State v. Gardner

679 P.2d 306, 67 Or. App. 404, 1984 Ore. App. LEXIS 2845
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMarch 21, 1984
Docket10-81-03138; CA A25712
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 679 P.2d 306 (State v. Gardner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gardner, 679 P.2d 306, 67 Or. App. 404, 1984 Ore. App. LEXIS 2845 (Or. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

RICHARDSON, P. J.

Defendant appeals his conviction for arson in the first degree. ORS 164.325. He was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment and ordered to pay $60,700 restitution. We affirm.

Defendant was accused of conspiring with the dwelling’s owners to burn the house for pay. On November 4,1980, the home of Cheryl Storm and Michael Moon in Veneta was almost completely destroyed by fire. Moon and Storm were not home at the time of the fire. In the fall of 1979, defendant had lived with them in the house. During November, 1980, he resided in Arizona. The state’s primary witness was Michael Bramwell, who had lived in the garage of the house where defendant lived in Arizona. Bramwell testified that in October, 1980, defendant asked him how he would “go about torching a house.” Bramwell told him that he had seen a television show in which an accelerant had been used that would not leave a trace and told defendant where he might purchase it on the way to Oregon. Bramwell said that defendant told him the job was “worth $10,000” and that the owner’s reason for doing it was that he was heavily in debt from gambling. He also testified that on October 21,1980, he answered the telephone at defendant’s residence, and a female voice left a message: “This is Oregon. Tell Brian that the money is on the way. All we could get was three hundred.” Later in October, Bramwell took a message from a male caller: “This is Moon. Tell Brian the house will be empty till after the 4th * * Bramwell also testified that on November 1, 1980, he received a call from defendant, who told him he was in Reno, had picked up the accelerant and was on his way to Oregon with a companion, Lane Lolley. Bramwell stated that defendant was back on November 5 and said that it had gone “smooth as silk” and that Lolley stated it “went up like a match box.” Bramwell went to the police with this information in March, 1981.

Another state witness, Parrott, testified that defendant approached him in October, 1980, “with a proposition to burn a house in Oregon.” Parrott said that, around November 5, defendant told him that he had done it, that he had “put a hole in the wall beside the heater and put alcohol in between the walls” and that Lolley was in the car when he did it.

[407]*407Defendant admitted that he had been in Oregon at the time of the fire but said that he had accompanied Lolley to Portland to help him collect a debt. He testified that he had stopped in Eugene on the way, but did not go to Veneta. He denied the conversations with Bramwell and Parrott to which each had testified and minimized the extent of his relationship with Bramwell. He said that he did not learn of the fire until November 6 or 7. He introduced evidence that the dining room heater had been malfunctioning not long before the fire.

Oregon State Police Fire Investigator Shiell testified that, in his opinion, the fire was caused by arson. Buske, an arson investigation expert and consulting physicist, testified that his examination of the burned residence disclosed that the heater in the dining room area had been in the “on” position, but was not operational at the time of the fire. He also explained that the burn pattern of the structure suggested the use of a liquid accelerant. He concluded that the probable cause of the fire was arson.

Defendant raises several assignments of error. He argues that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress a letter seized from his residence in Arizona pursuant to a search warrant issued in an unrelated investigation. The letter was introduced on cross-examination of defendant. Dated November 13, 1980, it was written by defendant to ° one Wellman, with whom he claimed to be involved in some business dealings:

“It is unfortunate that these letters take as much time as they do between destinations.
“Assuming that the circumstances in South West were semi-stable, I re-invested almost all monies in hopes of acquiring greater returns in less time. Not being able to regain these immediately, I have taken severe steps in various directions to satisfy your request for 700- and to remain above board.
“I have just returned from a Four-day business trip out of state. Oddly enough I learned upon my return, that arson had been committed on the lands of one of our investors. It seems strange, but this does facilitate the payment of a substantial debt to our account.
“More problems plagued the game. I had to shut down for a couple of weeks after learning that one of the players had contracted infectious hepatitis. The risk was obviously too [408]*408great. Not only that, but my communications with cousin had to be through another person, for fear of being a carrier over a gestating period of time.
“Things are a little rugged, but keep the faith — I will get it done on this end. No word from Virginia about anything. They seem disinterested. I only hope that in this melee, your health and welfare have not suffered. I will telegraph good news upon receiving it.”

The state made an offer of proof before cross-examining defendant. Defendant objected to admission of the letter on several grounds.

He argues that under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 9, of the Oregon Constitution, the letter should not have been admitted because it may have been illegally seized. The court overruled defendant’s objections on the ground that, under United States v. Havens, 446 US 620, 100 S Ct 1912, 64 L Ed 2d 559 (1980), the letter may be used to impeach even if it was improperly seized. To our knowledge, the question presented in Havens has not been decided under the Oregon Constitution. Defendant suggests that it is impermissible under Article I, § 9, to use improperly seized evidence that is inadmissible in the state’s case in chief as impeachment evidence. We do not reach that issue, because we conclude that defendant did not preserve the error. Because the letter was seized pursuant to a search warrant, defendant had the burden of proving that the search was improper. State v. Nearing/Baker, 16 Or App 30, 33, 517 P2d 308 (1973). That the letter may have been illegally seized is not a sufficient objection. Defendant did not particularize his conclusion that the evidence may have been illegally seized. It was up to him to move to suppress the letter on particular grounds; the state was not required to prove that it was legally seized.

According to defendant, he was denied the opportunity to contest the legality of the seizure, because the letter was introduced on cross-examination after the prosecutor assured him prior to trial that he would not introduce any evidence seized in the Arizona search. When defendant raised this issue, the court stated:

“THE COURT: Well, let’s make it clear. We had a conversation, you, I and Mr. Papagni [deputy district [409]*409attorney], before the trial started, where the subject of this letter, and I didn’t see it or anything like that, came up. And Mr. Papagni said that he would not offer it in his case in chief, but he thought he might try to offer it in his — his cross-examination or rebuttal, if the defendant testified. You indicated that you would like to preserve your right to move to suppress, and Mr.

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Related

State v. Miebach
755 P.2d 133 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1988)
State v. Holterman
687 P.2d 1097 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
679 P.2d 306, 67 Or. App. 404, 1984 Ore. App. LEXIS 2845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gardner-orctapp-1984.