Roach v. State

7 So. 3d 932, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 538, 2007 WL 2367757
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedAugust 21, 2007
Docket2005-KA-00237-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 7 So. 3d 932 (Roach 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
Roach v. State, 7 So. 3d 932, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 538, 2007 WL 2367757 (Mich. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

IRVING, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. Jimmie Roach was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine and possession of hydromorphone and was sentenced by the Hinds County Circuit Court to forty-eight years for the cocaine possession and sixty years for the hydromorphone possession, both as a habitual offender, with the sentences to run consecutively in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Aggrieved, Roach appeals and submits the following contentions of error: (1) that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress the search warrant and its fruits, (2) that the court erred in refusing to order the State to reveal the identity of its confidential informant, (3) that the court erred in failing to grant a mistrial after a defense witness was arrested after testifying, (4) that the court erred in refusing to grant Petrice Roach’s motion for a directed verdict, (5) that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction, and (6) that his sentence violates the Eighth Amendment. We find merit in Roach’s contention that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress, and we therefore reverse and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

¶ 2. On January 22, 2003, Officer Richard Spooner, an investigator with the Hinds County Sheriffs Department, was contacted by Officer Shannon Bullock, who was also an investigator with the department. Officer Bullock told Officer Spoon-er that a confidential informant (Cl) had indicated that he had seen contraband at Roach’s residence. Officer Spooner, Officer Bullock, and the Cl met, and the Cl made a controlled purchase of crack cocaine from Roach at Roach’s residence. Officer Spooner testified that field tests of the purchased substance confirmed that it was crack cocaine.

¶ 3. The next day, Officer Spooner presented an affidavit to Judge Mike Parker in order to obtain a search warrant for Roach’s residence. The controlled buy was not mentioned in the affidavit, but Officer Spooner indicated that he knew the Cl and that the Cl had provided him with “information in the past.” Officer Spoon-er’s affidavit further averred that the information provided in the past had “proven to be true and correct regarding the trafficking of illicit narcotics.” Officer Spoon-er swore in the affidavit that the Cl was known by him “to be a truthful, credible, and a reliable source of information.” There is no indication that any information other than the affidavit was given to Judge Parker. A search warrant was subse[934]*934quently issued for Roach’s residence and was executed the same day, January 23.

¶ 4. Five people were detained and questioned as a result of the search, including Roach and his wife, Petrice Roach. The house was searched, and cocaine and hy-dromorphone were found inside. A large amount of the drugs was found in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen, and Officer Spooner testified that Roach was standing within arm’s reach of the drugs when the officers entered the room. The other individuals detained were all found outside the house. AH the individuals denied any knowledge of the illegal drugs.

¶ 5. At trial, John Henry Clark Jr. testified that he was also present at the house immediately prior to the execution of the search warrant. Clark testified that he ran out of the back door of the house when he saw the officers because he had hydro-morphone and cocaine on his person. Officers testified that no one was observed running from the house. Furthermore, Clark admitted during cross-examination that he suffers from severe health problems and has trouble walking. Clark also admitted that he has falsely taken responsibility for illegal drugs before. After his testimony, the court ordered that Clark be arrested.

¶ 6. Petrice and Roach were tried together. At the close of all the evidence, the court directed a verdict in favor of Petrice due to the fact that insufficient evidence had been presented to indicate her possession of the drugs. Thereafter, Roach was convicted by the jury and sentenced by the court to a total of 108 years for the two counts.

¶ 7. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related during our analysis and discussion of the issues.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

1. Suppression of Search Warrant

¶ 8. A search warrant is improperly issued, and reversal is required, when there is “an absence of substantial credible evidence to support” its issuance. Culp v. State, 933 So.2d 264, 271(¶ 10) (Miss.2006) (citing Magee v. State, 542 So.2d 228, 231 (Miss.1989)). The issuing court must have had a “substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed.” Id. (citing Petti v. State, 666 So.2d 754, 757 (Miss.1995)). Probable cause exists when “a man of average caution [would believe] that a crime has been committed and that a particular individual committed it.” State v. Woods, 866 So.2d 422, 426(¶ 11) (Miss.2003) (quoting Strode v. State, 231 So.2d 779, 782 (Miss.1970)). “The task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, common-sense decision based on all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the ‘veracity’ and ‘basis of knowledge’ of persons supplying hearsay information.” Id. at 425(¶ 10) (quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)).

¶ 9. When a Cl is used to obtain a search warrant, the informant’s observations must be shown to be “truthful or reliable.” Id. at 426(¶ 14). As noted by the Woods court, corroboration of a Cl’s information “usually ... consists of a statement that the officer had successfully used the Cl in the past ... or that the suspect had a prior criminal record relating to the current investigation ... or that an undercover agent had seen the suspect engaging in behavior consistent with the current investigation.... ” Id. (citations omitted). If an affidavit does not contain any corroborating evidence of a Cl’s truthfulness and reliability, probable cause does not exist for the issuance of a search warrant. Id. at 426-27(¶ 14). In Woods, [935]*935probable cause was found lacking where the issuing magistrate testified that he found probable cause solely because the Cl personally observed the contraband and because the address and vehicle descriptions given by the informant were accurate. Id. at 427 (¶¶ 15-16).

¶ 10. The underlying facts and circumstances attached to the affidavit used to obtain a warrant in this case read:

On the morning of Thursday, January 23, 2003, I, Investigator R.W. Spooner, received information from a Confidential Informant that cocaine was being stored and sold from a residence located at 217 Foxboro Drive, Jackson, Mississippi. This Confidential Informant has observed cocaine being stored and distributed from this location within the last twenty-four hours and has identified the owner of this residence to be a black male known only to the Confidential Informant as “Jimmy Roach.”
This Confidential Informant, having furnished me with information in the past that has proven to be true and correct regarding the trafficking of illicit narcotics, is known by me to be a truthful, credible, and a reliable source of information.
Based upon these underlying facts and circumstances, I, Investigator R.W.

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Related

Roach v. State
116 So. 3d 126 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2013)
Roach v. State
116 So. 3d 149 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2012)
Jimmie Roach v. State of Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2010

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Bluebook (online)
7 So. 3d 932, 2007 Miss. App. LEXIS 538, 2007 WL 2367757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roach-v-state-missctapp-2007.