Johnson v. State

2010 WY 47, 228 P.3d 1306, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 49, 2010 WL 1541639
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 20, 2010
DocketS-09-0029
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2010 WY 47 (Johnson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. State, 2010 WY 47, 228 P.3d 1306, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 49, 2010 WL 1541639 (Wyo. 2010).

Opinion

GOLDEN, Justice.

[T1] Appellant Levi William Johnson entered a conditional plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. On appeal, Jones maintains the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the drug evidence. Finding no error, we affirm the district court's suppression ruling.

ISSUE

[12] The dispositive issue in this case is whether the drug evidence was obtained in violation of Johnson's constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 4 of the Wyoming Constitution.

FACTS

[13] Johnson was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and conspiracy to deliver marijuana, as proscribed by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 85-7-1081(a)(i) and § 85-7-1042 (LexisNexis 2009). He filed a motion to suppress the marijuana evidence, contending it was the product of an unlawful search under both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 4 of the Wyoming Constitution. Johnson insisted his consent for the officers' initial entry into the home was coerced and involuntary because one officer indicated that, if Johnson refused consent, a search warrant would be obtained resulting in a more intrusive search of his residence. Johnson contended that any evidence obtained as a result of that initial unlawful entry, including the evidence recovered during execution of a later search warrant, was tainted and, thus, should be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree. Following an evidentiary hearing, the district court summarily denied Johnson's suppression motion, concluding Johnson had "voluntarily consented to the search of his residence." Johnson subsequently entered a conditional guilty plea to the conspiracy charge, reserving the right to appeal the district court's suppression ruling, and the State dismissed the remaining charge.

[14] This is the second time this case has been before us on appeal. In the first appeal, we determined the district court's suppression ruling, which was devoid of factual findings and legal reasoning, was insufficient to permit adequate review of Johnson's constitutional claims. Johnson v. State, 2009 WY 104, 214 P.3d 983 (Wyo.2009). We therefore remanded the case to the district court "for the limited purpose of the entry of a supplemental order including the factual findings required by [W.R.Cr.P.] 12(f) as well as a statement by the district court of the conclusions of law it has reached on those findings." Id., ¶ 27, 214 P.3d at 989.

As directed, the district court entered a supplemental order, which contained the following findings of fact:

1. On February 22, 2008, Officer Timothy Vogt of the Gillette Police Department responded to [Johnson's residence] in response to a report of a vehicle on fire.
2. Officer Vogt found the car on fire approximately four to five feet away from the mobile home located at the above address.
8. Officer Vogt investigated to determine the identity of the vehicle's owner by contacting Police Department dispatch He learned that the owner was Levi Johnson. Mr. Johnson was not present at the seene.
4. Officer Vogt testified that Brittany Kuhnel, Levi Johnson's girlfriend and resident of the mobile home, arrived at the *1308 scene while Officer Vogt and fire department personnel were still investigating the fire.
5. Ms. Kubnel admitted to Officer Vogt that she had contraband inside the mobile home. Officer Vogt then contacted dispatch and asked that a narcotics officer be sent to the scene.
6. Detective Chad Trebby of the Gillette Police Department was the narcotics investigator dispatched to the seene in response to Officer Vogt's request.
7. Detective Trebby testified that he talked with Ms. Kubnel, who indicated that there may have been a small amount of marijuana inside the residence. Detective Trebby requested her permission to go inside with her and retrieve the small amount of marijuana she had described. She agreed, but wanted to speak with her boyfriend, Mr. Johnson, first.
8. Mr. Johnson had arrived at the scene sometime before Detective Trebby. Ms. Kuhnel, Detective Trebby and Officer Vogt approached Mr. Johnson; Ms. Kuhnel informed Mr. Johnson that the officers wanted to search the residence because she had admitted there was a small amount of marijuana inside.
9. Detective Trebby asked Mr. Johnson for permission to enter the residence to retrieve the small amount of that Ms. Kubhnel had told the officers about. Mr. Johnson then asked what would happen if he did not give permission.
10. Ms. Kuhnel told Mr. Johnson the officers would go get a search warrant and come back and search anyway.
11. Detective Trebby clarified by informing Ms. Kuhnel and Mr. Johnson that the officers would apply for a search warrant, and if it were granted then they would return and search.
12. Detective Trebby again asked Mr. Johnson for permission to enter the residence and retrieve the small amount of marijuana that had been described by Ms. Kuhnel. The detective did not recall specifically the words used by Mr. Johnson, but he testified "he did make a statement that said-he indicated to me that he would allow us to go inside with him and get [the marijuanal, then he began walking towards the front door with us following." Mr. Johnson and Ms. Kubnel then led the officers to the front door of the trailer and entered a code in order to unlock the door.
13. Mr. Johnson entered the residence ahead of the officers, retrieved a small bag of marijuana and three or four glass pipes and gave them to the officers, stating that was all he had inside the residence.
14. Detective Trebby again asked Mr. Johnson's consent to search the residence. Mr. Johnson asked questions as to why the officers wanted to continue searching. Detective Trebby told Mr. Johnson that he would need a direct "yes" or "no" regarding permission to conduct the search.
15. Based upon Mr. Johnson's apparent hesitance to consent, Detective Trebby told him he would not accept consent at that point and that Officer Vogt would remain at the house while Detective Trebby went to apply for a search warrant and that he would return in approximately an hour.
16. Detective Trebby did not tell Mr. Johnson or Ms. Kuhnel that he was certain that he would be granted a search warrant.
17. When Detective Trebby informed Mr. Johnson and Ms. Kuhnel that he would be leaving to go apply for a search warrant, they said that would not be necessary and granted consent to search the home.
18. The detective hand-drafted a written consent to search for drugs and paraphernalia on a blank sheet of paper, and both Mr. Johnson and Ms. Kubnel signed that document.
19. Once the written consent had been signed, Detective Trebby asked further permission to utilize a canine in order to assist with the search of the residence. Mr. Johnson and Ms.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 WY 47, 228 P.3d 1306, 2010 Wyo. LEXIS 49, 2010 WL 1541639, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-state-wyo-2010.