STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ADRIENNE L. HREHA (19-02-0298, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division·Decided July 21, 2020·No. A-2744-19T3·Unpublished

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-2744-19T3

STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Appellant

v. ADRIENNE L. HREHA,

Defendant-Respondent.

Argued telephonically June 2, 2020 – Decided July 21, 2020

Before Judges Yannotti, Hoffman and Currier.

On appeal from an interlocutory order of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Ocean County, Indictment No. 19-02-0298.

Shiraz I. Deen argued the cause for appellant (Bradley D. Billhimer, Ocean County Prosecutor, attorney;

Samuel J. Marzarella, Chief Appellate Attorney, of counsel and on the briefs; Shiraz I. Deen, on the briefs).

Alton D. Kenney argued the cause for respondent (Alton D. Kenney, attorney; Clifford P. Yannone and Alton D. Kenney, on the brief).

PER CURIAM The State appeals, on leave granted, from an order entered by the Law Division on January 10, 2020, which granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence. We reverse.

I.

In February 2019, defendant was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) (heroin), N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1) (count one); third-degree possession of a CDS with intent to distribute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(1) (count two); third-degree distribution of a CDS, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(3) (count three); third-degree possession of a CDS (Fentanyl), N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1) (count four); third- degree possession of a CDS with intent to distribute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(5) (count five); third-degree distribution of a CDS, N.J.S.A. 2C:35- 5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(5) (count six); first-degree strict liability drug-induced death of Richard Froman, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-9 (count seven); third-degree possession of a CDS (Xanax), N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1) (count eight); third- degree possession of CDS with intent to distribute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(13) (count nine); and third-degree distribution of a CDS, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1) and 2C:35-5(b)(13) (count ten).

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Thereafter, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained in the search of the decedent's room, the items seized during the search, and the text messages recovered from the decedent's cell phone. Defendant also sought to suppress certain incriminating statements and other CDS defendant allegedly possessed and distributed. The judge conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion.

At the hearing, Detective Thomas Scalzullo of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office (OCPO) testified that on October 29, 2017, he was on night duty. Sometime after 9:00 p.m., Scalzullo received a call from Detective Brent Urichs of the OCPO's Major Crime Unit. Urichs asked Scalzullo to respond to a residence on Ray Drive to assist in the investigation of a death at that location. Scalzullo said the Toms River police had received an e-mail indicating the death may have been due to a drug overdose.

Scalzullo arrived at the residence on Ray Drive at around 10:00 p.m. It was a two-story house, which had been rented to several persons. A few residents were present, along with Toms River police officers, and a detective from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office. An officer led Scalzullo to Froman's room. He saw Froman's body, which was on the bed. He had been pronounced dead. At the time of his death, Froman was twenty-nine years old.

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Scalzullo stated that they were trying to determine if there had been foul play but he did not observe any trauma. Initially, Scalzullo did not observe anything "significant" so he and another detective looked around Froman's room. In the top drawer of a dresser, Scalzullo found seven wax folds with suspected heroin and part of a straw. Scalzullo suspected the wax folds had been used to package heroin, and the straw could have been used to smoke or snort the drug.

Scalzullo testified that he was looking for evidence related to a potential overdose, but he could not recall whether the dresser drawer had been open or closed. Scalzullo also found a cellphone in the room, which he seized for further investigation. He stated that the phone was in Froman's room but he could not recall where he found it.

Scalzullo obtained the phone number for Froman's mother, Laura Tice-

Boden, from an officer on scene. The officer was related to Tice-Boden by marriage. Scalzullo stated that it was the Major Crime Unit's policy to get consent from the next-of-kin of a decedent before searching through the decedent's phone.

Another officer called Tice-Boden and informed her that her son was dead. Scalzullo got on the phone. He said Tice-Boden was very upset but "very

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cooperative." He asked if she would be able to sign a consent form giving the detectives permission to search Froman's cellphone for information related to his death. She agreed and planned to meet with Urichs. Scalzullo turned the phone over to Urichs the following day. He said he did not open the phone until he had Tice-Boden's consent.

Scalzullo testified that when he responded to the residence on Ray Drive, he did not know whether Froman had executed any documents that would have given Tice-Boden authority to consent to a search of his phone upon his death. He stated that he did not believe he had to obtain a search warrant to open the phone once he received Tice-Boden's consent.

Urichs searched the phone on October 30, 2017. Tice-Boden appeared at the OCPO the following day. She was presented with and signed a digital consent form, which authorized the officers to search Froman's phone. Before she signed the consent form, Urichs used the phone to send text messages to defendant. According to the State, the text messages implicated defendant in the sale of the drugs that resulted in the decedent's death. Urichs also used the phone to arrange meetings with defendant, which resulted in additional charges.

Tice-Boden testified that she and her husband had been traveling throughout the country, and they had been living in a recreational vehicle. On

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October 29, 2017, Tice-Boden was in North Carolina when one of Froman's housemates sent her a message on Facebook informing her that her son had died.

Tice-Boden said that, at some point that night, she spoke with Scalzullo.

She told Scalzullo he could take her son's cellphone. She said her son's car was in front of his residence and the investigators could take "absolutely anything" that might be helpful.

Tice-Boden explained that her brother-in-law was one of the officers at the scene when her son's body was found. She gave her brother-in-law permission "to sign anything or do anything that need[ed] to be done" to aid the investigation.

Tice-Boden returned to New Jersey and on the morning of October 31, 2017, she met with Urichs. She signed a consent form authorizing the OCPO to search Froman's phone. Tice-Boden said she would have done anything in her power to help the police determine what happened to her son. She stated this included giving the police consent to search her son's phone for any evidence that could "hopefully lead to an arrest of a person who was involved."

Tice-Boden further testified that she paid for her son's cellphone but to her knowledge, her son was the only person who had control of the phone and used it. She did not recall any of the officers indicating they were planning to

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obtain a search warrant or asking whether she had any ownership interest in the phone. She stated that Froman rented the room in the house at Ray Drive for his own use. She said it was a separately secured room.

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STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ADRIENNE L. HREHA (19-02-0298, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), (N.J. Ct. App. 2020).

STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ADRIENNE L. HREHA (19-02-0298, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ADRIENNE L. HREHA (19-02-0298, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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