McDonald v. State

130 So. 3d 102, 2013 WL 2996118, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 359
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJune 18, 2013
DocketNo. 2012-KA-00023-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 130 So. 3d 102 (McDonald v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDonald v. State, 130 So. 3d 102, 2013 WL 2996118, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 359 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ISHEE, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. John Edward McDonald was indicted in the First Judicial District of Hinds County Circuit .Court for possession of more than one kilogram of marijuana with intent to distribute. McDonald was pulled over in the parking lot of his apartment complex based on an informant’s tip. He was then questioned, and he consented to a search of his vehicle. After a trial, McDonald was convicted and sentenced as a subsequent drug offender to sixty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). McDonald now appeals arguing: (1) the statements elicited during the traffic stop should be suppressed, and his consent to search his vehicle was not voluntary; (2) his post-Miranda1 silence was improperly introduced at trial; (8) his pri- or drug offenses were improperly introduced at trial; and (4) the indictment was not properly amended to include his status as a subsequent drug offender. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. On September 23, 2009, Hinds County Sheriffs Deputy Mick Brown and Jackson Police Officer Roy Dickerson conducted a routine traffic stop. During the stop, they discovered the driver was in possession of marijuana, and arrested the unnamed individual. Thereafter, the unnamed individual told the police officers that he knew where they could locate ten pounds of marijuana. According to the unnamed individual, the marijuana would be in a black bag in the trunk of a dark-colored rental car parked in the back of a car wash on Beasley Road in Jackson, Mississippi. He further stated a black male would be driving the vehicle. The officers then relayed the information to Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) Agent Casey Dennis.

¶ 3. After receiving the information, Agent Dennis and his partner proceeded to the car wash on Beasley Road. When they arrived, they observed a dark-colored vehicle being driven by a black male exiting the car wash. They then saw a paper “U-Save Car Rental” tag on the back of the car. The agents followed the vehicle down Beasley Road and the vehicle pulled into an apartment complex. As the vehicle pulled into a parking space, the agents initiated a traffic stop based on an improperly displayed tag.

¶ 4. After parking the vehicle, McDonald exited the car, locked the doors, and handed the keys to a woman who had approached him. Agent Dennis then approached McDonald, asked for his driver’s license, and told him he had been stopped due to an improperly displayed tag. Agent Dennis asked if he could search McDonald’s vehicle. McDonald replied: “I know my rights, get a warrant.” Agent Dennis called dispatch to determine whether McDonald had any outstanding warrants. He also checked the vehicle’s vehicle identification number, and called for a K-9 unit.

¶ 5. Agent Dennis pulled McDonald to the side to discuss the informant’s tip. According to Agent Dennis, McDonald was not under arrest at this time and was not handcuffed or restrained from leaving in any way. Agent Dennis also stated that McDonald’s car was not blocked from leaving. Accordingly, McDonald was not given any Miranda warning. However, McDonald disputed this version of the events. He testified that he was, in fact, handcuffed and prevented from leaving. He further asserted that he asked for an attorney during the questioning; however, [107]*107the questioning continued, and an attorney was not provided.

¶ 6. Agent Dennis asked McDonald about the allegations that had been made about him. McDonald admitted he was previously in possession of ten pounds of marijuana but that he had given it to his brother. He also admitted that he had a “smoke sack” in the car and was willing to provide information regarding forty pounds of marijuana in exchange for leniency. Agent Dennis reportedly told McDonald that if the amount of marijuana was less than an ounce, he would not be arrested. McDonald denied telling Agent Dennis any of this information.

¶ 7. Agent Dennis and McDonald walked over to McDonald’s vehicle. McDonald motioned to the woman holding the keys. The woman brought the keys to McDonald, and he then handed them to Agent Dennis. Agent Dennis opened the trunk and found a black gym bag. When they opened the bag, they discovered numerous ziplock bags containing marijuana, digital scales, and a box of ziplock bags. In addition to these items, Agent Dennis found two hotel receipts from June 14, 2009. McDonald was then arrested. When he was taken into custody, they discovered $2,818 on his person.

¶ 8. McDonald denied that the drugs were his. He claimed that the first time he saw the drugs was when Agent Dennis opened the trunk. While he acknowledged that the receipts found in the bag were his, he stated that he did not know how they got in the bag. McDonald further stated that the money found on his person was to pay the individual painting his car.

¶ 9. On November 3, 2009, McDonald was indicted by a Hinds County grand jury. He was charged as a subsequent drug offender for possession of marijuana in an amount of more than one kilogram with the intent to distribute. The indictment further charged that the offense occurred within 1,500 feet of a church building in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated section 41-29-142 (Rev.2009). After a trial on the matter, McDonald was convicted and sentenced as a subsequent drug offender to sixty years in the custody of the MDOC. McDonald now appeals.

DISCUSSION

I. Suppression of Evidence and Admissions

A. Unreasonable Detention

¶ 10. McDonald does not challenge the initial traffic stop. He acknowledges that stopping the vehicle for an improperly displayed tag was appropriate. However, McDonald contends that once the officer determined that the tag had been applied for and no other issues were present, the justification for the stop ended. Therefore, any further withholding constituted an unreasonable detention.

¶ 11. Routine traffic stops are noncustodial investigatory stops, and we treat them as a Terry2 stop. United States v. Brigham, 382 F.3d 500, 506 (5th Cir.2004) (citation omitted). When considering the legality of a Terry stop, “[appellate courts] first examine whether the officer’s action was justified at its inception, and then inquire whether the officer’s subsequent actions were reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the stop.” Id. The “detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop, unless further reasonable suspicion, supported by articulable facts, emerges.” Id. at 507. Reasonable suspicion for an [108]*108investigatory traffic stop “may be based on an officer’s personal observation or an informant’s tip if it bears an indicia of reliability.” Floyd v. City of Crystal Springs, 749 So.2d 110, 118 (¶ 30) (Miss.1999) (citation omitted).

¶ 12. Here, the justification for the teaffic stop was twofold. As McDonald admits, the officer was justified in stopping the car for an improperly displayed tag. However, the traffic stop was also appropriate based on the informant’s tip. The tip was sufficiently reliable to justify the traffic stop. The informant stated there would be a dark-colored rental vehicle being driven by a black male at a car wash on Beasley Road.

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Bluebook (online)
130 So. 3d 102, 2013 WL 2996118, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 359, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonald-v-state-missctapp-2013.