Snover v. State

837 N.E.2d 1042, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 2191, 2005 WL 3187728
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 30, 2005
Docket20A03-0506-CR-254
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 837 N.E.2d 1042 (Snover v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Snover v. State, 837 N.E.2d 1042, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 2191, 2005 WL 3187728 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

OPINION

MAY, Judge.

Donald W. Snover appeals his convictions of dealing in methamphetamine as a Class A felony 1 and possession of marijuana as a Class D felony.2 He raises one issue, which is whether the evidence discovered during a search of his house should have been excluded at trial. We affirm.3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 12, 2003, a routine traffic stop in Elkhart, Indiana, led to the arrest of the driver, Kelly Hammond, who had outstanding warrants for his arrest. Upon his arrest, Hammond admitted he had methamphetamine in the car, and a police search recovered four grams of methamphetamine. After Mirando warnings, Hammond gave a written and signed confession. Thereafter, without the police making any promises regarding his prose-ecution, Hammond told the police his source for the drugs was Donald Snover. Hammond reported Snover had additional drugs in his second floor bedroom at his house on Laurel Street in Elkhart.

That same day, police prepared a search warrant affidavit that provided:

The undersigned Affiant swears upon his oath that he believes and has good cause to believe that:
Certain evidence involved in the commission of the erime of possession of and/or use of and/or dealing in methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, or other controlled substances, or drug paraphernalia in violation of 1.C. 85-48-4 et seq. is concealed in, on, or about a residence situate[d] at 821 Laurel St., City of Elkhart, Elkhart County, State of Indiana, said premises being more particularly described as follows: 821 Laurel St. is believed to be the residence of Donald W. Snover and is a two-story single family dwelling. The house has gray vinyl siding with white trim around the windows and doors and is on the [1046]*1046southeast corner of Laurel and Plum. There are landscape timbers and bushes on the north side of the house, which surround a wooden porch. The numbers "821" are black and affixed vertically to the right of the front door. There is a black metal mailbox to the right side of the door and underneath the numbers. There is a wooden deck on the south side of the house. There is an attached garage on the east side of the house.
This Affiant bases his belief and cause for belief on the fact that:
1. The affiant is [a] police officer with the Elkhart Police Department and has been employed in that capacity for six (6) years. The affiant has participated in approximately twenty (20) drug investigations and arrests during his tenure. These investigations have led to the seizure of methamphetamine, crack cocaine and marijuana.
2. The affiant attended a gang conference and seminar in Chicago, Illinois. The gang school included training on numerous types of narcotics and hidden compartments. The affiant has also attended a seminar for drug investigations for the patrol officer.
3. On July 31, 2003, Investigator William Wargo from the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office received drug intelli-genee in reference to 821 Laurel St. The intelligence was provided by a confidential source who had provided information in the past which was determined to be credible and reliable. The CS stated that Don Snover of 821 Laurel St. was dealing ounces of methamphetamine from his residence, indicating that this was an ongoing long-term operation.
4. On November 12, 2003, the affiant executed a traffic stop at the intersection of Nappanee St. and W. Beardsley in Elkhart County, Indiana. The affiant arrested the driver, Kelly Hammond, with a date of birth of July 8, 1960, on an outstanding Elkhart County warrant. During the search incident to lawful arrest, the affiant located a lunch box on the passenger's side floorboard. The lunch box contained a plastic bag containing approximately 4.0 grams of suspected methamphetamine. The methamphetamine later tested positive with the MDMA/methamphetamine test kit. Thereafter, after being advised of his statutory and constitutional rights, Kelly Hammond gave a statement against his own penal interests to Cpl. Ballard and Cpl. Buchmann. This statement was made after his arrest and without any promises or consideration being given to him by any law enforcement officer. In the statement, Kelly Hammond stated that the methamphetamine was his and it was one-eighth of an ounce. Kelly Hammond stated that he purchased the methamphetamine from Donald Snover for $125.00 just prior to the traffic stop. Kelly Hammond stated that he purchased the methamphetamine in an upstairs bedroom at Snover's residence at 821 Laurel Street. Kelly Hammond further stated that at the same time of the purchase, he observed Donald Snover in possession of an additional quantity of controlled substances which he estimated to be approximately three-quarters of a pound of methamphetamine and one pound of marijuana.
5. The affiant researched the Elkhart Police Department RMS and located Donald Snover. Donald Snover is de-seribed as a white male with a date of birth of December 13, 1959. Donald Snover is also described as being 56", 135 lbs., with brown hair and green eyes. Donald Snover listed 821 Laurel St., Elkhart, Indiana as his address. The affiant also ran an Interstate identification Index/Criminal History on Donald Snover. The Criminal History stat[1047]*1047ed that Donald Snover was arrested for Felony Possession of Marijuana on October 4th, 1999.
6. All of the aforesaid facts are within the personal knowledge of the Affiant and/or have been corroborated by the information and investigation specified above for the offenses of dealing in and/or possession of and/or use of methamphetamine and other controlled substances and that evidence of same is concealed in or about the above described premises which is within the County of Elkhart, State of Indiana. Further, the affiant has probable cause to believe that the information provided by Kelly Hammond is truthful and aceu-rate based upon (1) the corroboration from the prior CS whose information indicated the presence of long-term drug trafficking by Donald Snover at his residence on Laurel Street and (2) the fact that the information was provided by Hammond without any consideration, included statements made which were against his penal interests, and were provided by him with the knowledge that his identity would be disclosed.
7. Based upon the foregoing the affiant verily believes that a search of the residence identified in the paragraphs above will disclose the existence of: methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, narcotic drugs or other controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, drug ledgers or ree-ords of dealing in such controlled substances, money, seales used for weighing controlled substances, packaging materials for such substances, documents of residency, and/or other physical evidence indicative of possession of and/or use and/or dealing of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, or controlled substances and paraphernalia.

(App. at 28-24.)

Based on that affidavit, a judge issued the search warrant. Police executed the warrant the night of November 12th and the early morning of November 13th.

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Snover v. State
837 N.E.2d 1042 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
837 N.E.2d 1042, 2005 Ind. App. LEXIS 2191, 2005 WL 3187728, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/snover-v-state-indctapp-2005.