State Of Washington v. Anthony Nguyen

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJune 9, 2020
Docket52205-5
StatusUnpublished

This text of State Of Washington v. Anthony Nguyen (State Of Washington v. Anthony Nguyen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington v. Anthony Nguyen, (Wash. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

June 9, 2020 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 52205-5-II

Respondent,

v.

ANTHONY NGUYEN, UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Appellant.

WORSWICK, J. — Anthony Nguyen appeals his conviction for possession of a controlled

substance (methamphetamine). Nguyen argues (1) the trial court’s failure to enter findings and

conclusions requires reversal and dismissal, (2) there was insufficient evidence to prove he

constructively possessed methamphetamine, and (3) a search warrant was invalid. We reject

Nguyen’s arguments and affirm.

FACTS

In March 2018, Nguyen began renting out rooms in his home. Nguyen did not choose his

tenants well, and quickly began having problems with stolen items and unpaid rent. Nguyen

sought assistance from law enforcement who confirmed to Nguyen that several of his tenants

were gang members under investigation by the Vancouver Safe Streets Task Force, and

suggested that Nguyen work with the police to remove his tenants and protect his property.

Several of the persons frequenting Nguyen’s home were known to engage in weapons trafficking

and drug distribution. No. 52205-5-II

In mid-April, Nguyen was admitted to a hospital for approximately one week. Nguyen

was released from the facility and returned to his home on April 21, 2018. Upon his return,

Nguyen found that many of his belongings had been stolen and his home was in “[d]isarray.”

Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) at 143. He ejected eight or nine people who were not his

tenants.

On April 23, members of the Vancouver Police Department’s Safe Streets Task Force

were called to Nguyen’s home after reports of a shooting. Nguyen was not a suspect in the

shooting and was not at home when the police arrived. When Nguyen arrived at his home,

Sergeant Spencer Harris told him he could leave because the search would likely take several

hours. Nguyen left while police searched his home.

The initial report stated that the incident was a drive-by shooting, but the task force

quickly came to believe that the shooting had occurred from inside the first floor of the home,

based on a bullet hole indicating the gun was fired from inside the home. When officers

reinterviewed the victim, he admitted that the shot came from inside the home. The officers then

sought a warrant, based on an affidavit. The affidavit contained, in part, the following

information:

[W]hen officers gained access to the interior of the residence to conduct a “safety sweep[,”] they found evidence indicating that a firearm had been fired from within the residence as the front door exhibited a bullet hole, the condition of which indicated that the projectile had been fired from within the residence . . .

....

. . . [Victim] stated in summary that he has been living at [Nguyen’s home] for the past couple weeks with his cousin . . . . [Victim] primarily sleeps on the couch. [Victim] woke up this afternoon to several of his friends inside the residence . . . . Also present inside the residence was a Hispanic male only known to [victim] as [suspect]. [Victim] left the residence and walked down the street

2 No. 52205-5-II

where he met with his girlfriend at Taco Bell. A short time later [victim] walked back to his residence. [Victim] walked into the residence from the front door. [Suspect] was standing across the room from a distance of about ten feet. Immediately upon entering the residence, while still standing near the front door, [victim] was shot one time in his left arm by [suspect]. [Victim] stated that the shooting was unprovoked and there were no words exchanged prior to the shooting. [Victim] did not see the gun in [suspect’s] hand prior to the shooting but noticed [suspect] was pointing at him as he walked through the front door. [Suspect] ran out the back door of the residence prior to police arriving.

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 36-37. The warrant authorized officers to search Nguyen’s entire home,

described as a “two-story private residence,” including all rooms and containers, for evidence of

the crime of first degree assault, to include firearms, bullet casings, bullet fragments, “trace

evidence,” and articles of personal property “to establish the identities of persons in control of or

occupying the premises,” and photographs. CP at 39-41.

The only full bathroom in the home was located on the second floor. Sergeant Harris

searched the bathroom, including a glass bowl on the vanity filled with assorted items. It was

later determined that some of the items in the bowl belonged to Nguyen, such as a bracelet and a

USB (Universal Serial Bus) drive, and others, including another bracelet and necklace, did not.

When Sergeant Harris looked through the items in the glass bowl, he found a small, transparent

baggie containing what he suspected was methamphetamine. Also on the vanity were Nguyen’s

prescriptions and paperwork from his recent hospitalization. After finding the suspected

methamphetamine, Sergeant Harris approached Nguyen, who was waiting outside, and asked

him whether he used methamphetamine. Nguyen said no, and asked if the officers had found

some. When Sergeant Harris stated that he had, Nguyen asked, “[I]n a glass bowl?” VRP at

108.

3 No. 52205-5-II

The substance in the baggie tested positive for methamphetamine, and Nguyen was

charged with possession of a controlled substance. At trial, Nguyen challenged the validity of

the search warrant and filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained during the April 23

search. The trial court held CrR 3.5 and CrR 3.6 hearings to determine if the evidence should be

suppressed and if Nguyen’s statements to Sergeant Harris would be admissible. The trial court

ruled the warrant was valid and, consequently, that the evidence was admissible. The trial court

also ruled that Nguyen’s statements were admissible.1

At the bench trial on this matter, police officers testified as described above. Nguyen

also testified, disputing that Sergeant Harris had asked him if he used methamphetamine and

denying that he had ever seen the baggie of methamphetamine prior to seeing the picture of it at

trial. In making its oral ruling, the trial court stated that Sergeant Harris’s description of his

conversation with Nguyen was more credible. The trial court acknowledged that the controlled

substance may have been put in the bowl by “one of these multiple ne’er-do-wells who showed

up and trashed his place,” but found that Nguyen was at least aware there was “some crystal

substance” in the glass bowl by the time he spoke with Sergeant Harris on April 23. VRP at 179.

The trial court found Nguyen guilty of possession of a controlled substance and

sentenced him to 61 days in confinement. Although the trial court entered findings of fact and

conclusions of law for the CrR 3.5 and CrR 3.6 hearings, the court initially failed to enter

findings and conclusions relating to Nguyen’s bench trial and conviction. After Nguyen filed his

initial brief, the trial court subsequently entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. Those

findings of fact that are relevant to the issues in Nguyen’s appeal are as follows:

1 Nguyen does not contest the admissibility of his statements on appeal.

4 No. 52205-5-II

1. Anthony Nguyen lived at [the subject residence] in Vancouver, Clark County, State of Washington on April 23, 2018.

8.

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State Of Washington v. Anthony Nguyen, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-washington-v-anthony-nguyen-washctapp-2020.