Hamilton v. State

556 So. 2d 685, 1990 WL 6683
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 17, 1990
Docket07-58788
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 556 So. 2d 685 (Hamilton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hamilton v. State, 556 So. 2d 685, 1990 WL 6683 (Mich. 1990).

Opinion

556 So.2d 685 (1990)

James A. HAMILTON
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 07-58788.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

January 17, 1990.

Jim Waide, Tupelo, for appellant.

Mike C. Moore, Atty. Gen., John T. Kitchens, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before ROY NOBLE LEE, SULLIVAN and PITTMAN, JJ.

*686 ROY NOBLE LEE, Chief Justice, for the Court:

James A. Hamilton was indicted, tried and convicted in the Circuit Court of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, for knowingly and intentionally possessing greater than one (1) kilogram of marijuana with the intent to distribute. The lower court sentenced him to twenty-five (25) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and fined him $10,000. Hamilton has appealed to this Court and assigns one (1) error in the trial below:

THE SEARCH VIOLATED HAMILTON'S RIGHTS UNDER THE UNITED STATES AND MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTIONS, SINCE THE WARRANT DID NOT AUTHORIZE THE SEARCH OF THE PARTICULAR PLACE WHICH WAS SEARCHED.

Facts

On September 2, 1986, David Gillespie, an investigator for the Clay County Sheriff's Department, received a tip from a confidential informant that there was a quantity of marijuana and cocaine at James Hamilton's residence in the Rock Hill Community of Oktibbeha County. The informant had also seen someone buy drugs at the residence within the past twenty-four hours. Gillespie and the informant rode by Hamilton's house so the informant could show Gillespie where it was located.

There were two residence size buildings on the plot of land where Hamilton lived. Nearest the road was a two-story building with green trim. In front of this building there was a maroon and green basketball court and a parking area. Across the front of the two-story building was a maroon walkway leading to stairs which go down the side of the building. Approximately 40 feet from the stairs and the nearest corner of the two-story building was a one-story building. This building also had green trim and had a maroon deck on the back.

Officer Gillespie went to Starkville to notify the Oktibbeha County law enforcement officers. Later that same day, "at dusk or later", Gillespie and Steve Westbrook, a deputy with the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Department, drove by Hamilton's house to get the mileage and a description for a search warrant.

At the suppression hearing, Gillespie testified that he thought there was only one house on the plot of land. Westbrook testified that when viewed from the road "conceivably, a person could believe that there was one building there." Westbrook testified the warrant was for the residence of James Hamilton. When he "ran" the warrant, he knew there were two buildings but he did not know which building was Hamilton's residence.

When the two officers arrived back in Starkville, they went to Justice Court Judge Bernard Crump's house where Westbrook prepared a search warrant and a supporting affidavit which Gillespie signed. At this point, Gillespie's involvement ended when he was called back to West Point. Both the affidavit for the search warrant and the search warrant describe the place to be searched by stating:

From Hwy. 82 in Starkville proceed north on Montgomery Street past the city limits and continue north on Rock Hill Road. Proceed in this direction for 3.1 (approx.) miles. On the left is a two-story dwelling, white with maroon trim with a concrete basketball court in front. This dwelling is on the west side of Rock Hill Road. This is the dwelling to be searched.

The pre-printed language of the affidavit for the search warrant and the search warrant itself states in part:

5. The facts tending to establish the foregoing grounds for issuance of a Search Warrant are shown on a sheet headed "Underlying Facts and Circumstances" which is attached hereto made a part hereof and adopted herein by reference... .

The "Underlying Facts and Circumstances" sheet in its entirety states:

On Sept. 2, 1986, David Gillespie, a deputy with the Clay Co. Sheriff's Dept. was advised by a confidential and reliable informant whose information has led to arrests and convictions in the past that *687 cocaine is being kept and sold in the residence of James Hamilton on Rock Hill, Oktibbeha Co., MS. This informant also advised that he saw a quantity of marijuana at the residence also. This informant advised that the cocaine sale transpired within the last 24 hours.

On September 2, 1986 at approximately 10:30 p.m., Westbrook, Officer Ricky Peterson, and Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan arrived at Hamilton's property in the Sheriff's car. Other officers waited up the road. First, they went to the two-story building and knocked on the door, but got no response. They then walked down to the one-story building where Hamilton, apparently having seen them, met them at the door. Sheriff Bryan told Hamilton that he had a search warrant for his residence. After Westbrook gave Hamilton a copy, the officers secured the house and radioed the other officers to come on in. Hamilton testified that he told the officers that the warrant was for the two-story building, but Sheriff Bryan told him it was good for whatever the Sheriff said. Officer Westbrook and Sheriff Bryan were asked specifically about this conversation and both denied that Hamilton made any comment or challenged the warrant in any way.

Jacqueline Evans, Hamilton's fiance, and Hamilton's three young children from a previous marriage were inside the house with Hamilton. They were all brought into the living room and they sat on the couch during the search. Officer Charlie McVey of the Bureau of Narcotics arrived with a dog which was trained to sniff out marijuana, cocaine and various other drugs. The search began in Hamilton's bedroom where the dog indicated that there were drugs in a square wooden box on the floor near the head of the bed. The officers opened the box and found about a quarter (1/4) pound of marijuana in a Zip-Lock bag. They found a loaded .38 Special pistol in a closet and a set of triple beam scales. No other drugs were found in the living area of the house.

McVey then took the dog around the edges of the house where McVey discovered what appeared to be a basement-like area under the house with a dirt floor. McVey removed a board that was lying against the opening and allowed the dog to search the basement area. The dog alerted on a suitcase. McVey squeezed through the opening and yelled to the other officers inside the house to come down. The Sheriff heard McVey and went down to where there was a door leading to the basement. The door was padlocked. The officers used a bolt-cutter to cut the lock then went down to where McVey was. The officers opened the suitcase and found eighteen (18) separate packages of marijuana wrapped heavily in plastic with a baby powder type substance on them to disguise the odor. The total weight of the marijuana was eighteen and one-half (18 1/2) pounds. The officers then searched the two-story building. Hamilton owned both buildings. The officers found a .38 revolver, a stacked barrel Derringer, and two automatic pistols in a brown Cadillac parked inside the garage. Nothing else was found in the two-story building.

Officer McVey then decided to further search under the one-story residence. During this search, he found two purple Crown Royal bags inside a cinder block in the corner of the room. The bags held 24 white envelopes, each containing $1,000 in $100.00 bills for a total of $24,000. The search of the property ended around 1:00 or 1:30 a.m., September 3.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
556 So. 2d 685, 1990 WL 6683, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hamilton-v-state-miss-1990.