State v. Chezem

865 P.2d 1307, 125 Or. App. 341
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 22, 1993
Docket91C20021 CA A71145
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 865 P.2d 1307 (State v. Chezem) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Chezem, 865 P.2d 1307, 125 Or. App. 341 (Or. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

865 P.2d 1307 (1993)
125 Or. App. 341

STATE of Oregon, Respondent,
v.
David Robert CHEZEM, Appellant.

91C20021; CA A71145.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Submitted on Record and Briefs August 12, 1992.
Decided December 22, 1993.

*1308 Helen L. Cooper, Salem, filed the brief, for appellant.

Charles S. Crookham, Atty. Gen., Virginia L. Linder, Sol. Gen., and Diane S. Lefkow, Asst. Atty. Gen., filed the brief, for respondent.

Before RICHARDSON, C.J., and DEITS and DURHAM, JJ.

RICHARDSON, Chief Judge.

Defendant appeals his conviction for possession of a controlled substance. ORS 475.992. The trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence seized at his residence during the execution of a search warrant. Defendant argues that the affidavit supporting the search warrant does not establish probable cause to believe that evidence of methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution would be found at his residence. We affirm.

Oregon State Police Officer Curths submitted the affidavit for the search warrant. After describing his experience in narcotics investigations, Curths related details regarding defendant and others that were reported in police records compiled from 1985 to 1987 by former Salem Police Officer Nelson. Curths confirmed the substance of these reports with Nelson. From one of Nelson's reports, Curths described a discussion Nelson had in 1985 with two confidential informants who had been arrested for possession of methamphetamine. Those informants (CI # 1 and CI # 2)[1] told Nelson that they were involved in a methamphetamine distribution network that included defendant, Chris Johnson, Mike Ortwine, Sandy Ortwine and Ron Williams. CI # 1 and CI # 2 stated that defendant was the methamphetamine "cook," that he lived somewhere in Salem and that he was from California. They also told Nelson that they obtained their methamphetamine from the Ortwines and from Chris Johnson.

Nelson had interviewed another confidential informant (CI # 3) on November 25, 1986. CI # 3 told Nelson that the Ortwines grew large quantities of marijuana and that they packaged the marijuana with sliced apples to retain the drug's moisture and weight. CI # 3 also stated that the Ortwines had access to large quantities of methamphetamine, that they had weapons and were dangerous. Nelson told Curths that CI # 3 received this information from "other drug associations that CI # 3 was acquainted with."

Curths next described information Nelson received from a fourth confidential informant (CI # 4) on October 9, 1987. CI # 4 told Nelson that CI # 4 had been a close associate of the Ortwines and had been in contact with them 10 months previously. CI # 4 described the Ortwines' residence and identified a pole barn where CI # 4 had seen marijuana drying. CI # 4 stated that the Ortwines *1309 packaged the marijuana with fruit slices to retain the moisture and weight of the drug. CI # 4 also told Nelson that the Ortwines sold large quantities of methamphetamine and that CI # 4 had seen Sandy Ortwine weighing methamphetamine in her kitchen for distribution. Nelson told Curths that he confirmed the location of the Ortwines' residence as described by CI # 4.

Curths also recited information that he received from a confidential reliable informant (CRI # 5) within 30 days before signing the affidavit. CRI # 5 told Curths that CRI # 5 was personally acquainted with people involved in the distribution of methamphetamine and identified those persons as defendant, Mike Kliner, Chris Johnson, Joe, and Mike and Sandy. CRI # 5 pointed out a residence, which Curths later confirmed as defendant's residence. CRI # 5 told Curths that he had been to Johnson's residence where he had seen Johnson packaging methamphetamine and in possession of more than a user's amount of that substance. CRI # 5 pointed out that residence to Curths and Curths confirmed it as Johnson's residence. CRI # 5 also informed Curths that he had seen Mike and Sandy Ortwine with more than a user's amount of methamphetamine at their residence. CRI # 5 described the location of Ortwines' residence, which Curths confirmed. CRI # 5 also accurately described vehicles registered to the Ortwines. Curths stated that CRI # 5 was reliable, because CRI # 5 had given accurate and reliable information about people involved in drug activities in the past. In addition, CRI # 5 had made at least three controlled buys of methamphetamine within the past 30 days.

CRI # 5 told Curths that CRI # 5 had received information within the past 30 days from another person, who did not know that CRI # 5 was passing information to the police. Curths did not disclose the name of this "unwitting informant," (UI # 6) but stated that the person's identity was confirmed by the Stayton police. CRI # 5 told Curths that UI # 6 told CRI # 5 that the Ortwines, Mike Kliner, Chris Johnson and defendant were involved in a methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution organization. UI # 6 said that he knew this because he was also part of this organization. UI # 6 told CRI # 5 that Mike and Sandy had a methamphetamine laboratory at their residence. UI # 6 stated that UI # 6 gets methamphetamine from Mike and Sandy on a regular basis and that UI # 6 also could obtain it from "[defendant] who lives in Salem." UI # 6 explained that defendant was the methamphetamine "cook." UI # 6 also told CRI # 5 that the Ortwines supply Chris Johnson with the methamphetamine that he distributes. CRI # 5 told Curths that CRI # 5 knows that UI # 6 is personally acquainted with Mike, Sandy, defendant, Mike Kliner and Chris Johnson, because UI # 6 and CRI # 5 were together with these people at Mike and Sandy's residence. CRI # 5 also has gone with UI # 6 to defendant's residence in Salem. Curths observed CRI # 5 as he visited both defendant's and the Ortwines' residences.

Curths also related information from two other confidential informants (CI# 7 and CI # 8). On November 30, 1990, Curths spoke with CI # 7 who told him that CI # 7 knows Mike Ortwine and his address in Stayton, Oregon. CI # 7 said that he had seen Ortwine at his residence during the day and that Ortwine does not seem to work, although he has money. Curths later talked with CI # 8, a local neighbor of the Ortwines. CI # 8 told Curths that CI # 8 had seen three adult males on the Ortwines' property on a regular basis and that the people on the property do not appear to work at regular employment. CI # 8 told Curths that he had seen traffic into and out of the residence late at night. CI # 8 stated that he had recently heard short bursts of firearms being fired near the Ortwines' residence.

A week before requesting the search warrant, Curths obtained telephone records for the Ortwines' residence. Those records showed that, in the previous three months, 17 calls were made from the Ortwines' residence to defendant's telephone number.

An affidavit is sufficient to support a search warrant if the magistrate could *1310 reasonably conclude that the facts and circumstances recited in the affidavit are true, and the items sought will probably be found in the location to be searched. ORS 133.-555(2); State v. Villagran, 294 Or. 404, 408, 657 P.2d 1223 (1983); State v. Brotherton, 123 Or.App.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Castro
93 P.3d 815 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2004)
State v. Derrah
84 P.3d 1084 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2004)
State v. Spriggs
905 P.2d 263 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1995)
State v. Strailey
883 P.2d 901 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1994)
State v. Milosevich
883 P.2d 898 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1994)
State v. Poppe
883 P.2d 905 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1994)
State v. Apolo
870 P.2d 243 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
865 P.2d 1307, 125 Or. App. 341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-chezem-orctapp-1993.