State v. McCleary

423 S.W.3d 888, 2014 WL 930843, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 263
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 11, 2014
DocketNo. ED 98906
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 423 S.W.3d 888 (State v. McCleary) 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. McCleary, 423 S.W.3d 888, 2014 WL 930843, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 263 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

LAWRENCE E. MOONEY, Presiding Judge.

The defendant, George McCleary, appeals the judgment entered by the Circuit Court of Montgomery County following his conviction by a jury of attempt to manufacture a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine, in violation of section 195.211 RSMo. (Supp.2012), for which the trial court sentenced him to 15 years of incarceration. The defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress physical evidence and incriminating statements, and the trial court’s permitting the State to question defense witness Mary Mehrle about a prior municipal shoplifting violation. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Factual and Procedural History

On March 9, 2010, Jeff Doerr, a detective with the Warren County Sheriffs Department, was conducting surveillance across the street from a Walgreen’s store in Warrenton to see if people entering the store might be reasonably suspected of involvement with methamphetamine. He was looking for those he either previously had contact with in connection with methamphetamine or those who had the distinctive appearance of a methamphetamine user. Detective Doerr observed the defendant enter and exit the store, and return to his truck with a white bag in hand. Further investigation revealed that the truck the defendant was driving was registered to a person known to be associated with methamphetamine manufacturing and who shared the defendant’s last name.

Detective Welschmeyer of the Warren County Sheriffs Department then observed the truck enter a parking lot for a strip mall several blocks south of Walgreen’s. Detective Doerr arrived to watch the parking lot and observed the defendant and Mary Mehrle leaving the Dollar General store with a yellow bag. Detective Doerr then observed the defendant drive to Chic Lumber where he and Mehrle exited the store with a brown bag and drove east toward Wright City. After receiving a call from Detective Doerr, Lieutenant Schoenfeld inquired at Chic Lumber and learned that the defendant had bought plastic tubing. Knowing that persons involved with methamphetamine commonly go from store to store to purchase supplies for manufacturing the drug, Detective Doerr followed the defendant’s truck as it proceeded toward Wright City. Detective Doerr observed the defendant make a left turn without using his turn signal, and requested that Detective Wel-schmeyer, who was following Detective Doerr in a marked patrol car, make the traffic stop.

Detective Welschmeyer also observed the defendant make a left turn without signaling, and initiated a traffic stop. The State presented at trial the audio recording of the traffic stop and Detective Wel-schmeyer’s exchange with the defendant. Within the first two minutes of the stop, Detective Welschmeyer asked the defendant and Mehrle what they were doing that day, took the identification of both, and asked whether there was anything in the truck that he needed to know about, such as weapons or drugs. The defendant replied that there was not. At about two minutes into the stop, Detective Wel-schmeyer requested a record check of the defendant and Mehrle. At about three minutes into the stop, Detective Wei-[892]*892schmeyer again asked whether there was anything in the truck that he needed to know about. Detective Welsehmeyer asked if the defendant had a problem with him taking a look in the truck, and the defendant replied “[n]o, there’s nothing in there” and a few seconds later, “[n]o drugs whatsoever.” About thirty seconds later, the defendant gave Detective Welschmeyer consent to search his person. All of this occurred within the first four minutes of the stop.

In the truck, Detectives Welsehmeyer and Doerr found a Dollar General bag containing Kingsford lighter fluid, a brown bag containing plastic tubing, and a Walgreen’s bag containing instant cold packs. In plain view on the front seat was a piece of loose-leaf paper containing a list of several items, namely “Kingsford,” “fire,” lye, batteries, salt, and cold packs.1 Detective Doerr recognized the list as a recipe for methamphetamine that was missing only the pseudoephedrine, and the defendant had in his possession three of the items commonly associated with methamphetamine production — namely the lighter fluid, tubing, and cold packs.

At about six and one-half minutes into the stop, Detective Welsehmeyer placed the defendant under arrest and read him his Miranda warnings.2 The results of the record checks came in about eight minutes into the stop. The defendant told the detectives that he had just been released from prison for manufacturing methamphetamine, was in need of money, and would not be paid until the end of the week. He explained that he had made a bad decision in agreeing to purchase the items on the list in return for payment. The defendant showed the officers the residence where he had agreed to deliver the items. When the officers later returned to the residence, they found an anhydrous ammonia generator made from cold packs.

The State charged the defendant as a persistent drug offender with attempt to manufacture a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine. The defendant filed a motion to suppress the physical evidence seized and any incriminating statements he made. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion after an evi-dentiary hearing. The defendant also filed a motion in limine which sought, inter alia, to prevent the State from questioning defense witness Mary Mehrle about a municipal shoplifting violation. The trial court granted this portion of the defendant’s motion in limine unless Mehrle opened the door by testifying to the effect that she had never been arrested or been in trouble.

At trial, the defendant’s girlfriend, Mary Mehrle, testified as the only defense witness. She explained that she bought lighter fluid because she planned to barbecue that evening, and she bought plastic tubing for an aquarium she had just purchased. Mehrle testified that the defendant told her he was going into Walgreen’s to get something for his knee pain. She then described the traffic stop and how the lieutenant told her over and over to tell the officers the real purpose of the plastic tubing, and how she was handcuffed and placed in the patrol car. Mehrle disclosed that she had a DWI and a misdemeanor trespassing conviction.

On cross-examination, the State challenged Mehrle’s recollection of the events. The State then asked Mehrle if she had taken notes or made audio recordings during the incident, and Mehrle replied that she had not. On redirect, the defense [893]*893questioned Mehrle about the significance of the events and her memory of them.

Q. Miss Mehrle, was this the only event in your life that happened like this, that you had this kind of experience being stopped and being interrogated by the police and have your boy friend [sic] hauled off to jail?
A. Yes.
Q. Would an event like that tend to stick in your memory?
A. Very much.
Q. You weren’t involved in a bunch of other cases making a bunch of other arrests of other people; were you?
A. No.
Q. That’s very easy for you to remember what happened?
A. Very, yeah. It sticks there.

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Bluebook (online)
423 S.W.3d 888, 2014 WL 930843, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mccleary-moctapp-2014.