State v. Drewery

108 So. 3d 1246, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 148, 2013 WL 336660
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 30, 2013
DocketNo. 12-KA-236
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 108 So. 3d 1246 (State v. Drewery) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Drewery, 108 So. 3d 1246, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 148, 2013 WL 336660 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

ROBERT A. CHAISSON, Judge.

1 ^Defendant, Kewana Drewery, appeals her convictions for possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance. For the reasons that follow, we affirm defendant’s conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana but vacate her conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm while in possession of marijuana.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On January 11, 2007, the St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, in count one, with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:966(A)(1), and in count two, with possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous | -¡substance, in violation of LSA-R.S. M-.OSiE).1 At her March 5, 2007 arraignment, defendant pled not guilty. Defendant thereafter filed several pre-trial motions, including motions to suppress the statement and the evidence, which were heard and denied by the trial court.

The matter proceeded to trial before a twelve-person jury. After considering the evidence presented, the jury, on May 26, 2011, found defendant guilty as charged. On September 19, 2011, the trial court sentenced defendant, on count one, to eight years imprisonment in the Department of Corrections, suspended three of the eight years, and placed defendant on probation for three years. In addition, the trial court imposed an eight thousand dollar fine. With regard to count two, the trial court sentenced defendant to five years imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence and imposed a fine of one thousand dollars.2 The trial court ordered these sentences to run concurrently. Defendant now appeals.

FACTS

Shortly after midnight on September 11, 2006, Sergeant Victor Sehilleci of the Louisiana State Police, was traveling east down Interstate 10 towards U.S. 51 when he encountered a 2006 Dodge Stratus in the left lane traveling at a slow rate of speed, approximately forty-five miles per hour, [1250]*1250and impeding the flow of traffic. Sergeant Schilleci observed the vehicle weave and cross the fog line by about six inches on several occasions. Believing the driver to be either intoxicated or fatigued, Sergeant Schilleci conducted a traffic stop to assess the condition of the driver.

Upon stopping the vehicle, Sergeant Schilleci asked the driver, Kewana Drew-ery, to exit the vehicle and to produce her driver’s license and the vehicle registration. As she handed the officer her driver’s license, he noticed that her hand was shaking and that she appeared to be nervous. Defendant was unable to produce the vehicle registration, but rather provided the officer with a rental agreement for the vehicle. Upon reviewing the rental agreement, Sergeant Schilleci noted that the vehicle had been rented on September 10, 2006, at approximately 1:45 p.m., that a third party who was not present at the scene was named as the renter on the agreement, and that defendant was not listed as an authorized user. Sergeant Schilleci further learned that the renter of the vehicle was Jacques Rivers and that defendant’s trip was a “quick and short turn-around trip” based on the time and date referenced in the rental agreement. When Sergeant Schilleci then inquired into the nature of their trip, defendant advised him that they had come from Houston, Texas, where they had been checking on her apartment.

Based on the information gained from the rental agreement as well as his conversation with defendant, Sergeant Schilleci decided to speak to the passenger of the vehicle, co-defendant Cooks.3 Sergeant Schilleci went to the passenger side of the car and proceeded to ask Cooks about their trip. Cooks told him that they had been in Baytown, Texas, visiting family. During his conversation with Cooks, Sergeant Schilleci began to “detect the overwhelming odor of green marijuana coming from within the vehicle.” Sergeant Schil-leci then asked Cooks if there were any weapons in the vehicle, and Cooks advised him that there was a handgun underneath her seat, which the officer secured for safety purposes.4 Additionally, upon illuminating the interior of the vehicle with his flashlight, Sergeant Schilleci | ¿noticed an odor neutralizer, four cell phones, and three juveniles sitting in the back seat. After securing the weapon in his vehicle, Sergeant Schilleci spoke to defendant who again told him that they had gone to her apartment in Houston and did not visit family members. Sergeant Schilleci then advised defendant of her Miranda5 rights and asked her whether there was anything illegal inside the vehicle and whether there was any luggage inside the trunk. According to Sergeant Schilleci, defendant advised him that there was nothing illegal inside the vehicle and that she had a bag inside the trunk.

Pursuant to the officer’s request, defendant gave her verbal consent to search the vehicle. Upon opening the trunk, Sergeant Schilleci observed “two separate black garbage bags” which contained bales of marijuana. According to the officer, “one of the green bricks had fallen out” and was visible. Further, there were two Ziploc bags containing marijuana, one of which had opened and spilled marijuana inside the trunk.6

[1251]*1251Sergeant Schilleci then placed defendant and Cooks under arrest and transported them to the St. John the Baptist Parish lockup. While being taken into custody, Sergeant Schilleci heard defendant and Cooks make statements to each other to the effect of “we’re not going to take this charge for him, this is going to be his charge.” Once at the lockup, Sergeant Len Marie of the Louisiana State Police took possession of the evidence, advised defendant and Cooks of their rights, and conducted a brief interview with them. Before interviewing the two women, Sergeant Marie also heard them say, “I’m not taking this charge, I’m not taking his charge.” Both defendant and Cooks denied possession and knowledge of the marijuana. They advised Sergeant Marie that they knew Jacques Rivers, | nwho was listed on the vehicle rental agreement, and further told him about the black truck belonging to Jacques Rivers that was traveling with them. In addition, defendant and Cooks provided Sergeant Marie with a potential address where the black truck could be located.

Sergeant Marie traveled to the address provided by defendant and Cooks, which was an apartment complex near Lapalco Boulevard, in an attempt to locate the black truck. At this time, Sergeant Marie did not see a black truck; however, he returned later in the day and observed a black truck in the parking lot. Sergeant Marie then went to speak to the apartment complex manager who advised him that Jacques Rivers was not renting an apartment at the complex. Sergeant Marie went back to the parking lot to wait by the truck, but it was gone. Sergeant Marie subsequently called Rivers, using the phone number listed on the vehicle rental agreement. Sergeant Marie asked Rivers to come in for an interview, but Rivers refused and hung up the phone. Sergeant Marie was unable to contact Rivers again.

At trial, both defendant and Cooks testified as to the events that occurred on then-trip. On September 11, 2006, defendant called Cooks and asked her to accompany her to Houston to check on her apartment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 So. 3d 1246, 12 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 148, 2013 WL 336660, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-drewery-lactapp-2013.