Leatherman v. Commonwealth

357 S.W.3d 518, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 11, 2011 WL 181251
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJanuary 21, 2011
DocketNo. 2008-CA-000849-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 357 S.W.3d 518 (Leatherman v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leatherman v. Commonwealth, 357 S.W.3d 518, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 11, 2011 WL 181251 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

LAMBERT, Judge:

Rachel Leatherman directly appeals from the judgment of the McCracken Circuit Court following a jury trial convicting her of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), tampering with physical evidence, and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. As a result of those convictions, the trial court sentenced Leatherman to a total of eight years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Leather-man challenges the trial court’s failure to suppress evidence obtained in conjunction with the investigatory stop and her subsequent arrest, the trial court’s granting of the Commonwealth’s motion in limine that prohibited her from mentioning her statement to Deputy McGuire, and the trial court’s failure to grant a directed verdict on the DUI charge. Having thoroughly reviewed the record on appeal and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of conviction.

The facts leading up to Leatherman’s arrest and subsequent conviction are as follows: On June 28, 2006, Vernon Wilkey made an emergency 911 call to report events in his neighborhood on Queensway Drive. The record contains an unofficial transcript of his 911 call:

DISPATCHER: Central dispatch. This is Lou. Could I help you.
MR. WILKEY: Yes, sir. This is Vernon Wilkey. I live out here on Queens-way Drive.
And there is a lady in a dark blue looks like a Buick LeSabre. I’d say it’s a late '80s, early '90s model. And I’ve got a license plate number. But she’s out here walking around in my neighbor’s yard and everything and writing stuff down, and she’d talked to him and mentioned something about tar heroin and all that stuff.
DISPATCHER: Talked to who?
MR. WILKEY: My neighbor next door.
DISPATCHER: And was talking to him about heroin?
MR. WILKEY: Yeah, tar heroin.
[[Image here]]
DISPATCHER: .... Okay. Do you know what she was writing down?
MR. WILKEY: No.
DISPATCHER: What address on Queensway Drive was she last seen at?
MR. WILKEY: She was just here at mine a few minutes ago at 4015.
DISPATCHER: Is she white or black?
MR. WILKEY: She’s white.
DISPATCHER: Hold on just a moment, please.
[[Image here]]
DISPATCHER: What’s the license plate number on that vehicle, sir?
MR. WILKEY: [License number omitted.]
[[Image here]]
DISPATCHER: What state is that?
MR. WILKEY: Seattle, Washington.
[521]*521She said something about her and her husband staying in a motel and everything.
* ⅜ *
DISPATCHER: All right. Officers are already on the way. They’ll be out there to speak with you shortly.
If she leaves before they get out there to check the area, could you give us a call back and let us know which way she goes?
MR. WILKEY: Okay.

The following day, Mr. Wilkey completed a written statement detailing what had happened:

On 6-28-2006 a Lady driven a Buick Lasaber stoped at my driveway and ask me if I would sell 2 berrlles and i said they belong to my Naber. She had her paints unbuttoned & unzipped. She acked like she was under the Influence of something. She was a dirty Blound wereing Blue shirt & Blue Jeans. [Spelling and grammatical errors in original.]

The record also includes an unofficial transcript of the dispatch tape, which reads in pertinent part as follows:

DIS: 47. 38. Suspicious person complaint, the 4000 block off of Queensway Drive off of Lesser Harris and Bottom Street. A white female in a dark blue LeSabre that’s out walking around asking people about 218A.2
[[Image here]]
DIS: 38 and 47, that dark blue LeSa-bre’s going to have a Washington tag. [License number omitted.] They don’t know who she is, but they’re going to call us back if the vehicle leaves before you arrive.

Deputy Eddie McGuire of the McCracken County Sheriffs Department responded to the call and proceeded to the Queens-way Drive area. The subject of the complaint was no longer in the area, but on his way back into town, Deputy McGuire came upon a blue Buick LeSabre with Washington license plates in the right lane with the left blinker flashing. The dispatch transcript reflects: “I just passed her. Going to try to find her. See if she’ll pass me again. I think she’s gonna turn off now. Coming up on Cairo and 60.” When Deputy McGuire pulled his cruiser behind the LeSabre, the driver turned on the right turn signal and pulled off to the right side of the road. Deputy McGuire then turned on his lights and pulled up behind the LeSabre. We note that the record contains a videotape of the cruiser cam video; unfortunately, there is no audio recording attached to the video.

Deputy McGuire approached the driver’s side of the stopped vehicle and had the driver step out. The driver was Rachel Leatherman, and a records check showed that there were no active warrants for her arrest. Deputy McGuire noticed that Leatherman had glassy eyes, that her pants were unbuttoned and unzipped, and that a pant leg was rolled up. He also noticed that she was nervous and fidgety. Deputy McGuire then performed field sobriety tests. On the horizontal gaze nys-tagmus (HGN) test, Leatherman showed six clues that indicated impairment. A breath test and later blood tests revealed that there were no drugs or alcohol in Leatherman’s system.

When Deputy McGuire asked her about the 911 call, Leatherman referred to Mr. Wilkey as a snitch. She admitted to having been in the Queensway Drive area and [522]*522to asking a man about some barrels. She also stated that she was on several prescription medications, including Adderall, Metoprolol, and Clonazepam. By this time a second deputy, Deputy Jason Walters, had arrived. Leatherman consented to a search of her car, during which they found a bottle of prescription medication, a full cup of beer in the console, and a recorked bottle of wine on the floor of the passenger side. They did not find any illegal drugs during the search.

Deputy McGuire requested that a female officer respond to the scene to perform a search of Leatherman. Paducah Police Officer Gretchen Dawes responded, obtained consent to search, and performed a thorough search of Leatherman, including the front and back pockets of her jeans, the rolled up pants legs, and under her T-shirt. The search is depicted in the cruiser cam video. Officer Dawes did not find any weapons or illegal drugs on her person. Following this search, Deputy McGuire arrested Leatherman for DUI, handcuffed her, and placed her in the back seat of his cruiser. The three officers then performed another search of her vehicle, including the trunk. Again, no illegal drugs were found.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
357 S.W.3d 518, 2011 Ky. App. LEXIS 11, 2011 WL 181251, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leatherman-v-commonwealth-kyctapp-2011.