State of Maine v. Joshua Lovell

2022 ME 49, 281 A.3d 651
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedSeptember 8, 2022
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2022 ME 49 (State of Maine v. Joshua Lovell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Joshua Lovell, 2022 ME 49, 281 A.3d 651 (Me. 2022).

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2022 ME 49 Docket: Cum-21-275 Argued: May 11, 2022 Decided: September 8, 2022

Panel: STANFILL, C.J., and MEAD, JABAR, HORTON, CONNORS, and LAWRENCE, JJ., and HUMPHREY, A.R.J.*

STATE OF MAINE

v.

JOSHUA LOVELL

MEAD, J.

[¶1] Joshua Lovell appeals from a judgment of conviction entered in the

trial court (Cumberland County, Warren, J.) upon his conditional guilty plea to

aggravated trafficking of fentanyl powder, 17-A M.R.S. § 1105-A(1)(M) (2022)

(Class A); unlawful possession of cocaine, 17-A M.R.S. § 1107-A(1)(B)(2)

(2022) (Class C); endangering the welfare of a child, 17-A M.R.S. § 554(1)(C)

(2022) (Class D); and violating a condition of release, 15 M.R.S. § 1092(1)(A)

(2022) (Class E), following the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. We

affirm the judgment.

*Justice Humphrey sat at oral argument and participated in the initial conference while he was an Associate Justice and, as directed and assigned by the Chief Justice, is now participating in this appeal as an Active Retired Justice. 2

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the court’s

order on the motion to suppress, the [suppression] record supports the

following facts.” State v. Akers, 2021 ME 43, ¶ 2, 259 A.3d 127 (citation

omitted). On December 23, 2019, an Amtrak conductor informed an Amtrak

detective that Lovell made a round trip from Portland, Maine to Haverhill,

Massachusetts with another man during which the pair disembarked in

Haverhill and returned to Portland on the first available train. The conductor

reported that the two men appeared to be “high on some kind of drugs” on the

return leg of their journey. The next day, the conductor informed the detective

that after Lovell and his companion departed the train, he found what appeared

to be a “crack pipe” on the seat where the two had been sitting.

[¶3] Based on the conductor’s report, the detective consulted an internal

Amtrak database and discovered that Lovell had previously made two other

trips from Portland to Haverhill in December 2019 and on each trip had stayed

in Haverhill for a short time before returning to Portland on the first available

train. The detective knew from his training that the Haverhill area was a

location where narcotics were obtained and then distributed throughout

New England and that passengers who used trains for quick round trips could 3

be using the train system to transport drugs. He also understood that the

Amtrak conductors watch for train passengers who appear to be intoxicated

from alcohol or drugs and keep track of where the passengers sit so that the

conductors can monitor their well-being. Based on this knowledge and the

facts provided to him by the conductor, the detective notified Special Agent

Morrison of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) that Lovell had made

several quick round trips from Portland to Haverhill; that the conductor

working the train on Lovell’s most recent trip reported that Lovell and his

companion appeared to be high on drugs during their December 23, 2019,

return trip; and that the conductor found what he believed was a crack pipe on

the seat where Lovell and his companion had been sitting. Morrison expressed

interest in hearing about any quick trips Lovell might make in the future.

[¶4] The conductor contacted the detective on January 11, 2020, and

informed him that Lovell was scheduled to make a round trip from Portland to

Haverhill that day with a thirty-eight minute stopover in Haverhill. The

detective subsequently notified Morrison that Lovell was scheduled to make

another quick trip to Haverhill, this time accompanied by a child. Morrison

obtained a copy of Lovell’s driver’s license and current bail conditions, which 4

both provided an address for Lovell located north of Portland,1 and confirmed

the time that the train from Haverhill was expected to arrive back in Portland.

Morrison then went to the Portland train station and saw a man leaving the

train terminal at a time consistent with the arrival of the train from Haverhill.

The man’s appearance matched Lovell’s driver’s license photo and the man

appeared to be with a small child. Morrison followed the man and the child as

they walked through the station, and he confirmed with other officers outside

the station that the man he believed to be Lovell had entered a Honda Civic. As

the car drove away, Morrison directed the officers to stop it, which they did as

the car was on the I-295 southbound ramp.

[¶5] Based on evidence discovered during the stop of the vehicle, a

grand jury indicted Lovell on the four counts for which he was later convicted.

He entered not guilty pleas on all counts, and moved to suppress the evidence

obtained during the stop, arguing that Morrison lacked an objectively

reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify the seizure.

1 The court did not make explicit findings regarding the full route of travel Lovell would have to complete in order to make a round trip from Portland to Haverhill by Amtrak train, but it did find that “Lovell had travelled down to Portland.” This finding is supported by Morrison’s testimony that the address he obtained for Lovell was located north of Portland, and Morrison’s explanation that “[Lovell] would travel to Portland first, via vehicle or bus [] of some kind, or get a ride, and then take public transportation. [Then] a short stopping trip, take the next available train hours north again, just to have someone again pick him up or get public transportation back to his residence . . . .” 5

[¶6] The court held a suppression hearing via Zoom on February 1, 2021,

during which it heard testimony from the detective and Morrison. On

April 12, 2021, the court denied Lovell’s motion to suppress. Following the

denial of his motion, Lovell entered conditional guilty pleas on all four counts

pursuant to M.R.U. Crim. P. 11(a)(2). On August 30, 2021, the court found Lovell

guilty and sentenced him to six years, all but two suspended, and four years of

probation on the Class A count,2 with concurrent six-month sentences on the

remaining three counts.

[¶7] Lovell appealed, asserting that the court improperly allowed

witnesses at the suppression hearing to testify about out-of-court statements

made by the conductor to prove the truth of the matter asserted, and

contending that Morrison lacked reasonable, articulable suspicion justifying

Lovell’s seizure.

2 A Class A aggravated trafficking charge ordinarily carries a mandatory minimum sentence of four years of imprisonment that may not be suspended. 17-A M.R.S. § 1125 (1)(A) (2022). Here, the court stated on the record the necessary findings necessary under 17-A M.R.S. § 1125(2) to support imposition of less than the mandatory minimum term of unsuspended imprisonment. 6

II. DISCUSSION

A. The Conductor’s Statements

1. Hearsay

[¶8] “We review a trial court’s decision to admit or exclude alleged

hearsay evidence for an abuse of discretion.” State v. Vaughan, 2009 ME 63, ¶ 5,

974 A.2d 930 (quotation marks omitted). The Maine Rules of Evidence apply

to hearings on motions to suppress. Id.; M.R. Evid. 101(a)(b); M.R. Evid. 104

Restyling Note - Nov. 2014. “Hearsay is an out-of-court statement made by a

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Maine v. John D. Schlosser
2025 ME 76 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2025)
State of Maine v. Rochelle Gleason
2025 ME 52 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2025)
State of Maine v. Corydon Judkins
2024 ME 45 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2024)
State of Maine v. David P. Hunt Jr.
2023 ME 26 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2023)
State of Maine v. Douglas E. Wilcox
2023 ME 10 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2023)
State of Maine v. Timothy Barclift
2022 ME 50 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2022)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2022 ME 49, 281 A.3d 651, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-maine-v-joshua-lovell-me-2022.