State v. Dalton D. Ursulean

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 17, 2026
Docket2024AP000412-CR
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Dalton D. Ursulean (State v. Dalton D. Ursulean) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Dalton D. Ursulean, (Wis. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS DECISION NOTICE DATED AND FILED This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. February 17, 2026 A party may file with the Supreme Court a Samuel A. Christensen petition to review an adverse decision by the Clerk of Court of Appeals Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10 and RULE 809.62.

Appeal No. 2024AP412-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2022CF21

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT III

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

DALTON D. URSULEAN,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from a judgment of the circuit court for Marinette County: JAMES A. MORRISON, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Stark, P.J., Hruz, and Gill, JJ.

Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent

or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3).

¶1 PER CURIAM. Dalton D. Ursulean appeals a judgment of conviction for one count of possession of narcotic drugs, contrary to WIS. STAT. No. 2024AP412-CR

§ 961.41(3g)(am) (2023-24).1 Ursulean argues that the circuit court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence discovered during a warrantless search of his bedroom. More specifically, Ursulean argues that: (1) law enforcement’s initial search of his bedroom was not a permissible protective sweep; (2) following the initial search, Ursulean did not voluntarily consent to a subsequent search of his bedroom; and (3) even if he did voluntarily consent to the subsequent search, the evidence discovered during that search should be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree because it was discovered as a result of the initial, unlawful search.

¶2 We assume, without deciding, that the initial search of Ursulean’s bedroom was not a lawful protective sweep. We nevertheless conclude that Ursulean’s subsequent consent to a search of his bedroom was voluntary. We further conclude that Ursulean’s voluntary consent was sufficiently attenuated from the initial search, such that suppression of the evidence discovered during the subsequent search is not required. We therefore affirm Ursulean’s judgment of conviction.

BACKGROUND

¶3 On January 19, 2022, law enforcement officers performed a warrantless search of Ursulean’s bedroom in a residence located on River Street in the City of Niagara. Based on evidence discovered during the search, the State charged Ursulean with five counts, each as a repeater: (1) possession of narcotic drugs; (2) possession of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC); (3) possession of a controlled substance; (4) maintaining a drug trafficking place; and (5) possession

1 All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2023-24 version.

2 No. 2024AP412-CR

of drug paraphernalia. Ursulean moved to suppress, arguing that the warrantless search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment.

¶4 At the suppression hearing, Officer Michael Chapman of the Niagara Police Department testified that on the night of the search, he was familiar with the River Street residence and knew that Nina Bennett lived there with her son, Ursulean. Chapman was familiar with Ursulean from his previous experience working at the Marinette County Jail. He also knew from probation records that Audreanna Basso lived at the River Street residence, and he knew that Basso’s boyfriend, Daniel Turner, “was also residing there for a time.”

¶5 Prior to the search, Chapman had observed multiple vehicles in the driveway of the River Street residence that he knew belonged to “drug users.” In addition, the night before the search, a deputy saw a woman at the residence who matched Basso’s description. On the morning of the search, Chapman conducted a “garbage pick” at the residence and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. After finding those items, Chapman contacted the district attorney “and asked her if this was enough for an Act 79 search of Audreanna Basso’s living areas.” 2 The

2 “Act 79” refers to 2013 Wis. Act 79, which enacted a number of statutory provisions, including WIS. STAT. § 973.09(1d). As relevant here, § 973.09(1d) provides that

[i]f a person is placed on probation for a felony … his or her residence, and any property under his or her control may be searched by a law enforcement officer at any time during his or her period of supervision if the officer reasonably suspects that the person is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a crime or a violation of a condition of probation.

For purposes of this appeal, it is undisputed that Basso was on felony probation at the time of the challenged search and, as a result, was subject to § 973.09(1d).

3 No. 2024AP412-CR

district attorney approved the search but clarified that law enforcement “could only search [Basso’s] area and the common areas of the home.”

¶6 Chapman and several other officers then approached the River Street home and knocked on the door, which was answered by a man named Mathew Lanthier. The officers asked if Basso was home, and Lanthier responded that she was not. The officers then entered the home, and one officer—Deputy Oginski— spoke with Lanthier, while Chapman and another officer—Deputy Haws— proceeded upstairs. At the top of the stairs, there were five closed doors—two on either side of the hall and one at the end of the hall. After walking upstairs, Chapman could smell the odor of THC, but he could not tell where it was coming from.

¶7 Chapman could hear a voice coming from one of the rooms at the top of the stairs. He knocked on the second door on the right, which turned out to be a bathroom where Bennett was taking a bath. After Chapman introduced himself to Bennett and explained why the officers were there, Bennett told him that Basso’s room was the first room on the right, but she also stated that Basso no longer lived in the home.

¶8 While Chapman was speaking with Bennett, but before Bennett identified Basso’s room, Haws had knocked on the first door on the left, which turned out to be Ursulean’s room. It is not clear from the suppression hearing testimony whether Haws or Ursulean opened the door to Ursulean’s room. Chapman did testify, however, that he did not see Haws enter Ursulean’s room.

¶9 Officer Tyler Parr of the Niagara Police Department testified that he assisted in the Act 79 search of the River Street residence. When he entered the residence’s upper floor, he saw Chapman speaking with Bennett and Haws

4 No. 2024AP412-CR

speaking with Ursulean. Parr testified that Haws was in the hallway, and he could not remember whether Ursulean was in the hallway or inside his room. The door to Ursulean’s room was open, and Parr could see a “red grinder” of the type typically “used to prepare marijuana for smoking” on a dresser inside the room.

¶10 Parr testified that after he saw the grinder inside Ursulean’s room, Bennett identified Basso’s room to Chapman, and Parr then searched Basso’s room. Inside Basso’s room, Parr found items that he believed belonged to Basso, including a prescription pill bottle with her name on it.

¶11 Chapman testified that while Basso’s room was being searched, officers escorted Ursulean and Bennett downstairs “to keep everybody together to keep the scene secure.” Downstairs, in the living room, Oginski “explained the Act 79 search” to Lanthier, Ursulean, and Bennett. Oginski then asked Ursulean for consent to search the residence, to which Ursulean responded, “No. Get a warrant.” Chapman then went outside to his squad car to begin preparing the paperwork for a warrant application, “[b]ased on the odor [of THC] and the observation of paraphernalia” in Ursulean’s room. Chapman had a problem with his computer, however, and he therefore went back inside and asked to use Oginski’s computer.

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

Related

United States v. Watson
423 U.S. 411 (Supreme Court, 1975)
State v. Artic
2010 WI 83 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2010)
State v. Phillips
577 N.W.2d 794 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Kiekhefer
569 N.W.2d 316 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1997)
Patrick Fur Farm, Inc. v. United Vaccines, Inc.
2005 WI App 190 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State v. Dalton D. Ursulean, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dalton-d-ursulean-wisctapp-2026.