State v. Crumpler

2012 Ohio 2601
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 13, 2012·No. 26098, 26118·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. Nos. 26098 26118

Appellant/Cross-Appellee

v.

APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT

KHALILAH E. CRUMPLER, et al. ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

Appellees/Cross-Appellants COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO CASE No. CV 2010-12-8145

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY Dated: June 13, 2012

DICKINSON, Judge.

INTRODUCTION

{¶1} Khalilah Crumpler, an unemployed student, was driving a Hummer with over $677,000 of suspiciously packaged cash in it when police stopped her for a minor traffic violation and arrested her on an outstanding warrant. Police obtained a search warrant for her residence and there found some marijuana, over $10,000 in cash, and various pieces of jewelry, some of which had price tags on them. When the State filed a civil forfeiture action against her for the items seized from her house, she moved to suppress the evidence and dismiss the complaint, arguing that the search warrant was not based on probable cause and failed to satisfy the particularity requirement. She also argued that the State had no right to retain seized property absent a nexus between the property and a crime. The trial court determined that the search warrant was properly issued on a finding of probable cause, but granted the motion in regard to the money and the jewelry that did not have price tags on it because the State had failed

to prove those items were instrumentalities of a crime under Section 2981.02 of the Ohio Revised Code. The State appealed, and Ms. Crumpler cross-appealed. This Court reverses in part the judgment of the trial court because (1) it should have denied the motion to suppress based on its finding that the search warrant was validly issued on probable cause and that it met the particularity requirement and (2) the trial court incorrectly granted the motion to dismiss in part based on the State’s failure to prove the ultimate issue at a time when that issue was not before the court. This Court affirms in part the judgment of the trial court because Ms. Crumpler does not have standing to challenge the seizure of property in which she does not claim any interest.

BACKGROUND

{¶2} In December 2010, the State filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Ms.

Crumpler under Section 2981.05 of the Ohio Revised Code. According to the complaint, Twinsburg police had stopped Ms. Crumpler for an equipment violation on the Hummer she was driving in the early morning hours of October 20, 2010. Due to an outstanding warrant from Mayfield Heights, police arrested her. Following her arrest, police seized $677,660.00 from the rear of the Hummer. The money was wrapped in dryer sheets and/or saran wrap and was then secured into three bundles using rubber bands. When the Hummer was impounded, a drug- sniffing dog alerted several times on the vehicle and the bundles of money. According to the complaint, officers believed that the alerts indicated that the Hummer and the cash had been involved in narcotics trafficking. The next day, police secured a search warrant for a home on Granby Circle in Twinsburg where Ms. Crumpler was living.

{¶3} According to the affidavit in support of the search warrant, Detective Mark Kreiger learned about Ms. Crumpler’s traffic stop shortly after it happened. Police contacted

Detective Kreiger because he was involved in an ongoing drug trafficking investigation of the Granby Circle house. The Detective wrote in his affidavit that the Hummer Ms. Crumpler was driving at the time of the traffic stop was often parked at the house he had been investigating. He also wrote that, in the Hummer, officers found “three separate bags containing an extremely large amount of U.S. currency some wrapped in dryer sheets and saran wrap. These bundles were wrapped according to the denomination of the bill and in different numerical figures, which based on [Detective Kreiger’s] training and experience is indicative of a large-scale narcotics trafficking organization.”

{¶4} While officers executed the search warrant at the Granby Circle house, a canine sniff revealed a bag of marijuana in a jewelry box on a dresser in the master bedroom. Police also seized over $10,000 in cash, $4250 of which was wrapped similarly to the cash police had seized from the Hummer. They also seized a number of pieces of jewelry, including several bracelets, watches, necklaces, and rings. Some of the jewelry had price tags on it. The State alleged that all the items were forfeitable as either “[p]roceeds” or “instrumentalit[ies]” of crimes as described in Section 2981.02 of the Ohio Revised Code.

{¶5} Ms. Crumpler answered the complaint and moved the court to dismiss it and suppress the evidence of the property seized from her home. Citing Section 2981.03(A)(4) of the Ohio Revised Code, Ms. Crumpler argued that, because the search warrant was not based on probable cause, police had unlawfully seized the items. She also moved under Rule 12(C) of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure for the court to dismiss the complaint against her for two reasons. First, she argued the complaint should be dismissed because the items were unlawfully seized. Second, she argued that the complaint failed to state a claim for forfeiture under the statute.

{¶6} Following a hearing, the trial court ruled that the search warrant had been validly issued and that the seizures were authorized. It determined that Ms. Crumpler generally had standing to challenge the search and seizure because she testified that she was living in the house at the time of the search, but that she lacked standing to contest the seizure of the jewelry that had price tags on it because she testified that she did not own those pieces. It held that the marijuana was subject to forfeiture as contraband. In regard to the money and the jewelry that Ms. Crumpler said she owned, the court determined that, despite the “highly suspicious” circumstances, the State had failed to present evidence that those items were instrumentalities of a crime under Section 2981.02 of the Ohio Revised Code. Therefore, the court granted the motion to suppress and dismissed the forfeiture complaint except as it related to the marijuana and the jewelry with price tags on it.

{¶7} The State appealed that ruling, and its appeal was assigned case number 26098.

Ms. Crumpler cross-appealed the judgment, and her appeal received case number 26118. This Court consolidated the two appeals in February 2012. Because Ms. Crumpler has admitted that the marijuana was forfeitable as contraband under Section 2981.02(A)(1), our discussion is limited to questions regarding the money and the jewelry.

UNLAWFUL SEIZURE

{¶8} Ms. Crumpler’s first assignment of error on her cross-appeal is that the trial court incorrectly determined that the search warrant was validly issued and that the seizures were lawful. She has argued that the seizures were unlawful because the search warrant was issued without probable cause, contained false and misleading statements, and failed to satisfy the particularity requirement.

Probable Cause

{¶9} Under Section 2981.03(A)(4) of the Ohio Revised Code, “[a] person aggrieved by an alleged unlawful seizure of property may seek relief from the seizure by filing a motion in the appropriate court[.]” The motion must “show[ ] the person’s interest in the property, state[ ] why the seizure was unlawful, and request[ ] the property’s return.” R.C. 2981.03(A)(4). “If the motion is filed by a defendant after an indictment, information, or complaint seeking forfeiture of the property has been filed, the court shall treat the motion as a motion to suppress evidence.” Id.

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

State v. Crumpler, 2012 Ohio 2601 (Ohio Ct. App. 2012).

2012 Ohio 2601 (State v. Crumpler) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

In re $75,000.00 U.S. Currency
2017 Ohio 9158 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
State v. Crumpler
2014 Ohio 3211 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Recinos
2014 Ohio 3021 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Baas
2014 Ohio 1191 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Castagnola
2013 Ohio 1215 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2013)