People v. Zuccarini

431 N.W.2d 446, 172 Mich. App. 11
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 3, 1988
DocketDocket 99717
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 431 N.W.2d 446 (People v. Zuccarini) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan 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. Zuccarini, 431 N.W.2d 446, 172 Mich. App. 11 (Mich. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinions

C. W. Simon, Jr., J.

Following a bench trial, defendant was convicted of possession of cocaine in an amount of 50 grams or more, but less than 225 grams, MCL 333.7403(2)(a)(iii); MSA 14.15(7403)(2)(a)(iii). He was sentenced to ten to twenty years’ imprisonment. Defendant appeals as of right, seeking resentencing and challenging the admissibility of evidence seized and statements he made during the execution of a search warrant at his home on August 15, 1986. We affirm.

Defendant first claims that his statements on where the cocaine was located in his home should have been suppressed as the "fruit of the poisonous tree” stemming from his illegal arrest during the execution of the search warrant. Defendant raised this issue in a pretrial motion to suppress the statements, and the parties agreed that the trial court could rule on the motion as an evidentiary objection during the course of the bench trial. The court found that defendant was lawfully detained, and not arrested, at the time of the search, and we can find no clear error in this finding. See People v Toodle, 155 Mich App 539, 542-543; 400 NW2d 670 (1986).

In Michigan v Summers, 452 US 692, 705; 101 S Ct 2587; 69 L Ed 2d 340 (1981), the United States Supreme Court held that "a warrant to search for contraband founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to detain the [14]*14occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted.”

Here, defendant was the first of five individuals at his home with whom the police came in contact during the execution of the warrant. His detention and handcuffing occurred at a time when the police were attempting to gain control over the area to be searched. According to Officer Patricia Goulah, she took control of defendant outside the house near the back door while other officers went inside. After defendant assisted her in chaining up three dogs in the yard, Officer Goulah handcuffed defendant mainly for safety reasons and because she heard what sounded like a lot of people running inside the house. Officer Goulah then took defendant inside the house where the officer in charge, Corporal Hohl, advised defendant of his Miranda1 rights and explained the search warrant to him. Afterwards, defendant showed Corporal Hohl where the cocaine was located.

This evidentiary record supports the trial court’s finding that defendant was detained but not arrested. We conclude that Officer Goulah’s handcuffing of defendant was a reasonable, limited intrusion of his liberty under the circumstances then present. The search for narcotics is the kind of transaction which may give rise to sudden violence, and the minimization of risk of harm to both the police and the occupants by exercising unquestionable command over the situation is a legitimate interest which must be considered in determining whether the detention was justified. 452 US 702. At trial, Officer Goulah articulated sufficient facts to justify her safety concern. Once inside the house, the fact that defendant was then advised of his Miranda rights by Corporal Hohl did [15]*15not necessarily mean that he was under arrest. See People v Hill, 429 Mich 382, 394; 415 NW2d 193 (1987) (discussing the focus test applied by some panels of this Court to the issue of whether a Miranda warning was required at the time of the search in this case). To the contrary, the testimony introduced prior to the court’s ruling indicated that Corporal Hohl sufficiently informed defendant that whether or not he would be arrested depended on the result of the search.

Since we affirm the trial court’s finding that defendant was not arrested, it follows that we must reject defendant’s argument that his statements and other evidence seized were inadmissible as the "fruit of the poisonous tree” stemming from an illegal arrest.

Defendant also claims that the evidence of the items seized should have been suppressed because the warrant was overly broad. We disagree. Under both federal constitutional law and Michigan search and seizure law, the purpose of the particularization requirement in the description of items to be seized is to provide reasonable guidance to the executing officers and to prevent their exercise of undirected discretion in determining what is subject to seizure. MCL 780.654; MSA 28.1259(4); People v Taylor, 93 Mich App 292; 287 NW2d 210 (1979), lv den 408 Mich 928 (1980); United States v LeBron, 729 F2d 533, 536 (CA 8, 1984). The degree of specificity required depends on the circumstances and types of items involved. United States v Kail, 804 F2d 441, 445 (CA 8, 1986).

We have considered each of defendant’s objections to the descriptions in the search warrant and conclude that the warrant, on its face, was not overly broad. The descriptions "All money and property acquired through the traffiking [sic] of narcotics” and "Ledgers, records or paperwork [16]*16showing traffiking [sic] in narcotics” were sufficiently particular to pass constitutional muster since the executing officers’ discretion in determining what was subject to seizure was limited to items related to drug trafficking. See LeBron, supra, p 538 (noting that a reference in a warrant to the specific illegal activity gives a substantial limitation to the executing officers’ discretion); United States v Savoca, 761 F2d 292 (CA 6, 1985), cert den 474 US 852 (1985) (warrant commanding seizure of "US Currency” not overly broad where there is probable cause to support that breadth). The warrant here was supported by an affidavit setting forth probable cause to believe that defendant’s house was being used for illegal drug trafficking and that defendant was involved in this activity. Testing the description in the warrant of the items to be seized, as we must, in a "commonsense and realistic manner,” United States v Gomez-Soto, 723 F2d 649, 653 (CA 9, 1984), cert den 466 US 977 (1984), it is clear that the officers’ discretion was limited to searching for items connected to that illegal activity.

Defendant’s objection to the description "Paperwork showing residency” is similarly without merit since the description provided a substantial limitation on the executing officers’ discretion. See United States v Honore, 450 F2d 31, 33 (CA 9, 1971), cert den 404 US 1048 (1972). Finally, we find that the description "All firearms” was not overly broad since specific facts were alleged in the affidavit indicating that the house was the site for drug trafficking, and it was further alleged that firearms are often kept by persons involved in drug use for protection and potential use during drug transactions. A general description, such as "weapons,” is not overly broad if probable cause exists to allow such breadth. Savoca, supra, p 298.

[17]*17Defendant next contends that the seized evidence should have been suppressed because, it is claimed, the executing officers did not comply with the "knock and announce” statute, MCL 780.656; MSA 28.1259(6). Defendant did not raise this issue below and, thus, it is not properly preserved for appeal. People v Juarez, 158 Mich App 66, 71; 404 NW2d 222 (1987). In any event, the entry is lawful if there is substantial compliance with the requirements of the statute. People v Slater, 151 Mich App 432, 440; 390 NW2d 260 (1986), and see People v Charles Brown, 43 Mich App 74, 90; 204 NW2d 41 (1972).

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People v. Zuccarini
431 N.W.2d 446 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
431 N.W.2d 446, 172 Mich. App. 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-zuccarini-michctapp-1988.