Norman Thomas, II v. State of Indiana

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided May 5, 2025·No. 24A-CR-01731·Published

Opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana FILED

Norman Thomas, II,

May 05 2025, 8:51 am

Appellant-Defendant CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

May 5, 2025

Court of Appeals Case No.

24A-CR-1731

Appeal from the Hendricks Superior Court The Honorable Mark A. Smith, Judge Trial Court Cause No.

32D04-2301-F5-13

Opinion by Judge Tavitas

Judges Felix and DeBoer concur.

Tavitas, Judge.

Case Summary 1 [1] In this interlocutory appeal, Norman Thomas II appeals the denial of his

motion to suppress drug evidence obtained during a search of his home pursuant to two search warrants. Thomas argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress because both search warrants were invalid and because the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule does not apply to either search. We conclude that the first search warrant is invalid because it was unsupported by probable cause and the items listed as sought to be searched were not sufficiently particularized. Furthermore, the good-faith exception does not apply to the first search. Because the first search was invalid, the second search was necessarily invalid as well, and the evidence obtained from the searches must be suppressed. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the trial court.

Issues [2] Thomas raises three issues; however, we find the following two issues

dispositive:

I. Whether the first search warrant was valid under the Fourth Amendment.

1 We held oral argument at Mishawaka High School on March 28, 2025. We thank Mishawaka High School for their warm hospitality and excellent questions, and we thank counsel for their advocacy and preparedness.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1731 | May 5, 2025 Page 2 of 20

II. Whether the good-faith exception renders the first search valid.

Facts [3] On January 25, 2023, law enforcement officers with the Plainfield Police

Department received a report from James Laser that two Translift mobile home trailer lifters, each the size of a small car, were stolen from his business. Security camera footage showed that, at approximately 3:50 a.m. that morning, two vehicles with trailers—an SUV and a “black extended cab truck that was missing the bed”—pulled up to the lot.2 Ex. Vol. III p. 3. The video of the footage apparently did not capture the Translifts being loaded onto the vehicles and/or the Translifts being hauled away. Laser valued each Translift at $60,000. He claimed that one would need “knowledge of how to operate” the Translifts in order to load them onto the trailers. Id.

[4] Later that day, officers received a report that Laser had located what he believed to be the black truck depicted in the surveillance footage several miles away. The officers arrived at the reported location and located a truck matching the one from the surveillance footage parked on the public street beside Thomas’ residence at 10646 East County Road 100 South near the intersection with Kathy Lane. Miscellaneous “construction equipment and power tools” lay around the house. Id. A yard behind the house was

2 The security footage is not included in the record.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1731 | May 5, 2025 Page 3 of 20 surrounded by a six-to-eight-foot-tall privacy fence. The officers could not see over the fence into the yard, but they could see a small barn. The truck was parked on the public street near the gate to the yard.

[5] Law enforcement discovered that the black truck’s license plate was registered to a white Chevy. 3 Detective Sam Keifer applied for a search warrant to search the residence and surrounding property. The search warrant application listed items sought to be searched as: (1) “[a]ny and all papers, documents and other items of personal property that may aid in the identification of the individuals involved in the trafficking of controlled substances at the residence . . . ”; (2) safes; (3) “Construction Equipment”; and (4) “all other evidence pertaining to the theft investigation[.]” Id. at 4 (emphasis added). Although the search warrant application mentioned that law enforcement were seeking evidence related to the trafficking of controlled substances, the officers were only investigating the theft of the Translifts at this time.

[6] The search warrant was granted and executed later that day. During the search, officers did not locate the Translifts or any evidence related to the theft. The officers, however, did observe in plain view a glass smoking pipe on a desk in a room at the back of the house. The officers did not seize any evidence, but based on the discovery of the pipe, the officers applied for a second search

3 Additionally, “either the truck or the trailer” was registered to a man named Robby Ping. Tr. Vol. II p. 18. Law enforcement learned through further investigation that Ping and Thomas were friends and “had some sort of connection together.” Id. This information regarding Ping was only brought up through testimony during the suppression hearing; it was not included in the search warrant application.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1731 | May 5, 2025 Page 4 of 20 warrant to search for evidence of illegal drugs. The second search warrant was granted and executed, and officers seized the pipe, methamphetamine stored in various containers, and marijuana inside the residence.

[7] The State charged Thomas with: Count I, possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony; Count II, possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor; and Count III, possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. The State later amended the charging information to allege that Thomas was an habitual offender.

[8] On March 12, 2024, Thomas filed a motion to suppress evidence and requested a Franks hearing. 4 Thomas argued that: (1) neither search warrant was supported by probable cause; (2) the first search warrant did not “describe with particularity the places to be searched or the items to be seized”; and (3) the good-faith exception did not apply. Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 62.

[9] The trial court held a hearing on the motion to suppress on May 28, 2024. Detective Keifer explained that he sought to search the residence for documents regarding ownership of the truck and to search the yard for evidence regarding the theft of the Translifts. Detective Keifer further testified that the inclusion of language regarding trafficking in controlled substances in the first search warrant application was inadvertent; Detective Keifer “copied and pasted” text

4 See Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978). A Franks hearing is “[a] hearing at which the defendant is allowed to attack the validity of a search warrant[.]” Keeylen v. State, 14 N.E.3d 865, 870 n.3 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014), trans. denied.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 24A-CR-1731 | May 5, 2025 Page 5 of 20 from a template, and the reference to controlled substances was a “clerical error” that he “did not catch[.]” Tr. Vol. II p. 11.

[10] On June 5, 2024, the trial court issued an order finding that both search warrants were valid and denied the motion to suppress. The trial court certified the order for interlocutory appeal, which this Court accepted. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision [11] Thomas challenges the denial of his motion to suppress. When a trial court

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