State v. Keller

870 S.W.2d 255, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 249, 1994 WL 41573
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 15, 1994
DocketWD 46747
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 870 S.W.2d 255 (State v. Keller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri 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. Keller, 870 S.W.2d 255, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 249, 1994 WL 41573 (Mo. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

ULRICH, Judge.

Richard Keller appeals his conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, section 195.211, RSMo Cum.Supp.1992. He was sentenced to ten years in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections. Mr. Keller claims that (1) the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress physical evidence, contending that the search warrant issued authorizing law enforcement officers to search his motel room was unsupported by probable cause, and (2) insufficient evidence was presented to support the court’s finding of guilt in the jury-waived case. The judgment of conviction is affirmed.

Richard Keller registered at the Court Yard by Marriott Hotel in Platte County on January 5, 1992, and occupied room 156. Mr. Keller also rented a safe deposit box within the hotel. While residing in room 156, Mr. Keller refused maid service, entertained a number of visitors briefly, and made several telephone calls. Mr. Keller paid cash for the room when he checked out on January 6, 1992.

On January 7,1992, the hotel manager was called to room 156 by a hotel employee who was cleaning the room following Mr. Keller’s departure. The hotel manager went to room 156 and observed syringes in the waste can, a white powder residue on the bathroom vanity and floor, and razor marks on the vanity. After locking the room, the hotel manager telephoned the Platte County Sheriffs Department.

Two detectives of the Platte County Sheriffs Department responded to the hotel manager’s telephone call and were taken to hotel room 156. The law enforcement officers observed a white residue on the writing desk, in the writing desk drawer, on the night stand, in the drawer of the nightstand, and in the bathroom. They also observed a hypodermic syringe in the waste can. One of the law enforcement officers tested the powder observed in the room, and the test indicated the presence of cocaine. The law enforcement officers recovered the powder found in the room along with a syringe. The officers took photocopies of the registration card and the safety deposit box signature card, both signed by Mr. Keller.

Richard Keller returned to the hotel on January 10, 1992. Mr. Keller requested room 156, was assigned the room, and rented the same safety deposit box that he had rented on January 5, 1992. The hotel manager notified one of the Platte County Sheriffs Deputies who had been at the hotel to view room 156 on January 5, 1993.

On January 11, 1992, at approximately 12:18 a.m., a search warrant to search hotel room 156 was obtained from a Platte County Associate Circuit Judge. The law enforcement officer who obtained the search warrant, and several other law enforcement officers, executed the warrant at approximately 1:10 a.m. on the same date. When the law enforcement officers entered room 156, they observed Mr. Keller and a second man, Marco Cortez-Figueroa. Mr. Keller ran into the bathroom area as Mr. Cortez-Figueroa ran toward the sliding glass doors on one side of the room. Both individuals were subdued by law enforcement officers.

After the two occupants were under control, the law enforcement officers searched the room. A Crown Royal bag, which was located on a bottom shelf of a nightstand located between the two beds in the room, contained 88.42 grams of cocaine, having a street value of $16,000. A syringe was observed on top of the bathroom sink. A metal pipe containing cocaine was observed on top of the nightstand between the beds. A plastic bag containing .56 grams of cocaine was found in a drawer of the nightstand. A torn Coca Cola can containing heroine residue was found in the nightstand drawer. A bag with a QuikTrip logo on it and containing Arm & Hammer Baking Soda was also found in the room. A blue shaving kit found on the bottom shelf of the nightstand contained several small gram baggies, one of which contained a powder residue. $1,400 was discov *258 ered in the safety deposit box assigned to Mr. Keller. All of the items were seized.

On March 6, 1992, Mr. Keller was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in violation of section 195.211, RSMo Supp.1991. Pursuant to Mr. Keller’s motion to suppress the physical evidence found in hotel room 156, the trial court conducted a hearing and denied the motion to suppress. Mr. Keller waived his right to a jury trial, the parties stipulated that the evidence adduced at the suppression hearing would be the same at trial, and, therefore, the parties rested on the evidence presented at the suppression hearing. The trial court found Mr. Keller guilty of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and overruled Mr. Keller’s motion for a new trial. Mr. Keller was sentenced to ten years confinement, and he appealed his conviction.

I.

Mr. Keller claims as his first point on appeal that the search warrant issued on January 11,1992, was unsupported by probable cause. Mr. Keller asserts that the facts articulated in the complaint and affidavit filed on January 11 stated facts that occurred on January 5 and 6 and, therefore, because of the lapse of time did not state probable cause to support the January 11 search.

Search warrants may issue only when probable cause supporting issuance of a warrant is demonstrated. U.S. Const, amend. IV; Mo. Const, art. I, § 15; State v. Miller, 815 S.W.2d 28, 31 (Mo.App.1991). Probable cause is determined by a judicial officer, from the complaint and supporting affidavits filed by the law enforcement officer seeking the search warrant. State v. Pennington, 642 S.W.2d 646, 648 (Mo. banc 1982).

Great deference should be given to a judicial officer’s determination of probable cause, and a trial court’s finding should only be reversed upon a clear showing of abuse of discretion and clear error. Miller, 815 S.W.2d at 32 (citing State v. Holland, 781 S.W.2d 808, 812 (Mo.App.1989), and State v. Milliorn, 794 S.W.2d 181, 183 (Mo. banc 1990)). A finding of probable cause necessary for a warrant requires more than mere suspicion. Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 418, 89 S.Ct. 584, 590, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969). Only the probability of criminal activity, not the prima facie showing, is the standard of probable cause. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 235, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2330, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). “If there is a substantial basis for concluding that a search would uncover evidence of wrongdoing, the Fourth Amendment requires no more.” Id. at 236, 103 S.Ct. at 2331.

Mr. Keller argues that there was no probable cause to issue a warrant at the time it was executed. He asserts that whatever probable cause may have existed for the search of room 156 on January 7 did not exist on January 11. The affidavit in this case states:

That on January 7, 1992,1 [Detective Paul Carrill] was informed by employees of the Courtyard Marriott Inn ...

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Bluebook (online)
870 S.W.2d 255, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 249, 1994 WL 41573, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-keller-moctapp-1994.