Lundy v. Commonwealth

511 S.W.3d 398, 2017 WL 382409, 2017 Ky. App. LEXIS 22
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJanuary 27, 2017
DocketNO. 2015-CA-000451-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 511 S.W.3d 398 (Lundy 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
Lundy v. Commonwealth, 511 S.W.3d 398, 2017 WL 382409, 2017 Ky. App. LEXIS 22 (Ky. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

THOMPSON, JUDGE:

A Nelson Circuit Court jury found Mark Lundy guilty of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and, after the penalty phase, recommended a total sentence of twelve-months’ incarceration and a $5,000 fine. A final judgment of conviction was entered in accordance with the jury’s recommended sentence.

Mark alleges the following errors: (1) there was no consent to the search of a freezer and outbuilding located on his property; (2) the searches of a locked freezer and an outbuilding were beyond the scope of the search warrant and the items seized were not in plain view in violation of the Fourth Amendment; (3) he was entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal because the Commonwealth failed to prove the plant material seized from his residence met the definition of marijuana in Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 218A.010(22); and (4) he was entitled to a jury instruction defining hemp. We conclude that consent is not an issue because the search was pursuant to a valid search warrant and within its scope. We also conclude that Mark was not entitled to a directed verdict and that there was no error in the instructions.

Mark was shot at his residence by his wife, Jill Lundy.2 Mark fled the residence in his truck in an effort to get to a hospital. In the meantime, Jill called 911 and reported the incident. Following a search of the residence by law enforcement officers and the discovery of marijuana on the premises, Mark was indicted on various felony charges including cultivating and trafficking marijuana, five or more pounds. He was also charged with misdemeanor offenses of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Mark filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized during the search of his residence. At a suppression hearing, the trial court heard testimony from Nelson County Deputy Sheriff Brian Voils, Nelson County Sheriff Department Detectives Jason Allison and Jonathon Snow, Detective Mike Watts of the Greater Hardin County Narcotic Task Force and Jill.

On April 21, 2014, Jill telephoned the Nelson County 911 dispatcher and reported she shot Mark at their residence located at 7451 Woodlawn Road in Bardstown. She informed the dispatcher that she shot at Mark five times and left the .38 revolver on the kitchen table. Jill then waited on the front porch for officers to arrive.

Voils and Nelson County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Cox responded to the call. Voils testified that upon his arrival, Jill identi[401]*401fied herself as the shooter and told him the .38 revolver was on the kitchen table. According to Voils, when Voils told her he needed to enter the residence to secure the weapon, Jill responded by stating “fíne.” He entered the residence and found an unloaded .38 revolver on the kitchen table. He then went outside to wait for detectives to arrive. Jill denied that she consented to Voils’s entry into the residence.

Snow arrived and Voils informed him that a firearm was on the kitchen table. Snow then contacted Allison who agreed to obtain a search warrant.

In the affidavit for a search warrant, Allison stated that he received information Jill reported to 911 she shot Mark and, when law enforcement arrived at the scene, stated she shot Mark because he was coming at her with a wine bottle. The affidavit further stated that Snow observed blood outside in the parking area and on the door.

A search warrant was issued permitting law' enforcement officers to search the premises' at 7451 Woodlawn Road, Bards-town, Kentucky, described as a “[t]an metal building with attached garage and awning with red metal roof and out building.” The warrant authorized the officers- to seize “firearms and ammunition, firearm accessories, shell casings, projectiles, wine bottles and any blood evidence.”

Upon executing the warrant, in the kitchen, officers discovered marijuana, scales, and scissors, which appeared to have been used to cut marijuana. Several bags of marijuana were also found in a locked deep freezer in the garage. The officers then proceeded to an outbuilding located approximately five parking spaces from the garage.

Allison obtained access to the outbuilding by using his driver’s license to unlock the door. During the search, officers observed light emanating from beneath a board on the floor and, after removing the floor board, observed what appeared to be an indoor marijuana grow operation. At that point, the Greater Hardin County Narcotic Task Force was called. Snow, Allison and the other Nelson County Sheriff Department officers proceeded to collect evidence related to their shooting investigation.

Watts and other officers of the Task Force responded to the scene without obtaining a separate warrant to search for and seize any drugs. Upon arrival, the Task Force officers were informed of the drug paraphernalia and marijuana found in the kitchen, garage freezer, and outbuilding. A total of 385 marijuana plants were found in the outbuilding, 12.6 pounds of marijuana was found in the freezer, along with a bag of seed. The Task Force officers seized those items and continued to conduct their own search.

A bag of mushrooms was found in a cabinet and additional marijuana in the refrigerator. The Task Force also removed .a computer, lawnmowers, 4-wheelers, paint sprayers, boats and trailer as goods purchased with drug proceeds and a safe from the bedroom. .After obtaining a search warrant for the safe, the Task Force officers found pills,, an unknown substance, and additional firearms inside.

The circuit court found that Jill consented to the entry into the residence for the purpose of securing the weapon used to shoot Mark based on its finding that Voils’s testimony was the more credible than Jill’s. It also rejected Mark’s contention that the search conducted by the Sheriffs Department exceeded the scope of the warrant.

The tidal court found that the items specified in the warrant were relevant to law enforcement’s shooting investigation [402]*402and the warrant expressly permitted law enforcement to enter the premises, garage, and outbuilding. It further found that ammunition and shell casings were small items which could be placed in containers such as drawers, boxes and freezers. Consequently, the marijuana and drug paraphernalia found by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Department were not suppressed.

However, the trial court ruled that once the law enforcement officers’ search for evidence relevant to the shooting investigation was complete, the search should have ceased. It concluded that the Task Force’s search of the premises without an additional search warrant was unconstitutional and all evidence discovered and seized by the Task Force in the second search was suppressed.

We apply different standards of review to the trial court’s factual findings and to its legal conclusions. “A more deferential standard of review applies to the trial court’s factual findings than to its legal coñclusíons[.]” Payton v. Commonwealth, 327 S.W.3d 468, 471 (Ky. 2010). As explained in Commonwealth v. Neal, 84 S.W.3d 920, 923 (Ky. App. 2002) (footnotes omitted):

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
511 S.W.3d 398, 2017 WL 382409, 2017 Ky. App. LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lundy-v-commonwealth-kyctapp-2017.