State v. Anderson

2010 Ohio 3989, 933 N.E.2d 850, 158 Ohio Misc. 2d 34
CourtClermont County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedApril 26, 2010
DocketNo. 2009 CR 0783
StatusPublished

This text of 2010 Ohio 3989 (State v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Clermont County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Anderson, 2010 Ohio 3989, 933 N.E.2d 850, 158 Ohio Misc. 2d 34 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2010).

Opinion

Haddad, Judge.

{¶ 1} This matter came before the court on February 22, 2010, pursuant to a motion to suppress filed by the defendant, Robert L. Anderson. Upon hearing oral arguments on the motion, the court took the matter under advisement and now renders the following decision.

FINDINGS OF FACT

{¶ 2} The defendant was indicted on one count of aggravated possession of drugs, in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), on October 28, 2009. It is alleged that on or about October 19, 2009, the defendant knowingly obtained, possessed, or used a controlled substance, and the drug involved in the violation was a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance included in schedule I or II, with the exception of marihuana, cocaine, LSD, heroin, and hashish. The drug allegedly involved was methamphetamine, a schedule II drug. Specifically, it is alleged that the defendant possessed 0.23 grams of methamphetamine in a front pocket of the pants he was wearing.1

{¶ 3} The following facts are based upon the uncontroverted testimony of Agent Mark Sorbello of the Clermont County Narcotics Unit and Corporal Ron Robinson of the Goshen Township Police Department. On October 19, 2009, four [39]*39officers went to the home of Lynda Fields and Randall Hanselman, located at 6685 Oakland Road, Loveland, Clermont County, Ohio, in order to execute a warrant for their arrest. Once they arrived, Agent Sorbello and Agent DePuccio went around to the back of the house while Corporal Robinson and Deputy Gebhardt went to the front door. Gebhardt and Robinson were invited into the home. There is some discrepancy in the testimony as to whether Hanselman was home at the time or whether he came in later. However, both officers testified that Fields was home and was seated in the living area. The defendant was at the dining room table surrounded by drugs and drug paraphernalia. Robinson testified that he saw the defendant walk to the trash can, but could not see whether anything was thrown away. Another male was at the scene with a child, but, after the officers performed a consent search of that person’s vehicle and of his person, the male and the child were released.

{¶ 4} Robinson stated that he and Gebhardt were explaining the warrant to Fields and Hanselman when Agent Sorbello and Agent DePuccio came in the back. The defendant was asked to get up from the table to be checked for weapons, but he kept lunging for the table. The defendant was then cuffed to protect the evidence, and a pat-down search for weapons was performed. He was not placed under arrest at this time. Robinson testified that the defendant kept trying to put his hands into his front pockets, so a second pat-down search for weapons was performed. No weapons were discovered during either pat-down. At some point during the evening, the defendant was permitted to go onto the front porch so that he could smoke.

{¶ 5} Sorbello testified that the officers arrived on scene at approximately 8:30 p.m. Once the defendant was discovered at the table with the drugs and drug paraphernalia, Sorbello executed an affidavit for a search warrant. Due to the late hour, Sorbello took the affidavit to the home of a Clermont County Municipal Court judge, and the warrant was signed at approximately 11:00 p.m. Sorbello then arrived back at the scene sometime between 11:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. The warrant was executed and was time-stamped back in at approximately 1:00 a.m. on October 20, 2009. The officers remained at the scene until approximately 5:00 a.m. for clean-up purposes. Notably, the search warrant did not permit a search of the defendant’s person or of any other person located at the scene. A search of the scene resulted in the discovery of hundreds of small baggies, cut straws, and foil. Based upon the officers’ training and experience, it was determined that the items discovered were consistent with illegal drug abuse.

{¶ 6} After the warrant was executed, the defendant was placed under arrest. Once the defendant was formally placed under arrest, Robinson performed a more thorough search of the defendant’s person and discovered two bags of white powder, which were later determined to be methamphetamine. The defendant [40]*40was then turned over to Gebhardt, and the defendant was placed into the patrol car for transport.

{¶ 7} The defendant filed a motion to suppress on December 23, 2009. The defendant argues that all evidence resulting from the warrantless seizure and search of the defendant should be suppressed since both the seizure and search were unlawful and unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 14, Article I of the Ohio Constitution. The defendant contends that the officers unreasonably extended his detention and that the warrantless seizure of his person extended beyond the time necessary for the officers to investigate any initial reasonable suspicion based upon specific, articulable facts. Further, the defendant asserts that suppression of the evidence obtained during the warrantless search of his person is appropriate since there was no probable cause to support the search and since the search warrant issued for 6685 Oakland Road, Loveland, Ohio, on October 19, 2009, did not authorize the search. In summary, the following are points of contention in the defendant’s motion to suppress: (1) the initial detention while the arrest warrant against another person was executed, (2) the subsequent detention while officers were waiting on the search warrant, and (3) the search of the defendant’s person, since he was not named in the search warrant.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

{¶ 8} The defendant’s first argument in his motion to suppress is that the officers unreasonably extended the warrantless seizure of his person beyond the time necessary for them to investigate any initial reasonable suspicion based upon specific, articulable facts. This broad argument encompasses both the time that it took to execute the arrest warrant on Fields and Hanselman and the time that it took to obtain a search warrant for the residence.

{¶ 9} The court first notes that the defendant is not arguing that the officers lacked reasonable suspicion based upon specific, articulable facts. Instead, the argument made is that the amount of time the defendant was detained during the investigation was unreasonable.

{¶ 10} “A Terry stop is an investigatory detention of limited duration and purpose and can last only as long as it takes the police officer to confirm or dispel his suspicions.” State v. Peacock, Lake App. No. 2002-L-115, 2003-Ohio-6772, 2003 WL 22952755, ¶ 15, citing State v. Taylor (1995), 106 Ohio App.3d 741, 748, 667 N.E.2d 60. “During a Terry stop, an officer may perform a ‘pat down’ search for weapons. The purpose of this limited search is to allow an officer to pursue his or her investigation without fear of violence; it is not intended to provide the officer with an opportunity to ascertain evidence of a crime.” State v. [41]*41Cooper, Cuyahoga App. No. 82588, 2003-Ohio-6038, 2003 WL 22671593, ¶ 11. When performing a Terry pat-down search for weapons, the officers may “seize nonthreatening contraband when its incriminating nature is ‘immediately apparent’ to the searching officer through the sense of touch.” Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 Ohio 3989, 933 N.E.2d 850, 158 Ohio Misc. 2d 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-anderson-ohctcomplclermo-2010.