court is assumed to have applied
a balancing test and determined the evidence was admissible. The trial court need
not perform the balancing test on the record. Sanders v. State, 255 S.W.3d 754,
760 (Tex.App. - - Fort Worth 2008, pet. ref’d).
Implicit in the trial court’s overruling of appellant’s objection was that the
court deemed the evidence more probative than prejudicial. In that assessment, the
25 court was correct. Weller’s testimony was important to set a context for appellant’s
arrest for possession of the heroin: appellant’s evasive omission of his drug arrests
in relating his criminal history to Weller was a significant factor in Weller’s
suspicion underlying the detention of appellant. As such, it was properly admitted.
See and compare, Greene v. State, supra. 287 S.W.3d at 282-84 (evidence sexual
assault of a child defendant had earlier been arrested for possession of child
pornography was relevant to show how he became a suspect; the evidence was
more probative than prejudicial); and, Denmon v. State, No. 03-12-00347-CR,
2014 WL 857671 (Tex.App. - - Austin Aug. 20, 2014, pet. ref’d)(memorandum
opinion not designated for publication)( evidence indecent exposure defendant had
been previously investigated for the same type of offense was admissible to
explain the course of the detective’s investigation and why the investigation
focused on defendant; it was more probative than prejudicial).
When Weller gave the objected-to testimony, appellant requested no limiting
instruction. Given its vagueness and the limited context in which it was offered,
the evidence was relatively innocuous. The court did not abuse its discretion in
allowing the testimony.
26 RESPONSIVE POINT THREE (ADDRESSED TO APPELLANT’S “ISSUE THREE”(RESTATED):
The State acknowledges the judgment, if necessary, should be modified to remove any requirement appellant pay court-appointed attorney fees.
I. Underlying Facts As appellant points out, a handwritten notation was added to the bill of costs
denoting the sum of $2,397.00 as the apparent court-appointed attorney’s fee. CR:
101.
II. The Relief Appellant Seeks
He was indigent throughout all stages of this case, appellant declares. Citing the
Mayer v. State, 309 S.W.3d 552, 557 (Tex.Crim.App. 2010) decision, assessment
of appointed attorney’s fees against him is improper in the circumstances here,
appellant asserts. Brief of Appellant, pp. 26-27.
27 III. The State’s Response
The source of the handwritten addition of $2,397.00 to the bill of costs is
unknown. If indeed appellant is thereby ordered to pay the $2,397.00 as
appointed attorney’s fees, the State agrees it should be deleted.
A trial court may not order reimbursement of appointed attorney’s fees
without record evidence demonstrating a defendant’s ability to pay them. Tex.
Code Crim. Proc. Ann. Art. 26.05 (g)(West Supp. 2015); Mayer v. State, supra.
No such evidence was presented here. If such action is necessary, the judgment
should be modified to eliminate any order occasioned by the handwritten
notation that appellant pay appointed attorney’s fees.
28 CONCLUSION AND PRAYER
WHEREFORE, the State prays that the judgment of conviction be affirmed
in all things, excepting any necessary modification to remove any order appellant
pay appointed attorney’s fees.
Respectfully submitted,
KENT BIRDSONG Oldham County Attorney Oldham County, Texas
__/s/ Kent Birdsong___
Kent Birdsong Oldham County Attorney P.O. Box 698 Vega, Texas 79062 (806) 267-2233 SBN 02333630 Kent.Birdsong@oldham-county.org
Attorney for the State
29 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 3rd day of December, 2015 a true copy of
the foregoing State’s brief was served on appellant's attorney, W. Brooks Barfield,
Jr., at P.O. Box 308, Amarillo, Texas 79105, by depositing the same in the United
States Mail, postage prepaid.
__/s/ Kent Birdsong___ Oldham County Attorney
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
In accordance with Tex.R.App. 9.4 (i)(3), I hereby certify that the foregoing
brief contains, as reflected in the computer word count, 6,153 words. That count
includes word in portions of the brief which, under the Rule, are excluded from the
prescribed word limit. The brief is printed in 14-point typeface.