Roebuck v. State

915 So. 2d 1132, 2005 WL 3299711
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 6, 2005
Docket2003-KA-01601-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 915 So. 2d 1132 (Roebuck 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
Roebuck v. State, 915 So. 2d 1132, 2005 WL 3299711 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

915 So.2d 1132 (2005)

Adam Wayne ROEBUCK, Appellant
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2003-KA-01601-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 6, 2005.

*1134 John R. McNeal, attorney for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jeffrey A. Klingfuss, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

BARNES, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. The appellant's motion for rehearing is granted. The original opinion is withdrawn and this opinion is substituted therefor.

¶ 2. A jury sitting before the Circuit Court of Leake County found Adam Wayne Roebuck guilty of possession of precursor drugs with the intent to manufacture crystal methamphetamine, in violation of Section 41-29-313(1)(a)(i) of the Mississippi Code Annotated (Rev.2001). The circuit court sentenced Roebuck to serve a ten-year sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Although Roebuck filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, a new trial, the circuit court denied those motions. Aggrieved, Roebuck *1135 appeals and asserts: (1) that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence based on a lack of probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant; (2) that the court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict, or in the alternative, JNOV, because the evidence against him was insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict; and (3) that the court erred by failing to grant a mistrial. We find that the trial court erred in denying Roebuck's motion to suppress, as the search warrant was invalid for lack of probable cause. As a result, the evidence obtained pursuant to the warrant must be suppressed as the "fruit of the poisonous tree." Because the remaining evidence is legally insufficient to sustain Roebuck's conviction, we find that the trial court erred in denying Roebuck's motions for directed verdict and JNOV. As we reverse and render the ruling of the circuit court and discharge Roebuck from custody, we need not reach Roebuck's third assignment of error.

SUMMARY OF FACTS

¶ 3. On June 6, 2001, a confidential informant placed telephone calls to Agent Jimmie Nichols of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Deputy Investigator Mark Wilcher of the Leake County Sheriff's Office. The confidential informant reported that he had been at Adam Roebuck's residence and had seen methamphetamine inside Roebuck's house. The confidential informant also reported that he had observed Roebuck and another individual using methamphetamine as well as preparing, or "cooking," methamphetamine.

¶ 4. Determined to secure a warrant to search Roebuck's house, Nichols prepared an affidavit, supplemented with a description of underlying facts and circumstances. Afterwards, Nichols and Wilcher went before Judge Ruby Graham of the Leake County Justice Court. Nichols presented his affidavit and underlying facts and circumstances sheet to Judge Graham, and Wilcher offered oral testimony. Satisfied that probable cause for a search warrant existed, Judge Graham issued a search warrant, which authorized Nichols and Wilcher to search Roebuck's residence. Armed with the search warrant, Nichols and Wilcher, among others, executed the search warrant approximately three to four hours after receiving contact from the confidential informant.

¶ 5. Roebuck was at home when Nichols and Wilcher executed the search warrant. In their search of the property, the agents found a trace amount of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine on some coffee filters, a box of salt, and several empty lithium battery casings, indicating that the lithium had been stripped from the batteries. No lithium was found on Roebuck's property, however. Additionally, the record shows that pursuant to the warrant, Nichols obtained an imprint of Roebuck's fingerprints. Roebuck was not arrested at the time of the search, as investigators did not uncover sufficient evidence to give rise to criminal charges against him.

¶ 6. However, shortly after Nichols and Wilcher arrived at Roebuck's house, they heard a four-wheeler leave from somewhere around Roebuck's mobile home. Although authorities tried to pursue the four-wheeler, the unknown driver cut through some woods and a pasture and went out of their sight. Roebuck was not the driver, as he was on the property during the search.

¶ 7. When they failed to apprehend the anonymous driver of the four-wheeler, Wilcher and Agent Joey Mayes of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics opted to travel to another location. Wilcher stated that he had been contacted by an individual who reported that four-wheelers traveled *1136 from Roebuck's property to another property "at all hours of the day." According to trial testimony, that third-party property was tied up in an estate. Wilcher reported that he had obtained permission from "someone involved with the estate" to enter the estate property. Wilcher never attempted to obtain a warrant to search the estate property. The "estate property" was in the opposite direction of the four-wheeler flight.

¶ 8. During Wilcher's and Mayes's search of the estate property, they discovered a "clandestine methamphetamine lab." They found a small bag, closed with a zipper. Six cans of Warren Premium Starter Fluid were inside that bag. Starter fluid contains ethyl ether, a precursor to the manufacture of methamphetamine. Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-313(1)(b)(i) (Rev.2001). Authorities also found two tanks of anhydrous ammonia and a green plastic box of the type commonly used to store tools or fishing tackle. Inside the green box were lithium batteries, a pack of coffee filters, and 98.6 grams of powdered ephedrine. Anhydrous ammonia, ephedrine, and lithium are all precursors to the manufacture of methamphetamine. Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-313(1)(b)(ii),(v), and (vii) (Rev.2001).

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 9. The Grand Jury of Leake County returned an indictment against Roebuck on January 8, 2003. Roebuck waived arraignment and pled not guilty. On April 28, 2003, Roebuck filed a motion to compel disclosure of the confidential informant who contacted Nichols and Wilcher. Roebuck also filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him. In his motion to suppress, Roebuck argued that the underlying facts and circumstances portion of Nichols's affidavit did not contain a statement of reliability or a statement that the particular confidential informant had furnished reliable information in the past or was known to be reliable. Roebuck asked the circuit court to conclude that the affidavit was, therefore, issued without probable cause as it did not establish or corroborate the credibility of the confidential informant who contacted Nichols and Wilcher.

¶ 10. The day before trial, Roebuck's counsel filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, a motion in limine. Roebuck asked the circuit court to dismiss the case because the State failed to produce the identity of one of the confidential informants, and argued that the State was required to produce that information according to URCCC 9.04. Alternatively, Roebuck moved to suppress all of the evidence originating from both Roebuck's property and the property upon which the methamphetamine laboratory was found. The circuit court denied Roebuck's motions, and the matter went to trial.

¶ 11. After the State presented its case in chief, Roebuck entered an unsuccessful motion for a directed verdict.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
915 So. 2d 1132, 2005 WL 3299711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roebuck-v-state-missctapp-2005.