State v. Fairres

2003 NMCA 152, 81 P.3d 611, 134 N.M. 668
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 13, 2003
Docket22652
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2003 NMCA 152 (State v. Fairres) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Fairres, 2003 NMCA 152, 81 P.3d 611, 134 N.M. 668 (N.M. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

WECHSLER, Chief J.

{1} Defendant Kurt Dewayne Fairres pleaded no contest to possession of methamphetamine, reserving his right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress. On appeal, Defendant challenges the denial of the motion to suppress as well as his enhanced sentence as a habitual offender. We uphold the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress, but reverse Defendant’s sentence because the district court applied the habitual offender statute, NMSA 1978, § 31-18-17(B) (1993), to a conditional discharge granted under NMSA 1978, § 30-31-28(A) (1972) of the Controlled Substances Act.

Motion to Suppress

{2} On November 25, 2000, Detective Rodney Morris of the Roswell Police Department responded to a call that shots had been fired at a residence where Defendant was a visitor. After Detective Morris entered the residence and while he was waiting for the homeowner in the living room, he observed a plate on the living room floor with marijuana and drug paraphernalia on it. He arrested the homeowner for possession of the marb'uana and searched him, finding a substance later identified as methamphetamine. He informed those present in the house that he was investigating both the “shots fired” call and the possession of the illegal drugs. Additionally, he informed them that he was going to apply for a search warrant and that they were not free to leave the house. Officer Brad MaeFadden arrived at the residence and also observed the marijuana on a plate in the living room. Defendant then asked if he could be searched and allowed to leave. Officer MaeFadden searched Defendant and found a white, powdery substance he suspected to be illegal drugs in Defendant’s wallet. Defendant was arrested and gave a statement at the police station, admitting that the substance was methamphetamine and explaining that the loud noise at the house that was the subject of the “shots fired” call was caused by his igniting a large firecracker and blowing up a cordless drill.

{3} On appeal, Defendant contends that the district court erred in not granting the motion to suppress by ruling that: Defendant does not have standing to contest the police entry; the police officers had a reasonable basis to believe that Defendant had a connection to the premises or to criminal activity; Defendant voluntarily consented to the search; and the scope of the search did not exceed Defendant’s consent. Defendant’s arguments raise mixed questions of law and fact, which we review de novo, weighing the facts in the manner most favorable to the State as the prevailing party. State v. Attaway, 117 N.M. 141, 145-46, 870 P.2d 103, 107-08 (1994); State v. Chapman, 1999-NMCA-106, ¶ 12, 127 N.M. 721, 986 P.2d 1122.

{4} Defendant argued to the district court that he was subject to an illegal search and seizure because the police officers did not have a right to enter the residence without a warrant and no exigent circumstances existed to permit the entry. The district court’s conclusion that Defendant did not have standing to object to the officers’ entry depends upon whether Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy within the residence. State v. Wright, 119 N.M. 559, 562-63, 893 P.2d 455, 458-59 (Ct.App.1995). A reasonable expectation of privacy is constitutionally protected. Id. at 563, 893 P.2d at 459. To establish his standing, Defendant must show subjectively, by his conduct, that he had an expectation of privacy, and objectively that his expectation was reasonable. Id.

{5} Detective Morris testified that when he arrived at the residence, the front door was open, but the accompanying screen door was closed. One person walked to the doorway, saw him, and returned to the back of the house. A second person came to the door and held the screen door open. As this person called for people from the back of the house, including the homeowner, Detective Morris stepped inside. The homeowner and four other persons, including Defendant, returned to the living room.

{6} In Wright, this Court held that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in another’s house, in a bedroom, with the door closed. Id. at 563-64, 893 P.2d at 459-60. In this case, Defendant was among the group of people in the living room in the presence of marijuana. He did not make any specific showing concerning his expectation of privacy. The record supports the district court’s determination that Defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy and therefore did not have standing to contest Detective Morris’s entry.

{7} Defendant further maintains that the police did not have a reasonable basis to connect Defendant to the residence or the criminal activity and thus could not detain him. In State v. Graves, 119 N.M. 89, 888 P.2d 971 (Ct.App.1994), relied on by Defendant, this Court addressed the rights of visitors during the execution of a search warrant. We held that visitors cannot be detained unless there is a reasonable basis to believe that the visitor is connected to the premises or to criminal activity based on the totality of the circumstances. Id. at 92, 94, 888 P.2d at 974, 976. The same principle applies when a police officer has a valid basis to be on private property by consent without a warrant. State v. Cassola, 2001-NMCA-072, ¶ 14, 130 N.M. 791, 32 P.3d 800. Although Defendant argued in district court that Graves does not apply because Detective Moms was not lawfully present in the living room, he does not make this argument on appeal. We therefore assume, without deciding, that Detective Morris had a valid basis to be present. See English v. English, 118 N.M. 170, 175, 879 P.2d 802, 807 (Ct.App.1994) (stating that issues not argued on appeal are deemed abandoned).

{8} “[A] police officer may detain a person in order to investigate possible criminal activity, even if there is no probable cause to make an arrest,” based on reasonable suspicion that a crime is being or has been committed. State v. Cobbs, 103 N.M. 623, 626, 711 P.2d 900, 903 (Ct.App.1985). Such reasonable suspicion is subject to an objective test based upon specific articulable facts and reasonable inferences from those facts. Id.

{9} Detective Morris observed Defendant in the living room in the presence of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia. Although the investigation did not originally involve drugs, the officers could reasonably expand the scope of the investigation based on the reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. State v. Taylor, 1999-NMCA-022, ¶ 20, 126 N.M. 569, 973 P.2d 246. Detective Morris’s observation of the marijuana and drug paraphernalia and the homeowner’s possession of alleged drugs on his person- provided this reasonable suspicion. Defendant’s proximity to the marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the living room gave the officers a reasonable basis to believe that Defendant had a connection to the presence of the marijuana and drug paraphernalia so as to reasonably detain him as part of the investigation. See Graves, 119 N.M. at 93, 888 P.2d at 975 (citing United States v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2003 NMCA 152, 81 P.3d 611, 134 N.M. 668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fairres-nmctapp-2003.