State v. Malm

154 P.3d 1154, 37 Kan. App. 2d 532, 2007 Kan. App. LEXIS 382
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedApril 6, 2007
Docket95,403
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 154 P.3d 1154 (State v. Malm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Malm, 154 P.3d 1154, 37 Kan. App. 2d 532, 2007 Kan. App. LEXIS 382 (kanctapp 2007).

Opinions

Malone, J.:

Kevin Dean Malm appeals his convictions and sentences for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and several related drug charges. Malm raises the following issues: (1) The district court erred by denying Malm’s motion to suppress evidence seized as a result of an illegal traffic stop; (2) the district court erred by denying Malm’s motion to suppress evidence seized from his residence pursuant to a search warrant; (3) Malm was denied a fair trial based upon prosecutorial misconduct; (4) Malm’s convictions of unlawful acts relating to the manufacture of methamphetamine under K.S.A. 65-7006(a) and possession of drug manufacturing paraphernalia under K.S.A. 65-4152(a)(3) were multiplicitous; (5) the district court erred by classifying conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine as a drug severity level 1 offense as opposed to [535]*535a drag severity level 4 offense; and (6) Malm’s constitutional rights were violated when his sentence was based upon a criminal history classification not proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

On Januaiy 5, 2004, Diane Dowell, an asset protection manager at the Salina Target store, observed Malm purchase two packages of cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine. Target’s policy at the time permitted a customer to purchase two packages of cold medicine from the shelf. Dowell continued to observe Malm on closed circuit surveillance as he approached a van in the Target parking lot. After a few minutes, Dowell observed a woman let Malm into the van.

After approximately 7 minutes, Dowell observed the woman exit the van and walk toward the Target store. On her way into the store, die woman deposited a white bag into a trash can. Dowell later examined the white bag and discovered that it contained four empty packages of cold tablets, two Target brand and two Sudafed brand. Dowell continued her surveillance of the woman inside the store, where she observed the woman pick up two packages of cold tablets and walk back and forth between the service desk and the checkout lanes. The woman ultimately went to the service desk and attempted to exchange a music compact disc (CD) for the two packages of cold tablets. The employee at the service desk would not allow the exchange because the woman did not have a receipt for the CD, and the woman left the store without making any purchases. Dowell observed the woman return to the van.

Dowell summoned the police, and Officers Lane Mangels, James Feldman, and Janelle Zimmerman, of the I-35/I-70 Drag Task Force, responded to the call. Feldman and Zimmerman, dressed in plain clothes and driving an unmarked vehicle, arrived at the store in time to follow the van as it left Target. Malm was driving the van, and the woman was in the passenger’s seat. The officers ran a check on the van’s license plate and discovered that it was registered to Connie S. Malm of Carlton, Kansas. The weather was snowy and icy that day, making the road conditions hazardous.

The officers followed the van and observed it stop at a gas station where both Malm and the woman entered and purchased ciga[536]*536rettes. The officers continued to follow the van to Carlton, Kansas, approximately 20 miles from the Target store in Salina. At one point, Malm stopped the van, got out, and looked around as if to check to see if he was being followed. Just beyond Carlton, the van turned onto a dirt road. As the officers did not feel comfortable following the van down the dirt road due to weather-related driving conditions, the officers stopped in Carlton and waited.

A few minutes later, the van returned to Carlton and pulled up alongside the officers’ vehicle on the driver’s side so that the two vehicles were less than 12 inches apart. Malm rolled his window down and inquired whether the officers needed help. Zimmerman, who was driving, asked Malm to pull slightly forward so that she could exit the vehicle without dinging the van. As Malm was moving the van forward, Feldman exited the vehicle, drew his weapon down to his side, and identified himself as a police officer. Feldman was unsure whether the occupants of the van could see his weapon. Feldman asked Malm to stop the van, but the van continued to go forward slowly. Feldman told Malm to stop two more times before he finally did.

Once the van stopped, Feldman asked Malm to step out of the van and produce his driver’s license, and Malm complied. Feldman asked Malm where he was currently living, and Malm replied that he was homeless and that the van belonged to his wife. Feldman asked Malm where his wife lived, and Malm replied that he did not know where she lived. Feldman observed a knife in between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat. When Feldman asked for consent to search the van, Malm refused.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman approached the passenger who identified herself as Connie Malm, Malm’s wife and the registered owner of the van. Malm yelled to his wife not to talk to Zimmerman because they had a lawyer. Zimmerman asked Connie for permission to search the van, but she refused.

A few minutes later, Mangels, who had been tailing the officers and the van at some distance, also arrived on the scene. Mangels ran a warrant check on Malm and discovered an active arrest warrant for a probation violation based on a conviction of possession of methamphetamine. Based on the probation violation, Feldman [537]*537arrested Malm. The officers then searched the van, which they characterized as a search incident to the arrest. The officers found blister packs of tablets containing pseudoephedrine, an open box of coffee filters, a syringe, and several small baggies with white powder residue believed to be methamphetamine.

Based on this evidence, Mangels applied for a search warrant for the van and for the Malms’ residence. The subsequent and more thorough search of the van uncovered additional items associated with the manufacture and use of methamphetamine. The search warrant affidavit for the Malms’ residence recited the above information and also contained the following statement:

“[B]ased on the Malms’ purchase and attempted second purchase of cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine hydrochloride at Target, the nervousness and paranoia of Kevin and Connie Malm in the city of Carlton, the discovery of blister packs containing tablets with pseudoephedrine, coffee filters and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, the affiant believes that Kevin and Connie Malm were in possession of paraphernalia related to the manufacture of methamphetamine and were transporting those items from Safina to their residence in Carlton for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. The affiant believes that Kevin and Connie Malm would have used the items found in the vehicle for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine at their residence if not for the swift intervention of law enforcement.”

A magistrate authorized the search warrant, and upon its execution at the residence, the police found methamphetamine and a number of other objects associated with the manufacture and use of methamphetamine.

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State v. Malm
154 P.3d 1154 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
154 P.3d 1154, 37 Kan. App. 2d 532, 2007 Kan. App. LEXIS 382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-malm-kanctapp-2007.