Fenoglio v. State

252 S.W.3d 468, 2008 WL 467415
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 13, 2008
Docket2-07-001-CR, 2-07-002-CR, 2-07-003-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 252 S.W.3d 468 (Fenoglio v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fenoglio v. State, 252 S.W.3d 468, 2008 WL 467415 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

TERRIE LIVINGSTON, Justice.

Appellant James Clayton Fenoglio appeals his convictions for possession of methamphetamine of at least four but less than two hundred grams, possession of four hundred or more grams of methamphetamine, and possession or transportation of anhydrous ammonia with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. In four points, he challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress, denial of his motion for mistrial, denial of his motion for new trial, and assessment of two sentences for what he contends is the same offense (possession of methamphetamine in two different weight categories). We affirm in part and reverse and render in part.

I. Background Facts

On August 17, 2004, Officer John Spra-gins and his partner Officer Bobby Dilbeck flew over appellant’s Montague County property in a helicopter looking for marijuana plants. 1 Although they were looking for marijuana over the entire county, they had received information that appellant might be growing marijuana, so they made sure to fly over his property that day. 2

As the officers were flying over appellant’s property, they saw five or six three-to-four feet tall marijuana plants growing in large, plastic containers. The plants were next to a row of hay bales at the end of a dirt road or trail 3 that led from the plants to the back part of the only house on the property. A large container of water and a scoop were next to the plants, which appeared to be in good condition.

The helicopter landed, and Officer Dil-beck radioed an already-assembled ground crew with its location. While he was waiting for the ground crew to arrive, Officer Dilbeck typed an affidavit for a search warrant on his laptop. The ground crew entered the property to secure it while Officers Dilbeck and Spragins drove in a car to Bowie to obtain a search warrant based on Officer Dilbeck’s affidavit. Officer Dilbeck told the ground crew not to search the property until he and Officer Spragins had secured a warrant.

After the officers obtained a warrant, they returned to the property; no search had yet begun. At the entrance gate to the property, Officers Dilbeck and Spra-gins encountered appellant driving his truck. They stopped him and served the warrant. The officers asked appellant if he had drugs in the truck, and he said he did not know, but that there may be. Officer Dilbeck opened the door and looked in the truck; inside in plain view he saw a small pouch and a Tootsie Roll container *472 on the seat. Inside the Tootsie Roll container, Officer Dilbeck found marijuana. He also found a glass pipe in a case that had burned residue consistent with marijuana or methamphetamine, an Altoids container that contained baggies with methamphetamine inside, and a handwritten list, which appeared to be a to-do list with items on it, such as “weigh smoke” and “Miracle Gro,” all within the truck.

The officers arrested appellant, and they all went to the house. Appellant voluntarily unlocked the door to the house and gave officers the key. Appellant told the officers he would show them the other drugs in the house. He then showed them an envelope with marijuana in it and told them that it was all he had. The officers found several empty baggies in the kitchen that Officer Dilbeck thought could be used to package marijuana.

The officers also found a safe in the master bedroom. Appellant initially denied having the combination to the safe, but he eventually gave them the combination. Three bags of methamphetamine and a book entitled, Marijuana Grower’s Guide, were inside the safe. The officers also found a tank with anhydrous ammonia and a large quantity of methamphetamine in a cooler on the back porch.

The State charged appellant with possession of methamphetamine of at least four but less than two hundred grams, possession of four hundred or more grams of methamphetamine, and possession or transportation of anhydrous ammonia with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. A jury convicted appellant of all three offenses. In accordance with the jury’s recommendation, the trial court sentenced appellant to ten years’ confinement, probated for ten years, plus a $10,000 fine, on the first and third offenses, and to twenty years’ confinement, plus a $10,000 fine, on the second offense. Appellant appeals all three convictions.

II. Motion to Suppress

In his first issue, appellant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress. According to appellant, Officer Dilbeck deliberately or recklessly included false material allegations of fact in the affidavit supporting the search warrant in that (1) the allegation in the warrant that the officers landed the helicopter near the plants for “confirmation” “prevents any ‘plain view’ allegation from being substantiated in that the requirement of confirmation prevents them from being ‘immediately apparent,’ ” and (2) the allegation that the plants were locate “near” the residence was false because the evidence showed that they were located two hundred to two hundred fifty yards from the house and that the plants could not be seen from the house. Appellant contends that when the warrant is considered without these allegations, the remainder is insufficient and, therefore, all evidence of methamphetamine, which the officers discovered pursuant to serving the warrant, should be suppressed. 4

A. Standard of Review and Applicable Law

An affidavit supporting a search warrant begins with a presumption of validity. Cates v. State, 120 S.W.3d 352, 355 (Tex.Crim.App.2003). In Franks v. Delaware, the United States Supreme Court held that when a “defendant makes a substantial preliminary showing that a false statement knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, was included by the affiant in the warrant affi *473 davit, and if the allegedly false statement is necessary to the finding of probable cause, the Fourth Amendment requires that a hearing be held at the defendant’s request.” 438 U.S. 154, 155-56, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 2676, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). To obtain a Franks hearing, a defendant has the burden of making a preliminary showing of deliberate falsehoods in the affidavit supporting the warrant. Id.; Cates, 120 S.W.3d at 355.

We review a trial court’s decision on a Franks suppression issue under the same standard that we review a probable cause deficiency, a mixed standard of review: “We give almost total deference to a trial court’s rulings on questions of historical fact and application-of-law-to-fact questions that turn on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor while we review de novo application-of-law-to-fact questions that do not turn upon credibility and demeanor.” Johnson v. State, 68 S.W.3d 644

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Bluebook (online)
252 S.W.3d 468, 2008 WL 467415, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fenoglio-v-state-texapp-2008.