State v. Lewis

535 So. 2d 943, 1988 WL 97259
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided September 21, 1988·No. 19918-KA·Published·Cited by 30 cases

Opinion

535 So.2d 943 (1988)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
Tony LEWIS, Appellant.

No. 19918-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 21, 1988.
Writ Denied March 3, 1989.

*945 Jones and Smith by Benjamin Jones, Monroe, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, T.J. Adkins, Dist. Atty., Dan J. Grady, III, Asst. Dist. Atty., Ruston, for appellee.

Before HALL, C.J., and JASPER E. JONES and FRED W. JONES, Jr., JJ.

HALL, Chief Judge.

Defendant, Tony Lewis, was tried and convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:95.1. He was sentenced to six years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence and was fined $1,000 plus costs, in default thereof to serve an additional six months in jail. Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence, asserting 10 assignments of error. Finding these assignments meritless, we affirm.

FACTS

On November 6, 1984, pursuant to plea negotiations with the state, Tony Lewis pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:26 and *946 40:966 and was sentenced to pay a fine of $750 and costs or serve 90 days in jail and to serve one year in prison at hard labor. The prison term was suspended upon payment of the fine and he was placed on two years probation.

On September 3, 1985, the residence of Steven Lee who resided at 2011 W. Alabama Street in Ruston, Louisiana, was burgarlized by an unknown person. Among the items stolen were the following: two Cerwin Vega speakers; one Technics model SA-626 stereo receiver, the last four digits of the serial number, A107; one Technics cassette tape player, model RMS218, the last four digits of the serial number, 3279; one 13-inch Magnavox color television; one Intellivision computer game; and one Garcia Ambassador model 6500C fishing reel mounted on a Lew's speed stick fishing rod, model G66k.

On September 10, 1986, Jack Reeves, operator of Zack's bar, purchased two Cerwin Vega speakers from defendant for $450.00 at defendant's residence at 1109 McAllister Street in Ruston, Louisiana, where he also saw other stereo equipment. On or about December 5, 1986, Steven Lee learned that Jack Reeves had two Cerwin Vega speakers at Zack's bar which were the same brand and model as the speakers stolen from him. Lee reported the information to the Ruston City Police Department. He subsequently identified the speakers as his property.

On December 8, 1986, based upon Steven Lee's identification of the speakers, Inspector Kavanaugh of the Ruston City Police Department obtained a search warrant from a city court judge authorizing the search of defendant's residence for the other items taken from Lee's residence on September 3, 1985.

On December 10, 1986, the officers executed the search warrant at Tony Lewis' residence. While executing the warrant officers found in plain view a partially smoked handrolled cigarette, suspected to be marijuana, in an ashtray on a dresser in the master bedroom. Officers subsequently contacted an investigator of the Lincoln Parish District Attorney's office who obtained a second search warrant to search the premises for financial records, U.S. currency, and other quantities of controlled dangerous substances. During the search officers found guns and related ammunition in defendant's house which included an Intratec 9-mm. pistol found on a closet shelf in the master bedroom under a blue blanket; a Llama .45-caliber automatic pistol found in a dresser-type cabinet in the den; a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun found in a closet of another bedroom; and over $7,000 in cash found in a coat pocket in a closet.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

Defendant contends that the search warrant was issued without probable cause and that any evidence obtained pursuant to it must be excluded. Defendant also argues that the "good faith exception" to the exclusionary rule under U.S. v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) should not be applied.

A search or seizure may only be made pursuant to a warrant issued upon probable cause supported by an affidavit of a credible person. U.S. Const.Amend. IV; La. Const.Art. 1, § 5; LSA-C.Cr.P. Art. 162. The function of the judicial officer in determining the existence of probable cause is to make a practical, common sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the veracity and basis of knowledge of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); State v. Kyles, 513 So.2d 265 (La.1987).

In this case, after considering the totality of the circumstances, we find that the affidavit was deficient and does not support a substantial basis or sufficient information to establish probable cause.

The affidavit establishes the following facts: the place to be searched; the items to be searched for which were the subject of a burglary fifteen months earlier, described in detail; that the owner of *947 some of the items stolen had positively identified them in the presence of a local police officer after being informed of their presence at a local bar; and the statement of the bar operator indicating that he purchased the stolen speakers from the defendant at his residence where there was additional stereo equipment located. The affidavit is attached to this opinion as Appendix A.

The affiant does not state in this affidavit that the operator of the bar saw the other stolen items in defendant's home. The fact that defendant had the stolen speakers and other undescribed stereo equipment in his home at the time he sold them 12 months after the burglary and three months prior to execution of the affidavit indicates only the "possibility" of finding other stolen items in defendant's home. The facts provided, without other information linking defendant to the burglary or to other stolen items, does not lead to a practical, common sense conclusion that there was a "fair probability" that the other stolen items would be found in defendant's home. The warrant should not have been issued and was invalid.

While we find that the warrant was invalid, the exclusionary rule should not be applied in this case. The exclusionary rule should not be applied so as to bar the use in the prosecution's case-in-chief of evidence obtained by officers acting in an objectively reasonable good-faith reliance on a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral magistrate but ultimately found to be invalid. Suppression of evidence obtained pursuant to a warrant should be ordered only on a case-by-case basis and only in those unusual cases where exclusion will further the purposes of the exclusionary rule, that is, the deterrence of illegal police conduct. U.S. v. Leon, supra; State v. Wood, 457 So.2d 206 (La.App. 2d Cir.1984).

Exclusion is not always inappropriate in cases where an officer has obtained a warrant and abided by its terms. Although a warrant issued by a magistrate normally suffices to establish that a law enforcement officer has acted in good faith in conducting the search, nevertheless, the officer's reliance on the magistrate's probable cause determination and on the technical su

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Lewis, 535 So. 2d 943, 1988 WL 97259 (La. Ct. App. 1988).

535 So. 2d 943 (State v. Lewis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State of Louisiana v. Terri Latrelle Williams
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2024
State of Louisiana v. Quinton Damone Hill
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2020
State v. Lattin
256 So. 3d 484 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2018)
State v. Thomas
171 So. 3d 959 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Fields
120 So. 3d 309 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2013)
State v. Roundtree
41 So. 3d 512 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Hinton
6 So. 3d 242 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State v. Woodard
977 So. 2d 308 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State v. Sims
973 So. 2d 177 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State v. Brokenberry
942 So. 2d 1209 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
State v. Johnson
870 So. 2d 995 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2004)
State v. Johnson
839 So. 2d 1247 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
State v. Ware
795 So. 2d 495 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
State v. Abram
743 So. 2d 895 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
State v. Smith
744 So. 2d 73 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1999)
State v. Neeley
704 So. 2d 443 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Evans
700 So. 2d 1039 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1997)
State v. Francis
665 So. 2d 596 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Woods
654 So. 2d 809 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)
State v. Moore
642 So. 2d 679 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)