State v. Chambers

529 N.W.2d 617, 1994 Iowa App. LEXIS 163, 1994 WL 774448
CourtCourt of Appeals of Iowa
DecidedDecember 14, 1994
Docket93-1690
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 529 N.W.2d 617 (State v. Chambers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Chambers, 529 N.W.2d 617, 1994 Iowa App. LEXIS 163, 1994 WL 774448 (iowactapp 1994).

Opinion

HUITINK, Judge.

Keith Chambers appeals from his conviction of third-degree burglary. We affirm.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

On June 28, 1993, juvenile court officer Mike Meyers arrived at his private office at the Human Services Building in Ames. Meyers placed his billfold containing nineteen one-dollar bills and three five-dollar bills into his desk drawer. Meyers then left his office to attend a meeting in another room in the same building.

Upon his return, Meyers encountered a man wearing zebra-striped pants emerging from the restroom next to his office. The two-exchanged greetings as Meyers entered his office. Meyers opened his desk drawer and discovered the cash from his wallet was missing. Meyers did not see anyone else near his office that morning.

Meyers told an employee of the department of human services what had happened. The employee told Meyers the defendant, Keith Chambers, had just left that employ *619 ee’s office and asked directions to the restroom. He also told Meyers that Chambers was wearing zebra-striped pants.

Meyers left the building in search of Chambers. He radioed the police department to inform them of his loss. After failing to locate Chambers, Meyers returned to the Human Services Building and parked his car in a parking lot across the street. While there, he saw Chambers leave the Human Services Building through a side door. Meyers recognized Chambers as the man he encountered near his office earlier that morning. Meyers pulled his car alongside Chambers, showed him his badge identifying him as a juvenile court officer, and asked Chambers if he would answer a few questions. Chambers agreed.

Meyers told Chambers that money had been taken from his office. He asked Chambers if he had any money. Meyers also asked Chambers to empty his pockets and pull up his pant legs. Chambers complied and gave Meyers a billfold he was carrying under his pant legs. The wallet contained thirty-four dollars in the same denominations as that taken from Meyers.

Chambers gave Meyers the money and admitted taking it from his office. He then began to walk away from Meyers. Meyers told him that the police had already been summoned and that any attempt to flee would be futile. When the police arrived, Chambers repeated the admission and was promptly arrested.

Chambers was charged with third-degree burglary. Chambers moved to suppress all of the evidence obtained as a result of his encounter with Meyers on the grounds that the encounter was an illegal warrantless seizure. The district court overruled this motion finding Meyers had reasonable cause to stop and detain Chambers and his subsequent arrest was supported by probable cause.

At trial, Chambers admitted he took thirty-four dollars from a billfold he found in Meyers’ desk drawer. He testified that he entered Meyers’ office to use his telephone and did not have the intent to commit a theft when he first entered the office. On cross-examination, the State was permitted, over defendant’s objection, to impeach the defendant with a prior theft conviction.

The jury was instructed on the definition and elements of burglary in the third degree as provided by Uniform Criminal Jury Instruction 1300.14. The district court rejected Chambers’ proposed instruction on the “open-to-the-public” element of burglary. The proposed instruction provided:

Whether a structure is open to the public depends on the totality of the circumstances. If under the circumstances known to him at the time, a reasonable person could believe that the structure was open to the public, that person had authority to enter the structure. Permission to enter need not be expressly given.

The jury found the defendant guilty of burglary in the third degree.

On appeal Chambers contends the district court erred by (1) failing to suppress evidence obtained as the result of an illegal warrantless seizure of his person; (2) admitting evidence of a prior criminal conviction; and (3) improperly instructing the jury. Chambers also contends the jury’s verdict is not supported by the evidence.

II. Illegal Warrantless Seizure.

We first consider Chambers’ claim that evidence was obtained by an illegal war-rantless seizure of his person. Since Chambers’ constitutional rights are implicated, our review on this issue is de novo. State v. Johnson, 395 N.W.2d 661, 663 (Iowa App.1986). We resolve this issue by making an independent evaluation of the totality of the circumstances. State v. Richardson, 501 N.W.2d 495, 496 (Iowa 1993).

The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure imposes a reasonableness standard upon the exercise of discretion by law enforcement officials. State v. Losee, 353 N.W.2d 876, 878 (Iowa App.1984). Ordinarily this proscription against unreasonable searches and seizures does not apply to searches and seizures conducted by private individuals. State v. Holliday, 169 N.W.2d 768, 771-72 (Iowa 1969). If, however, a private citizen acts as an agent of the state, the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment apply. State v. Coy, 397 N.W.2d 730, 731 (Iowa 1986) (citations omitted).

*620 The State argues that Meyers acted as a private citizen and the Fourth Amendment protections claimed by Chambers do not apply under these circumstances. We, like the trial court, find it unnecessary to resolve this issue.

Even if Meyers acted as an agent of the state, he had the authority to stop and detain Chambers because he had reasonable cause to believe a crime had been committed. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Meyers violated no Fourth-Amendment prohibitions by approaching Chambers on the street and asking him to answer his questions. Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 497, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1324, 75 L.Ed.2d 229, 236 (1983). We conclude, based on our de novo review, Meyers did not act inappropriately when he stopped and questioned Chambers. The district court did not err by admitting Chambers’ voluntary responses to Meyers’ questions.

III.Prior Criminal Conviction.

The admission of evidence at trial is a matter left to the district court’s discretion. We will not reverse unless we find a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Halstead, 362 N.W.2d 504, 506 (Iowa 1985).

Evidence of crimes other than the one for which the' defendant is charged is inadmissible unless circumstances fall within narrowly-defined exceptions.

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Bluebook (online)
529 N.W.2d 617, 1994 Iowa App. LEXIS 163, 1994 WL 774448, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chambers-iowactapp-1994.