State of Washington v. William Patrick McBride

Court of Appeals of Washington

State of Washington v. William Patrick McBride

DecidedAugust 17, 2023

Docket38872-7

StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Washington v. William Patrick McBride (State of Washington v. William Patrick McBride) 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.

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State of Washington v. William Patrick McBride, (Wash. Ct. App. 2023).

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Opinion

FILED AUGUST 17, 2023 In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

STATE OF WASHINGTON, ) ) No. 38872-7-III Respondent, ) ) v. ) ) WILLIAM P. MCBRIDE, ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) Appellant. )

SIDDOWAY, J.P.T.⁎ — William McBride appeals his conviction for possession of a

controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to deliver. Mr. McBride intended to

provide the methamphetamine to “Pauline Niner,” who turned out to be a fictitious social

media persona created as part of a sting operation by the Whitman County Sheriff’s

Office.

Mr. McBride contends he should have been acquitted on the basis of his defense

of entrapment and, for the first time on appeal, that the conduct of law enforcement was

outrageous, in violation of his right to due process. He fails to make the required

⁎ Judge Laurel H. Siddoway was a member of the Court of Appeals at the time argument was held on this matter. She is now serving as a judge pro tempore of the court pursuant to RCW 2.06.150. No. 38872-7-III State v. McBride

showings, however. For that reason and because he presents no meritorious issues in his

pro se statement of additional grounds, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

During Sergeant (Sgt.) Michael Jordan’s employment by the Whitman County

Sheriff’s Office, he has attended a number of training programs focused on drug and

street-level crimes. As of 2022, the most recent training he had attended dealt with how

drug dealers and users are increasingly communicating through social media and how

officers can create a profile and participate in social media communication as a way of

interdicting drug dealing.

In January 2022, Sgt. Jordan relied on his recent training to create a Facebook

profile for “Pauline Niner,” for the purpose of meeting people online who are willing to

sell drugs. “Pauline’s” Facebook profile characterized her as a woman living in Pullman.

At Mr. McBride’s trial, the sergeant explained that he set up a female profile because

“[i]t attracts more people. More—more guys are out looking for girls and girls are—

looking to—more guys sell drugs than girls.” Rep. of Proc. (RP) at 117.

In 12 days’ communications that took place over two and one-half weeks in early

2022, Mr. McBride contacted “Pauline” and the two discussed meeting up. “Pauline”

wanted to procure methamphetamine and Mr. McBride said he could obtain some for her.

Problems with Mr. McBride’s vehicle, his suppliers, and his cash flow proved to be

obstacles to his attempts to provide her with methamphetamine on February 9 and 10,

2 No. 38872-7-III State v. McBride

and again on the evening of February 15, but on February 16 he informed “Pauline” he

had a “little bit” to bring to her. Ex. 101, at 28. Present to meet him when he arrived at

“Pauline’s” address was Sgt. Jordan, who arrested him.

Mr. McBride was charged with possession of a controlled substance

(methamphetamine) with intent to deliver. At trial, he asserted the defense of

entrapment. His lawyer likened Sgt. Jordan’s sting to a Cold War, KGB1 “honey trap”:

using fictitious females to seduce men into doing something wrong. Defense counsel

also argued that on the day of his arrest, Mr. McBride had merely intended to share the

small amount of methamphetamine in his possession with “Pauline,” which was not the

statutorily-required “delivery.”

The only witnesses called in the State’s case were Sgt. Jordan and a witness from

the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory. The crime lab witness had tested the

substance seized from Mr. McBride and testified that it was 0.4 grams of crystalline

material that contained methamphetamine. Mr. McBride did not testify.

The most critical evidence at trial was exhibit 101, a complete collection of

screenshots that Sgt. Jordan had taken of “Pauline’s” and Mr. McBride’s communications

1 The transcript of closing argument reports counsel as saying KJB, but in context it is clear he must have said KGB, the acronym for “Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti,” according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica. (Available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/KGB). According to the encyclopedia, the KGB (in English, “Committee for State Security”) was a security agency of the Soviet Union established in 1954.

3 No. 38872-7-III State v. McBride

on Facebook Messenger. Apart from that, the two had only had one brief telephone

conversation.2

In the briefing on appeal, Mr. McBride emphasizes communications from

“Pauline” that he contends were repeated inducement, while the State emphasizes

communications that it contends belie any reluctance on Mr. McBride’s part to provide

“Pauline” with methamphetamine. The communications themselves best illustrate Mr.

McBride’s point that “Pauline” was playfully offering to “party” with him as much as to

buy drugs, and the State’s point that the two-and-one-half-week delay in an actual

delivery of drugs was more attributable to mishaps befalling Mr. McBride than any

reluctance on his part to sell drugs. We therefore reproduce the communications.

Mr. McBride’s communications are on the left and “Pauline’s” are on the right.

The extensive shorthand, misspellings, and run-on words are from the original. Early in

the communications, the slang terms “white christmas,” and “Clr” (short for “clear”) are

used, both of which Sgt. Jordan testified refer to methamphetamine:

2 Sgt. Jordan did not testify about the content of the call, but it is reflected on the Facebook Messenger screen shots as having taken place at 10:46 a.m. on February 9. The immediately preceding messages suggest the parties were confirming “Pauline’s” interest in 2 ounces of methamphetamine estimated to cost $400. No explanation was provided whether Sgt. Jordan participated himself in the call and, if so, how he passed himself off as female.

4 No. 38872-7-III State v. McBride

JAN 30, 4:31 PM Hi paulie whats up in pullman JAN 31, 9:35 PM Just new to the area tryn to meet new peeps. Pullman seems cool tho. FEB 04, 12:22 AM Yes m n spokane FEB 04, 12:38 AM Nice. Do you like Spokane FEB 04, 6:01 AM Its ok but latly with all the hpmeless its getting kinda ttashy but its ok What do you like to do walk or hike bike beaches bars cars laying together watching stars FEB 07, 4:06 PM Mainly party lol FEB 07, 7:41 PM Cool thats mainly what i do you like to drink smoke gfssn or do youblike the white christmas I like a little Clr Yep my choice. Also Well Pullman is dry af FEB 08, 6:01 PM Hey there It is i dont know anyone to sell to i can get as much as i want FEB 08, 6:46 PM Can you hook me up? FEB 08, 8:17 PM Im sure i could but i just got a motor home so im out on the rez at the moment FEB 08, 8:43 PM What ate you looking for FEB 08, 9:22 PM Oz FEB 09, 8:05 AM Sry was just an idea

5 No. 38872-7-III State v. McBride

FEB 09, 9:26 AM Ok they run 400 hundredish do you have a number so we dont have to be on messenger to talk ot we could meet and talk maybe we can work out an arrangment that works for both of us ? FEB 09, 10:33 AM Can I call you on here? FEB 09, 10:46 AM Audio Call 1 min Sry my WiFi sux I got paid today. Planning any trips to Pullman? FEB 09, 11:34 AM I could this evening if thst would work for you what was you thinking how much I think 2.

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