Shepherd v. State

230 S.W.3d 738, 2007 WL 1840042
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 9, 2007
Docket14-06-00692-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 230 S.W.3d 738 (Shepherd v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shepherd v. State, 230 S.W.3d 738, 2007 WL 1840042 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinions

MAJORITY OPINION

LESLIE B. YATES, Justice.

Appellant Robert Henry Shepherd challenges his conviction for the offense of possession of marijuana of more than two ounces and less than four ounces. After the trial court denied his motion to suppress a bag of marijuana seized during a warrantless search of his residence, appellant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten days’ confinement in the Harris County Jail. In a single issue, appellant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We affirm.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Araceli Silva, who lived directly across the street from appellant for sixteen years, testified that on December 8, 2005, she noticed the front door to appellant’s residence was open and his van was missing from the driveway. Concerned about a possible break-in because appellant typically used his garage door for entrance and exit and never left his front door open, Silva contacted James Mosley, who lived next door to appellant. Mosley approached appellant’s residence, walked through the open door about one or two feet, and called out for him. After receiving no response, Mosley and Silva decided to call the police.

Deputies Kraig Williamson and Jim Halm of the Harris County Sheriffs Department responded to the open-door call at appellant’s address. The officers testified that these calls could involve a possible burglary, an assault victim, or an otherwise injured homeowner inside the residence. Deputy Williamson stated that, upon arrival, he and Deputy Halm talked to Mosley, who informed them appellant’s door had stood open “for a period of time” and that he did not think anyone was home. According to Mosley, he also told the officers that Silva had expressed concern about appellant and that he had entered appellant’s residence, called out for him, and received no response. Deputy Williamson could not remember Mosley specifically stating he had called out for appellant and received no response, and Deputy Halm maintained that neither officer spoke to the neighbors until after they swept the house.

The officers then approached appellant’s door and announced their presence. Receiving no answer, the officers entered appellant’s residence with guns drawn to look [741]*741for possible burglars or injured persons. During their sweep of the residence, the officers observed a clear plastic bag containing what appeared to be marijuana on a table in the living room. Deputy Williamson seized the marijuana, which appellant confirmed was his upon returning shortly thereafter. The officers arrested appellant, and he was subsequently charged with possession of marijuana.

Appellant filed a motion to suppress the bag of marijuana, which the trial court denied after a hearing. The court recited the following findings of fact and conclusions of law: (1) On December 8, 2005, Silva became “alarmed” because she observed appellant’s front door left open, which was out of the ordinary based on her experience, and, due to her concern, she contacted Mosley, (2) Mosley entered appellant’s residence and, upon a cursory inspection, called the police because he and Silva did not know what or who, if anybody, was inside, (8) Deputies Williamson and Halm arrived at the scene and found the front door open in accordance with the dispatch, (4) pursuant to the exigent circumstances and their caretaking role, the officers entered the residence to make sure no intruder with any weapons was inside that could be a danger to themselves or others, (5) the deputies observed in plain view a baggie containing what they believed to be marijuana, and they seized it, (6) the witnesses at the hearing were credible and believable, and (7) the war-rantless entry was justified by exigent circumstances, and there was probable cause to seize the marijuana in plain view.

Appellant now challenges his conviction, claiming the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress.

II. Standard of Review

We review the trial court’s decision on a motion to suppress for an abuse of discretion. See State v. Dixon, 206 S.W.3d 587, 590 (Tex.Crim.App.2006). We give almost total deference to a trial court’s express or implied determination of historical facts and of applieation-of-law-to-fact questions that turns on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. See id,.; Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). We review de novo the court’s determination of application-of-law-to-faet questions not turning on credibility and demeanor, including the court’s application of the law of search and seizure to such facts. See Dixon, 206 S.W.3d at 590; Guzman, 955 S.W.2d at 89. We view the record in the light most favorable to the trial court’s conclusion and reverse the judgment only if it is outside the zone of reasonable disagreement. Dixon, 206 S.W.3d at 590. We will sustain the trial court’s ruling if it is reasonably supported by the record and is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case. Id.

III. Analysis

Appellant contends the warrantless search of his residence was not justified either under the exigent circumstances doctrine or emergency doctrine. He maintains that an “open door with no one home, in broad daylight, is not the most unusual set of circumstances to justify a warrant-less entry to [a]ppellant’s home” under either doctrine.

To validate a warrantless search based on the exigent circumstances doctrine, the State must satisfy a two-step process. Gutierrez v. State, 221 S.W.3d 680, 685 (Tex.Crim.App.2007). First, probable cause must exist to enter or search a specific location. Id. In the context of warrantless searches, probable cause exists when reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances within the knowledge of the officer on the scene would lead a man of reasonable prudence to believe that the instrumentality or evidence of a [742]*742crime will be found. Id. Second, an exigency that requires an immediate entry to a particular place without a warrant must exist. Id. Three categories of exigent circumstances justify a warrantless intrusion by police officers: (1) providing aid or assistance to persons whom law enforcement reasonably believes are in need of assistance, (2) protecting police officers from persons whom they reasonably believe to be present, armed, and dangerous, and (3) preventing the destruction of evidence or contraband. Id. If the State does not adequately establish both probable cause and exigent circumstances, then a warrantless entry will not withstand judicial scrutiny. Id. at 685-86. The exigent circumstances doctrine applies when the police act in their crime-fighting role, which includes detection, investigation, or acquisition of evidence relating to the violation of a criminal statute. See Laney v. State, 117 S.W.3d 854, 861 (Tex.Crim.App.2003).

The emergency doctrine (also known as the “emergency-aid” doctrine) holds that the “Fourth Amendment does not bar police officers from making war-rantless entries and searches when they reasonably believe that a person within is in need of immediate aid.” See Laney, 117 S.W.3d at 860 (quoting

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230 S.W.3d 738, 2007 WL 1840042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shepherd-v-state-texapp-2007.