State v. Gibson

708 So. 2d 1276, 1998 WL 133996
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 25, 1998
Docket97-KA-1203
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 708 So. 2d 1276 (State v. Gibson) 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. Gibson, 708 So. 2d 1276, 1998 WL 133996 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

708 So.2d 1276 (1998)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Roosevelt GIBSON.

No. 97-KA-1203.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit.

March 25, 1998.

*1277 Paul D. Connick, Jr., District Attorney, Terry Boudreaux, Alison Wallis, Assistant Dist. Attys., Gretna, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Frederick Kroenke, Louisiana Appellate Project, Baton Rouge, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before GRISBAUM, DUFRESNE and GOTHARD, JJ.

DUFRESNE, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On February 13, 1997, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information *1278 charging defendant Roosevelt Gibson with possession of cocaine in violation of LSA-R.S. 40:967(C). Defendant pled not guilty and filed a motion to suppress. On September 10, 1997, a jury of six persons was chosen. The next day, the state filed a notice of intent to use defendant's statement at trial. Also on that day, the trial court held a hearing and denied defendant's motion to suppress.

Thereafter, defendant withdrew his former plea of not guilty and after being advised of his Boykin rights, pled guilty as charged in conformity with the plea agreement. The trial judge sentenced defendant to serve one year at hard labor. The trial judge then suspended that sentence and placed defendant on active probation for one year. Defendant subsequently filed a timely motion for appeal.

FACTS

Because defendant entered a guilty plea in this matter, the following factual statement was developed from the suppression hearing. At the hearing, Officer Randy Lambert testified that on January 10, 1997, he was on narcotics complaint duty and received a call over the radio requesting units in the area to proceed to the corner of Majestic and August "where they had four black males selling narcotics." The officer testified that two units went to that location and that two agents were in each vehicle. As the first vehicle approached the corner, two of the men fled on foot, while the other two stayed at the corner. Officer Lambert testified that he recognized defendant as one of the men who fled. He chased defendant on foot, but was unable to catch him. The officer then returned to assist the deputy who was pursuing the other man. The officers were able to catch that man, and he was arrested for "loitering in a drug area."

Later that day, Officer Lambert looked up defendant's last known address and found it to be 6160 August Avenue. The officer then went to that address to find defendant. Mrs. Ollie Gibson, defendant's mother, came to the door and told the officer that defendant was not at home. While he was talking to Mrs. Gibson, Officer Lambert saw defendant walking toward the house. Officer Lambert testified that defendant was "sweating pretty heavy" and was "out of breath." The officer testified that he questioned defendant about what had happened, advised defendant of his Miranda rights, and told him that he was under "investigation." The officer then asked defendant if he lived at that address, and defendant responded affirmatively. Officer Lambert testified that he asked defendant to show Officer Lambert his room, and defendant took the officer inside and showed his room to the officer.

Officer Lambert testified that he then asked defendant if he owned the house, and defendant told the officer that he lived there, but that his mother owned the house. Officer Lambert testified that he asked Mrs. Gibson if she would consent to a search of defendant's room. According to the officer, Mrs. Gibson stated that she had full access to defendant's room and that she would consent. Officer Lambert testified that Mrs. Gibson signed a "rights of arrestee" form and waived her rights, but that Mrs. Gibson was not arrested. Officer Lambert further testified that Mrs. Gibson signed another form in which she consented to the search of defendant's room. After she signed the consent form, the officer searched defendant's room and found a "crackpipe" containing some white rock-like substances. He also found a mirror with a razor blade, and some white residue.

On cross-examination, the officer testified that when he initially interviewed defendant, he saw that defendant had a beer or "something in a bag" and a receipt from the store. The officer stated that he "discarded the receipt because of the fact that the receipt was a good forty-five minutes to an hour after the incident took place." The officer stated that during the search, defendant was standing outside and was not placed in handcuffs until the narcotics were found.

At the hearing, Mrs. Gibson testified that her son arrived while she was talking to the *1279 officers outside of her house. She further testified that shortly after he arrived, the officers asked her son to lie on the ground and then handcuffed him. She stated that after her son was handcuffed, "the officer asked ... permission about the search." She testified that she then showed the officer her son's room.

Defendant testified that he had been visiting a lady named "Toni" who works at West Jefferson Hospital. He said that after he left West Jefferson, he stopped at Winn-Dixie and bought a bottle of vodka and some Seven-Up. He testified that he made the purchase with his credit card, and that the receipt was time-stamped. He stated that as he was walking home, he stopped at the corner to talk to some neighbors. He testified that while he was at the corner, he observed cars pull up to his house. He saw the police officers exit the cars, and walk toward his house. Defendant testified that he was concerned that something had happened to his mother, and so he jogged to the house. Defendant stated that when he arrived at the house, the officers told him that someone had called and reported that he was the one who had just run from them a short while before.

Defendant further testified that he did not show the officers into the house. He said that he was arrested as soon as he got to his residence, and that the officers "put cuffs on [him] and set [him] down in the grass". He testified that he was not read his Miranda rights.

After argument by the state and defense, the trial court denied the motion to suppress.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE

The trial judge improperly denied the defendant's Motion to Suppress the evidence.

DISCUSSION

The record reflects that defendant sufficiently reserved his right to appeal the trial court's ruling because defense counsel noted an objection to that ruling and defendant specifically asked the trial judge how long he would have to appeal.

By this assignment of error, defendant asserts that the trial judge improperly refused to suppress the contraband found in his room. Defendant contends that he was arrested without probable cause and thus, his mother's consent given after his illegal arrest was invalid. Defendant argues that the trial judge should have suppressed this evidence because it was the fruit of his illegal arrest. The state contends that defendant was arrested after his mother voluntarily consented to a search of his room and after the contraband was found therein. To resolve this issue, it must be determined at what point in time the defendant was arrested. The relevant time periods are: the encounter at the corner and the subsequent encounter with the police at defendant's residence.

Defendant initially contends that he was "stopped" when the police approached the corner and argues that there was insufficient reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify that stop.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
708 So. 2d 1276, 1998 WL 133996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gibson-lactapp-1998.