People v. BRUNSTING

224 P.3d 259, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 323, 2009 WL 540672
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 5, 2009
Docket05CA2776
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 224 P.3d 259 (People v. BRUNSTING) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. BRUNSTING, 224 P.3d 259, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 323, 2009 WL 540672 (Colo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge CARPARELLL

Defendant, Lance Brunsting, appeals the judgment of conviction entered on jury verdicts finding him guilty of unlawful possession of a schedule II controlled substance and possession of chemicals or supplies to [261]*261manufacture a schedule II controlled substance. He contends that sheriffs deputies acting without a warrant unlawfully entered the backyard of the house in which he lived, and that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress the fruits of that unlawful search. According deference to the trial court's findings of historical fact and reviewing de novo its application of the legal standards to those facts, we conclude that the warrantless entry into and movement within the backyard was not justified under any recognized exception to the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment. U.S. Const. amend. IV; People v. Adkins, 113 P.3d 788, 791 (Colo.2005) (standard of review of trial court suppression rulings).

Therefore, we reverse and remand.

I. Undisputed Evidence

The salient facts are not in dispute. See People v. Valdez, 969 P.2d 208, 211 (Colo.1998) (in appellate review of suppression ruling, "[when the controlling facts are undisputed, the legal effect of those facts constitutes a question of law which is subject to de novo review").

Several sheriff's deputies responded to a ranch-style house about 11 p.m. Deputy C and Deputy E.S., who were the first to arrive, contacted Randy T., who had called dispatch to report that he had found his stolen vehicle parked in the driveway of the house. Deputy C testified that Randy T. told them a third person, whom he identified by name, had given him information relevant to the theft of his vehicle. Without providing further specificity, Randy T. reported that the third person told him he had talked with one of the people believed to have stolen the vehicle, that the latter had a gun at the time of that conversation, that the people involved in the theft of the vehicle were dangerous, that drugs were involved, and that the house had security cameras.

Sergeant D testified that, after he arrived at the scene, the other deputies told him that Randy T. had reported that a vehicle parked in the driveway was his and had been stolen. Sergeant D also testified that he understood that Randy T. was concerned that the individuals in the house had guns and were making methamphetamine. He testified that it was his understanding that Randy T. had approached the house and overheard people inside comment that they had guns. When the prosecution asked what he had heard about the methamphetamine, Sergeant D testified that he did not "exactly recall 100 percent."

The deputies saw several vehicles in the driveway of the house and on the sidewalk, including the vehicle that Randy T. alleged was his Not long after they arrived, the deputies saw a woman and her two daughters leave the house. The woman told Deputy C she was the owner of the house. When Deputy C told the woman they were investigating a report of a stolen vehicle, the woman became agitated, raised her voice, and denied stealing the vehicle. Suspecting that the woman was trying to alert those inside the house to the deputies' presence, Deputy C asked her to lower her voice. The woman complied and told him that the vehicle belonged to a person named Randy, that a man named Jeff had driven the vehicle to the house, and that Jeff was in the lower level of the house with three other people. When Deputy C asked for permission to enter the house, the woman loudly refused. Another deputy then escorted her away from the house and detained her while the other deputies continued their investigation.

Deputy C and Sergeant D looked in the vehicle and saw that the stereo and speakers had been removed. Deputy C testified that when inspecting the vehicle, he noticed there were several security cameras around the house. After some discussion, the deputies decided to go to the front door to attempt to contact those in the house. Deputy C testified that he then went to the west side of the house "to cover the backyard."

The entire backyard of the house was enclosed by fencing, most of which was a wooden privacy fence. However, on the northwest corner of the house, next to the garage, there was a chain link fence and gate through which Deputy C entered the yard. He testified that "[the main reason [he entered] was that if there was someone going to try to flee the residence when we made [262]*262contact, and also for officer safety reasons, in case someone would come around the house and come out to the front and engage [the deputies]." Deputy C also testified that he saw a video security camera mounted on the northwest corner of the west-facing garage. He stated that, to avoid being seen by anyone who might be monitoring the camera feed, he went to the end of the fence that separated the two yards, ran to the garage beneath the camera, and entered the yard through the gate. Onee in the yard, he positioned himself near bushes where it was dark.

From his position near the bushes, Deputy C saw "[a man's] head come out from the wall" where he was standing. Deputy C testified that the man looked in his direction, then in the other direction, and then disappeared back around the corner. Deputy C then drew his weapon, went around the corner, and told the man to stop and put his hands up. The man looked toward the stairs as if he was going to go down, but then stopped. Deputy C testified that he traveled about twenty feet from the bush to where the man was, put the man against sliding glass doors adjacent to the back door of the residence, and handcuffed him. He testified that he stopped the man for "officer safety reasons" and to prevent him from fleeing the scene.

As Deputy C began a pat-down search of the man, he saw a woman at the bottom of the stairs, told her to come out of the house, and handcuffed her. While he was doing so, he saw another man down the stairs, ordered him to come out, handcuffed him, and patted him down. Sergeant D testified that he heard Deputy C announce over the radio that three people had come out the back door, and that he heard this after he had gone to the front door, knocked a few times, and yelled "sheriff's office."

Defendant contends Deputy C's entry into the backyard was unlawful, and that it was the "poisonous tree" that tainted all the incriminating evidentiary "fruit" later discovered inside the house. We agree.

IL Analysis

A. Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

The Fourth Amendment protects "Itlhe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. Accordingly, government officials are generally required to obtain a warrant before conducting a search. See United States v. Karo, 468 U.S. 705, 714-15, 104 S.Ct. 3296, 3303, 82 L.Ed.2d 530 (1984) (stating that warrantless searches are presumptively unreasonable).

Courts have recognized that the curtilage immediately surrounding a private house is entitled to the same level of protection as is a residential dwelling because it harbors the "intimate activity associated with the 'sanctity of a [person's] home and the privacies of life"" Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 180, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 1742, 80 L.Ed.2d 214 (1984) (quoting Boyd v.

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Related

People v. Nelson
2012 COA 37 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2012)
People v. BRUNSTING
224 P.3d 259 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
224 P.3d 259, 2009 Colo. App. LEXIS 323, 2009 WL 540672, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-brunsting-coloctapp-2009.