People v. Prentice

64 V.I. 79
CourtSuperior Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedFebruary 23, 2016
DocketCase Nos. SX-14-CR-274, SX-14-CR-275
StatusPublished

This text of 64 V.I. 79 (People v. Prentice) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Prentice, 64 V.I. 79 (visuper 2016).

Opinion

MOLLOY, Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(February 23, 2016)

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on a Motion to Suppress Evidence filed by Defendant Shaquan Prentice on December 23, 2014. On May 28, 2015 and June 1, 2015, the Court held a suppression hearing. Assistant Attorney General Royette Russell appeared for the People of the Virgin Islands (“the People”). Public Defender Nesha ChristianHendrickson appeared for Defendant Shaquan Prentice (“Prentice”). Attorney Charles Lockwood appeared for Defendant Shaquielle Correa [87]*87(“Correa”). At the suppression hearing, Correa orally moved to join Prentice’s Motion to Suppress.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

This matter arises out of an incident that is alleged to have occurred on or about August 1, 2014, from which Defendants are charged with the following offenses: (1) Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 2253(a); (2) Possession of Ammunition in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 2256(a); (3) Failure to Report Firearms Obtained Outside or Brought Into the Virgin Islands in violation of 23 V.I.C. § 470(a); (4) Importation of Firearm without a License in violation of 14 V.I.C. § 467(a); (5) Possession of a Firearm with Altered or Obliterated Identifying Marks in violation of 23 V.I.C. § 481(b); and (6) Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute in violation of 19 V.I.C. § 604(a)(1). Additionally, Prentice is individually charged with Simple Possession of a Controlled Substance in violation of 19 V.I.C. § 607(a).

According to the testimony at the suppression hearing, at approximately midnight, Officer Kai Joseph (“Officer Joseph”) received a call from an acquaintance describing a suspicious white vehicle driving back and forth in front of, or “casing,” an area in the Estate Williams Delight Housing Community. Officer Joseph transmitted the information to Police Officer Gregory Bennerson (“Officer Bennerson”), who drove to the area and shortly thereafter observed a white vehicle with the license plate number matching that described by 911 dispatch parked at Plot 204 in William’s Delight. The vehicle drove away from Plot 204, and Officer Bennerson followed it. Officer Bennerson testified that, upon observing that the vehicle had heavily tinted side windows, he activated his lights and siren. The vehicle came to a stop near Plot 213 in Williams Delight, and Officer Bennerson directed, over his PA system, that the driver step out of the vehicle and produce his driver’s license and vehicle documents. However, over the course of approximately twenty-two (22) seconds, the driver, later identified as Prentice, opened his door, looked back at Officer Bennerson, shut the door, and drove away. Officer Bennerson again activated his lights and siren, continued to follow the vehicle, and he testified that he observed that Prentice made a left hand turn down a side street, for which he failed to signal. Officer Bennerson followed the vehicle until it came to a stop.

[88]*88Officer Bennerson testified that he observed that the driver and passenger were both reaching towards the backseat and rummaging around, so, concerned for his safety and that of his backup officers (who arrived in a separate vehicle), Officer Wyrzykowski and Officer Guzman, Officer Bennerson exited his vehicle and commanded the Defendants to exit their vehicle. The officers had their weapons drawn downwards at a 45-degree angle for the duration of the interaction with the Defendants. Officer Bennerson ordered the Defendants to put their hands on the roof of the car, and they complied. Citing officer safety concerns, the officers performed a “pat down” of the Defendants’ outer clothing for weapons. In patting down Prentice, Officer Wyrzykowski felt hard objects in Prentice’s pockets, and he removed them. Upon inspection, they turned out to be two vials of marijuana, a cell phone, and a glasses case full of marijuana.

Once the pat-down was completed, the officers and the Defendants moved to the rear of the car, and the Defendants followed Officer Bennerson’s instructions to place their hands on the vehicle. Officer Bennerson testified that he observed the Defendants’ demeanor to be very nervous, and that this, combined with the other circumstances, caused him to believe that “something was up.” He asked Prentice if he could search the vehicle. Officer Bennerson and Officer Wyrzykowski both testified that Prentice remained silent, initially. He asked again, and Prentice responded: “Yeah.” Officer Bennerson then asked Prentice for his license, registration, and proof of insurance. Prentice indicated that he did not have his driver’s license on his person and that the vehicle was a rental. Officer Wyrzykowski then proceeded to search the vehicle, beginning with the front of the car. He retrieved a brown paper bag on the floor of the driver’s side of the vehicle, and inside it, found a green, leafy substance that later tested positive as marijuana. Officer Wyrzykowski testified that he then opened the left rear door of the vehicle, and he observed what he recognized to be about Va inch of a gun’s muzzle sticking out from under a towel and a trash bag on the back seat of the car. He then yelled out, “Gun, gun!” Defendants were then placed into handcuffs, read their Miranda rights by Officer Bennerson, and transported to the Wilbur H. Francis Police Station. There, a police detective confirmed that neither individual had a license to carry or possess a firearm.

Detective Robert Kressley, the forensics officer with the Virgin Islands Police Department who processed the scene in this matter, testified at the [89]*89suppression hearing that the items that he collected included a quantity of green leafy substance which tested positive for the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, a CN Romania semi-automatic rifle with an obliterated serial number, and two 30-round magazines of ammunition (one internal, one external).

On December 23, 2014, Prentice filed his Motion to Suppress Evidence. Therein, he alleges that the stop, search, and subsequent seizure of his person were unlawful, and accordingly, the physical evidence and statements collected as a result of the stop, search, and seizure should be suppressed. Def.’s Mot. to Suppress, at 2-8.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV. To protect these rights, the Supreme Court has held that evidence obtained through unreasonable searches and seizures is excluded from use in criminal prosecutions. Mapp v. Ohio, 361 U.S. 643, 654-57, 81 S. Ct. 1684, 6 L. Ed. 2d 1081, 86 Ohio Law Abs. 513 (1961). Reasonableness is an objective inquiry measured by examining the totality of the circumstances surrounding the search or seizure and the nature of the search or seizure itself. United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 537, 105 S. Ct. 3304, 87 L. Ed. 2d 381 (1985); Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 39, 117 S. Ct. 417, 136 L. Ed. 2d 347 (1996). As a general rule, warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 133, 110 S. Ct. 2301, 110 L. Ed. 2d 112 (1990).

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Bluebook (online)
64 V.I. 79, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-prentice-visuper-2016.