State v. Horton

136 Wash. App. 29
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 16, 2006
DocketNo. 24381-8-III
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 136 Wash. App. 29 (State v. Horton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Horton, 136 Wash. App. 29 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

¶1 A Terry1 frisk is a well-recognized exception to the usual requirement of probable cause and a search warrant. But the scope of a Terry frisk is limited to objects that might be used as weapons. We conclude that this does not include a cigarette pack. And we therefore hold that Kris Alan Horton’s lawyer was ineffective for failing to move to suppress the drug evidence supporting Mr. Horton’s conviction for possession with intent to manufacture and simple possession of methamphetamine. We therefore reverse his convictions for those charges.

Sweeney, C.J.

FACTS

¶2 A sheriff’s deputy was patrolling a remote area near Kennewick, Washington, after midnight on a February night. He saw a car travel at 10 to 15 miles per hour in a 50-mile-per-hour zone and drifting over the center line. He stopped the car and approached. A woman was driving, and the appellant, Kris A. Horton, was the passenger.

¶3 The deputy approached the car with his flashlight. He could see into the back seat. He saw a five-gallon container, a can of liquid butane, two bottles of Drano, and several lithium batteries. He recognized these as items commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The deputy [33]*33immediately switched his focus from bad driving to controlled substances violations.

¶4 The driver appeared dazed and seemed to drift off while the deputy was talking to her. The deputy arrested her and obtained a warrant by telephone to search the car. In addition to the items in plain view, this search would produce a slab of dry ice, mineral oil, a hydrochloric acid generator, aluminum foil, butane fluid, and a heat source.

¶5 The deputy ordered Mr. Horton out of the car and patted him down before calling in his request for a warrant. The deputy later testified at trial that he was searching Mr. Horton for evidence of illegal activity as well as for weapons.

¶6 The deputy found an open cigarette pack in Mr. Horton’s jacket pocket. He searched inside the cigarette pack and found a small baggie of white powder. This field-tested positive for methamphetamine. The deputy arrested Mr. Horton for possession and continued to search incident to the arrest. He found a pill bottle in another pocket of the jacket. The white powder in the bottle field-tested positive for ephedrine. The State crime lab confirmed these field results. Mr. Horton was also carrying a digital scale.

¶7 The State filed an information charging Mr. Horton with one count of possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture and one count of simple possession of methamphetamine. It did not charge Mr. Horton with manufacturing methamphetamine.

¶8 Everyone then proceeded as if a manufacturing count had been charged. In its brief to this court, the State says it filed an amended information adding manufacturing. But the superior court files contain no such information. [34]*34Throughout the testimony and in closing argument, the prosecutor referred to a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine and asked the jury to find Mr. Horton guilty of it. The judge instructed the jury that Mr. Horton was charged with manufacturing and gave them instructions for manufacturing. The State told the jury in closing argument that Mr. Horton was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and that the elements instruction for manufacturing was “one of the key instructions.” Report of Proceedings (June 7, 2005) (RP) at 104-05.

¶9 The driver had earlier pleaded guilty to the same possession charges filed against Mr. Horton. At Mr. Horton’s trial, she admitted she was preparing to manufacture methamphetamine. She testified that Mr. Horton was not involved. The prosecutor mistakenly believed that the driver was convicted of manufacturing and questioned her about a “manufacturing conviction.” She explained that she was guilty solely of possession and possession with intent to manufacture. In arguing that Mr. Horton was an accomplice to manufacturing, however, the State referred to the driver’s convictions as “participating in the manufacture of methamphetamine.” RP at 85-86, 97.

¶10 Defense counsel did not object.

Ill The judge defined manufacturing for the jury, gave an elements instruction for manufacturing, and issued a verdict form for manufacturing. The jury was instructed that possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture was an alternative crime to manufacturing. The court also instructed the jury on accomplice liability; the State told the jury this related to the manufacturing charge. The State argued that Mr. Horton was guilty of manufacturing either by planning to manufacture or by aiding the driver in her plan to manufacture methamphetamine that night.

¶12 The jury filled out the manufacturing verdict form with a verdict of “not guilty.” But they found Mr. Horton guilty of the “alternative” charges of possession with intent to manufacture and simple possession of methamphetamine.

[35]*35¶13 Mr. Horton’s defense to the possession charges was unwitting possession. He claimed the driver loaned him the jacket and that he was unaware of the drugs found in the pockets.

¶14 The jury “acquitted” Mr. Horton of manufacturing. It convicted him of the two counts of possession.

DISCUSSION

Terry Frisk

¶15 Mr. Horton contends the search of his person exceeded the lawful scope of a Terry weapons frisk. He raises the issue for the first time on appeal by claiming the manifest constitutional error of ineffective assistance of counsel. His trial counsel moved to suppress solely on the unsuccessful ground that the stop was pretextual.

f 16 Mr. Horton contends that minimally effective counsel would have challenged the scope of the Terry weapons frisk. He contends a weapons search was not justified at its inception, because the officer had no reason to suppose Mr. Horton was armed and dangerous. And, even if a weapons search was justified, removing the cigarette package from his pocket and looking inside it exceeded the lawful scope of a Terry frisk. This is because nothing in the deputy’s written report or testimony suggests an objectively reasonable concern for officer safety.

¶17 The State responds that defense counsel did not challenge the Terry search because there was nothing wrong with the search. It urges us to uphold any field officer’s decision to frisk for weapons, so long as the search is not arbitrary or harassing. State v. Belieu, 112 Wn.2d 587, 773 P.2d 46 (1989). The State points out that the officer stopped this car on a dark road in a rural area after midnight and immediately observed evidence of a serious crime. The driver appeared intoxicated. The passenger was wearing two coats that could easily conceal a weapon. The State contends this gave the officer an objectively reason[36]*36able basis for a weapons frisk as part of lawfully securing the scene.

¶18 We do not ordinarily consider evidentiary objections that were not presented to the trial court. RAP 2.5(a)(3); State v. Mendoza-Solorio, 108 Wn. App. 823, 834, 33 P.3d 411 (2001). We make an exception, however, if the appellant demonstrates manifest error that affects a constitutional right. RAP 2.5(a)(3); Mendoza-Solorio, 108 Wn. App. at 834.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
136 Wash. App. 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-horton-washctapp-2006.