State v. Cothran

115 S.W.3d 513, 2003 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 104, 2003 WL 402787
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 14, 2003
DocketW2002-00485-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished
Cited by90 cases

This text of 115 S.W.3d 513 (State v. Cothran) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cothran, 115 S.W.3d 513, 2003 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 104, 2003 WL 402787 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

JOE G. RILEY, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court,

in which JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS and ALAN E. GLENN, JJ., joined.

OPINION

A Lauderdale County grand jury indicted the defendants, Jerry Steven Cothran and Lee Theodore Smith, on one count of attempt to manufacture a controlled substance, two counts of possession of controlled substances, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Cothran was also indicted on three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion to suppress evidence based upon an illegal search. On appeal, the state contends the trial court erred in granting the defendants’ motion to suppress. Upon review of the record and the applicable law, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

On March 81, 2001, the defendants and co-defendant Alfred Smith were arrested and charged with various drug-related offenses. In addition, Cothran was charged with three counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, with Alfred Smith being charged in two of those three counts. The defendants, but not co-defendant Alfred Smith, 1 filed a motion to suppress evidence found as a result of an illegal search. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion, and the state appealed.

I. SUPPRESSION HEARING

At the suppression hearing, Investigator John Thompson testified that on March 31, 2001, while he was off duty, he received a telephone call from the sheriffs department regarding a tip that someone was manufacturing methamphetamine at 4150 Asbury Glimp Road in Lauderdale County. Thompson stated he did not know who gave the tip or who resided at the address. Thompson testified he, the sheriff, and other deputies went to the address to conduct a “knock and talk.” He stated he knocked on the door; heard a male voice say, “come on in;” and entered the residence. Upon entering the residence, Thompson immediately smelled the odor of burnt marijuana.

Thompson stated that upon entry, he was met by defendant Lee Smith, who in a “panic mode” put an object in his left front pocket. When he asked him what he had concealed, Smith replied it was “nothing.” Thompson testified he patted Smith’s pocket, felt a “long slender object,” and removed it from his pocket. Thompson stated the object was a metal pipe, which he opined to be drug paraphernalia used to smoke drugs. He further stated the metal *518 pipe had sharp edges and could be used as a weapon. He further observed that the pipe had traces of powder residue. Upon observing the metal pipe, he arrested Smith.

Thompson observed Alfred Smith and defendant Cothran sitting on separate couches. He testified he also saw a long, narrow strip of foil on an end table near Cothran and a long, burnt piece of foil on a stool at the end of a chair near both Coth-ran and Alfred Smith. Based on his experience and various courses he completed on illegal narcotics, Thompson opined these items were drug paraphernalia. He stated all three men appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and Cothran was belligerent and “talked real crazy.” The officer patted down each individual and found a .9mm derringer pistol in Cothran’s pants pocket. He also observed a partially smoked marijuana cigarette in an ashtray on the couch where Cothran was seated and a clear bag of yellowish-tan powder beneath Cothran’s feet.

When Thompson asked who owned the residence, Lee Smith informed him that Heather Kent was the owner. Thompson then contacted Kent and requested her presence. When Kent arrived, she consented to a search of the residence. The officers searched the residence but found no other drugs or paraphernalia.

Lee Smith and Cothran were taken to jail, while Thompson and Alfred Smith remained at the residence. Upon arriving at the jail, a deputy recovered a bag of marijuana and rolling papers upon searching Cothran.

A Ford “dually” owned by Alfred Smith was parked in the driveway of the residence. Thompson saw a gun wedged in the seat of the Ford “dually” and retrieved the gun, a Ruger ,9mm. Although Alfred Smith denied ownership of the gun, he told Thompson there was another gun in the truck. He further stated that he and Cothran had ridden together in the truck earlier that day. The officer searched the truck and found the other gun in a storage compartment above the visor, a package of four lithium batteries, four cans of starting fluid, and a package containing white powder wrapped in black duct tape.

Thompson testified the officers submitted to the TBI the substance recovered from Cothran at the police station, the yellowish-tan powder found at the residence, the partially smoked cigarette found at the residence, and the white powder found in Alfred Smith’s truck. According to the test results, the yellowish-tan powder was methamphetamine; the white powder was pseudoephedrine; and the remaining substances were marijuana. Thompson opined the officers found three of the necessary components of a methamphetamine laboratory, ether from the starting fluid, lithium, and pseudoephed-rine.

At the suppression hearing, Heather Kent testified she was the owner of the residence. She stated that on March 31, 2001, she and Lee Smith went fishing, and Lee Smith’s vehicle became stuck. Coth-ran and Alfred Smith came and helped them with the vehicle, and they all returned to Kent’s home. Kent left, while the three men remained at her home. Kent stated that when she left, the men were not engaged in any criminal activity. She testified she received a telephone call from the police forty to forty-five minutes after she left the residence, and when she returned, she gave the officers consent to search her home.

II. TRIAL COURT’S FINDINGS

We paraphrase the following findings of the trial court. Officer Thompson, accom *519 panied by the sheriff and several deputies, went to the residence to conduct a “knock and talk.” Upon knocking on the door, a male voice told him to enter. Upon entry, Officer Thompson smelled the odor of smoked marijuana and saw Lee Smith place something in his pocket. Officer Thompson conducted pat-down searches of Lee Smith, Jerry Cothran, and Albert Smith “for officer safety.” The officer observed marijuana and drug paraphernalia and arrested Cothran after finding a pistol on his person. 2 The trial court further found that after being informed that the residence belonged to Heather Kent, Officer Thompson called her and requested that she return to her residence. When Kent arrived, she consented to the search of her home; however, the officers did not find anything in addition to the items they had already seized.

The trial court found that Heather Kent was the owner of the residence, and after Kent left the residence, the co-defendants remained with her consent. The trial court found that the defendants had an expectation of privacy in Kent’s residence and had standing to challenge the search and seizure relating to all items found in the residence.

The trial court further found that even though Officer Thompson received a telephone call from a dispatcher regarding a complaint of someone manufacturing methamphetamine, the officer did not know the dispatcher’s source of the information.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
115 S.W.3d 513, 2003 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 104, 2003 WL 402787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cothran-tenncrimapp-2003.