State ex rel. MacLaughlin v. Treon

926 S.W.2d 13, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 588, 1996 WL 162246
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 9, 1996
DocketNo. WD 50982
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 926 S.W.2d 13 (State ex rel. MacLaughlin v. Treon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. MacLaughlin v. Treon, 926 S.W.2d 13, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 588, 1996 WL 162246 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

ULRICH, Presiding Judge.

Raymond Treon appeals the judgment following a jury trial for forfeiture under the Criminal Activities Forfeiture Act (CAFA), sections 513.600-.645, RSMo 1986, and section 195.140, RSMo 1986. The judgment is reversed.

In the summer of 1991 and spring of 1992, a series of burglaries occurred in Chariton and Carroll Counties. Among the property stolen were antiques, rifles, handguns, fishing equipment, and copper and aluminum wire. On March 27, 1992, Raymond William Treon was stopped by the Brunswick, Missouri, chief of police while driving a 1973 green Ford truck. With his consent, the Chariton County Sheriffs Department searched a bus located in Chariton County owned by Mr. Treon. A felony quantity of marijuana and property stolen from Chariton County were recovered. The green Ford truck driven by Mr. Treon was also searched with Mr. Treon’s consent, and a smaller quantity of marijuana was found. Mr. Treon was then arrested, and additional marijuana and approximately $2,100 were recovered from his person.

On March 30, 1992, a Marshall, Missouri, storage unit rented by Mr. Treon was searched by the Marshall Police Department pursuant to a warrant. Property stolen during Chariton, Carroll, and Saline County burglaries was recovered.

Mr. Treon was again stopped on April 2, 1992, by the Marshall Police Department while driving a flatbed truck pulling a boat. After his arrest, an inventory search of the truck disclosed various items in original packaging with price tags attached, a ceramic pipe with marijuana residue, cigarette rolling papers, marijuana seeds, scales used to weigh marijuana, and approximately $11,800 in cash. A food stamp application form, food stamps, documents identifying Mr. Treon’s bank accounts, certificates of deposit, and stocks were also found in the truck. Marijuana and $1,800 in cash was recovered from Mr. Treon’s person. Mr. Treon was eventually convicted of two felony counts of burglary, two felony counts of stealing, and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance in Chariton County, one felony count of receiving stolen property in Saline County, and one felony count for burglary in Carroll County.

[15]*15On April 3, 1992, the State of Missouri filed a three count petition under CAFA and section 195.140, RSMo 1986 seeking forfeiture of Mr. Treon’s trucks, trailer, boat, guns, cash, stocks, bank accounts, and other property located in Saline County valued in excess of $150,000. On December 16, 1994, a jury returned verdicts in favor of Mr. Treon on two Counts of the State’s petition and in favor of the State on Count III1, and judgment was .entered accordingly. This appeal followed.

1. Points on Appeal

Mr. Treon raises seven points on appeal. None of his points, however, were preserved for appellate review. Points three, six, and seven allege instructional errors. In point three, Mr. Treon claims that the trial court, in submitting Instruction No. 4, erroneously instructed the jury regarding the burden of proof. In points six and seven, he argues that the trial court’s submission of Instructions No. 5 and 12 were erroneous because they failed to instruct on the essential elements of the CAFA statute. Mr. Treon contends that the instructions failed to require a finding that a defendant be found guilty of or plead guilty to a felony offense substantially related to the forfeiture.

Rule 70.03, which became effective on January 1, 1994, governs objections to instructions. It provides:

Counsel shall make specific objections to instructions considered erroneous. No party may assign as error the giving or failure to give instructions unless that party objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter objected to and the grounds of the objection.

Rule 70.03. At the instruction conference, Mr. Treon’s counsel made a general objection to all of the instructions for failure to state the law applicable to this case. Specific objections regarding the burden of proof and the essential elements required under the CAFA statute were not made; therefore, the alleged errors were not preserved for review. Rule 70.03.

Next, Mr. Treon claims that the trial court erred in the admission of evidence. In point one, he argues that the admission of evidence regarding his drug possession and conviction in Chariton County was erroneous. He also contends in point five that the trial court erred in admitting copies of the informations filed in Saline, Carroll, and Chariton Counties labelled Exhibits 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 because the State failed to show that the felony charges were substantially related to the forfeiture.

Error in the admission of evidence may not be raised on appeal where no objection is made when the evidence is introduced at trial. Kovacs v. Kovacs, 869 S.W.2d 789, 792 (Mo.App.1994). Failure to object to the introduction of evidence at trial preserves nothing for review. Holtmeier v. Dayani, 862 S.W.2d 391, 404 (Mo.App.1993). Moreover, a motion in limine to exclude evidence does not preserve the issue for review if no objection is made at trial when the evidence is offered. Sooter v. Magic Lantern, Inc., 771 S.W.2d 359, 362 (Mo.App.1989).

In a pretrial conference, counsel for Mr. Treon made an oral motion in limine to exclude evidence of any alleged criminal activity for which Mr. Treon was not convicted. At trial, however, Mr. Treon failed to object to evidence regarding his possession of marijuana in Chariton County. Point one, therefore, was not preserved for review.

Similarly, no objection was made at trial to the introduction of Exhibits 3, 4, 5, and 6. Though Mr. Treon objected to the introduction of Exhibit 1, a certified copy of conviction for the felony of receiving stolen property in Saline County with an attached information, he failed to specify the grounds on which his objection was based. “[A]n objection to evidence must be ‘sufficiently clear and definite’ so that counsel has the opportunity to correct any error and the trial court can correctly rule on the objection.” Refrigeration Indus., Inc. v. Nemmers, 880 [16]*16S.W.2d 912, 919 (Mo.App.1994)(citing Reed v. Director of Revenue, 834 S.W.2d 834, 836-37 (Mo.App.1992)). Thus, point five was also not preserved for appellate review.

Mr. Treon next claims in point two that the trial court erred in allowing the State to seek forfeiture of all bank accounts in Count III. He contends that the bank accounts consisted of separate transactions of which the State had the burden of proving that each was derived from criminal activities. Apparently, he argues that several claims were improperly united under one count.

Rule 55.27(a) provides:

Every defense, in law or fact, to a claim in any pleading ... shall be asserted in the responsive pleading thereto if one is required, except that the following defenses may at the option of the pleader be made by motion:
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(11) that several claims have been improperly united.

Rule 55.27(a). “A defense ...

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926 S.W.2d 13, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 588, 1996 WL 162246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-maclaughlin-v-treon-moctapp-1996.