State v. Garcia

513 N.E.2d 1350, 32 Ohio App. 3d 38, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 10178
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 30, 1986
Docket3912
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 513 N.E.2d 1350 (State v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio 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. Garcia, 513 N.E.2d 1350, 32 Ohio App. 3d 38, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 10178 (Ohio Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Baird, J.

This cause comes on before the court upon defendant’s appeal from his conviction of aggravated trafficking in drugs, in -violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(1). We affirm.

At approximately 3:40 a.m. on January 6, 1985, two Lorain police detectives, George Schrull and Geno Taliano, entered a bar in pursuit of a suspect pursuant to á radio dispatch. In the course of their search of the bar, Schrull entered the men’s restroom where he encountered the defendant and another man, Scott Fowler. Upon entering the restroom, Detective Schrull smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana and observed both the defendant and Fowler immediately place their hands in their pockets. Additionally, Detective Schrull observed an open jewelry box containing costume jewelry.

Detective Schrull called for his partner and both men were searched by the detectives. Detective Taliano found a jewelry box on the defendant containing folded packets of paper which his experience as a narcotics officer led him to believe were likely to contain cocaine. The defendant was arrested for possession of cocaine. Detective Taliano continued the search. The defendant was advised of his constitutional rights and was taken into custody and transported to the Lorain City Jail, where he was searched again. While at the jail, the defendant admitted to Detective Taliano that he had traded cocaine to Scott Fowler for a marijuana cigarette.

Defendant was originally charged with drug abuse and was bound over to the grand jury which returned an indictment charging him with aggravated trafficking in drugs, a third degree felony. Defense counsel filed a motion to suppress the tangible evidence and the statement defendant made to Detective Taliano. The court denied the motion to suppress the evidence and found that the officer had probable cause to search.

The case was tried to a jury which returned a verdict of guilty. Defendant filed a motion for relief under Crim. R. 33 which was denied. Defendant was sentenced to one year in prison. He appeals.

Assignment of Error I

“The trial court erred in failing to grant defendant’s motion to suppress four packets of cocaine found on defendant’s person as a result of the search conducted on the defendant at the time of his arrest.”

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects *39 against unreasonable searches. In this case, defendant was searched after the detective entered a closed room, smelled the odor of freshly burnt marijuana, saw an open jewelry box, and watched defendant make a furtive gesture of shoving his hands in his pockets. Officer Taliano, who searched defendant, testified:

“* * * I entered the restroom per his [the other officer’s] request, and immediately noticed that there was a thick smoke inside.
“This was a very small men’s room; and I identified it immediately from past experience as being the pungent odor of burnt marijuana.
“I also observed Mr. Garcia; and Mr. Fowler and Det. Schrull had advised me that when he entered the restroom, that they had made a quick movement in an apparent attempt to conceal something in their pockets; and he also pointed out a pink jewelry box that was located on the back of the toilet, and it was open.
“And I observed pieces of jewelry inside that jewelry box.
“I took control of Mr. Garcia, the defendant, had him place his hands on the wall and made a protective search, initially to ascertain whether or not he had any weapons on his person; and then also to determine if there was any contraband on his person based upon the fact that the jewelry box and the marijuana smoke had led me to believe that that might be the case.”

The evidence, then, is that defendant was being searched for weapons and contraband. The state does not rely on the officers’ belief that defendant was armed and dangerous to justify the search simply as a pat-down for weapons. Ybarra v. Illinois (1979), 444 U.S. 85. Clearly, a pat-down for weapons could not justify opening the jewelry box that yielded cocaine. Rather, the state maintains that the officers had probable cause to search for contraband under these circumstances. We agree.

The odor of marijuana, standing alone, has frequently been held to provide probable cause for warrantless searches, particularly, as here, where the officers are experienced in its detection. Annotation, Odor of Narcotics as Providing Probable Cause for Warrantless Search (1981), 5 A.L.R. 4th 681. While the smell of freshly burned marijuana alone could have provided probable cause to search, here we have more. The furtive gestures of the defendant and the open jewelry box, along with the marijuana smell, could reasonably lead the officers to believe that a crime was being committed. The test for what is an unreasonable search and seizure is not rigid. The concept of good faith is measured by a number of factors, including the circumstances of the search, its place and duration, the extent of the intrusion, and the good faith suspicions of the law officer. State v. Day (1984), 19 Ohio App. 3d 252, 19 OBR 405, 483 N.E. 2d 1195. The officer had probable cause to search for marijuana; he found cocaine. The motion to suppress as to the cocaine was properly denied. Defendant’s first assignment of error is not well-taken.

Assignment of Error II

“The trial court erred in failing to suppress tne testimony of Lorain police detective Geno Taliano in the particular of his hearsay account of defendant’s alleged confession to drug trafficking, for the reason that the state failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the alleged confession was a product of the accused’s free and rational choice.”

Once the admissibility of a confession is challenged, the prosecution *40 must prove its voluntariness by a preponderance of the evidence. Lego v. Twomey (1972), 404 U.S. 477; State v. Melchior (1978), 56 Ohio St. 2d 15, 25, 10 O.O 3d 8, 14, 381 N.E. 2d 195, 202. The test for determining whether an accused’s confession was made involuntarily is whether, in light of the totality of the circumstances, the police obtained the incriminating statements by coercion or improper inducement. State v. Arrington (1984), 14 Ohio App. 3d 111, 14 OBR 125, 470 N.E. 2d 211, paragraph one of the syllabus. The testimony of the officer at the suppression hearing was that defendant made two statements regarding cocaine. Detective Taliano testified that, during the original search:

“I made the statement, ‘It appears this may be cocaine.’
“And Mr. Garcia immediately advised me that it, in fact, was and that he had purchased that cocaine earlier in the evening to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

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Bluebook (online)
513 N.E.2d 1350, 32 Ohio App. 3d 38, 1986 Ohio App. LEXIS 10178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-garcia-ohioctapp-1986.