State v. Nguyen

707 So. 2d 66, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 18, 1998 WL 12636
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 14, 1998
DocketNo. 97-K-0020
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 707 So. 2d 66 (State v. Nguyen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Nguyen, 707 So. 2d 66, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 18, 1998 WL 12636 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

BYRNES, Judge.

In response to the mandate from the Louisiana Supreme Court on remand of this case, we have reviewed the case in greater depth to be certain that we have not overlooked anything that the Supreme Court would have expected us to consider and evaluate. In doing so we have found additional legal authority in support of the position that the defendant’s statement and evidence are admissible.

The defendant is charged in separate cases with possession of a dangerous weapon while in possession of crack cocaine in violation of La. R.S. 14:95, and with possession of marijuana in violation of La. R.S. 40:966(D)(1). After a consolidated motions hearing, the trial court granted the motions to suppress on November 25, 1996, and the State’s writ application followed, requesting a review of the trial court’s ruling.

In January 1996, Trooper John Schmidt was working with the United States Secret Service on a cellular telephone fraud investigation, which included the issuance of a Federal arrest warrant for James Nguyen. On January 16, 1996, Trooper Schmidt, another trooper, and four Secret Service agents went to a one bedroom apartment in New Orleans East to arrest James. After arresting him, the officers obtained his consent to search the apartment. While the consent to search form was being obtained, the officers were on a small balcony outside the apartment door. Trooper Sehmidt could see the defendant through the open door. He observed the defendant walk down a small hallway toward the rear of the apartment where he disap[67]*67peared from sight. When the officers first entered the apartment, the defendant was in the bedroom. The occupants, the defendant Tony Nguyen, together with the wife of James Nguyen and her infant child, were asked to go into the living room to facilitate the search.

In the course of the search, Trooper Schmidt found what appeared to be marijuana. The trooper asked the occupants of the apartment, “What is this?” The defendant responded that it was his and that it was marijuana. After Trooper Schmidt submitted the marijuana to the Crime Lab, the test was positive, and the trooper obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant.

On May 20, 1996, Detective John Fitzpatrick and Sergeant Warren Keller reviewed photographs of wanted subjects. That evening, they observed an Asian male and two black males engaged in an apparent transaction on Alsace Street. They recognized the Asian male as the defendant Tony Nguyen. They conducted an investigatory stop and arrested the defendant after identifying him as Tony Nguyen. A pat down of the defendant disclosed a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun containing seven cartridges, and a further search of his clothing revealed a small plastic bag containing eight individually wrapped pieces of crack cocaine.

At the hearing Trooper Schmidt explained that: “The marijuana that appeared to be marijuana” was found in the bathroom. He stated that because it was not packaged in plastic bags and cigarette rolling papers, he was not sure |3that it was marijuana. He related that an attempt had been made to flush the marijuana down a toilet. Some of it was floating in the bowl, and some had fallen on the vanity. He also found two hand-rolled “cigars” in a trash can in the bathroom. One had been partially burned.

Trooper Schmidt testified that prior to presenting the suspected marijuana to the three adults sitting in the living room, he did not advise them of their Miranda rights. He also commented that he assumed that one of the three adults was the possessor of the marijuana.

On November 25, 1996, in granting the defendant’s motion, the. trial court stated:

The Court grants the motion to suppress, finding that the officer was obligated, under existing jurisprudence, to have notified Mr. Nguyen via the Miranda warnings, finds [sic] that any actions that followed were tainted by this initial illegality, finding that the so-call “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine applies.

The State contends that the Miranda warnings were not required because the defendant was not a focus of the investigation at James Nguyen’s apartment until the defendant made the statement regarding the marijuana.

Miranda warnings are required to be given whenever a citizén is deprived of his liberty in a significant way or was not free to go as he pleases. State v. Thompson, 399 So.2d 1161, 1165 (La.1981). In that, case the Louisiana Supreme Court found that an objective test to determine whether there was a significant detention included the following factors:

(1) whether the police officer had reasonable cause under C.Cr.P. 213(3) to arrest the interrogee without a warrant; (2) the focus of the investigation, on the interro-gee; (3) the intent of the police officer, determined subjectively; (4) the belief of the interrogee that he was being detained, determined objectively.
Id. at 1165.

In State v. Roach, 322 So.2d 222 (La.1975), the Supreme Court stated that a court must employ an objective test to determine the necessity for Miranda warnings. The court stated:

An examination of the record normally discloses four factors that are particularly helpful in this task: (1) whether, prior to interrogation, probable cause existed to arrest the accused; (2) statements or actions by the police indicating an intention to hold or restrain him; (3) statements or actions by the accused indicating his reasonable belief that he is in custody and (4) the extent to which the investigation has focused on the accused.
Id. at 227.

[68]*68In State v. Decuir, 599 So.2d 358 (La.App. 3 Cir.1992), writ denied, 605 So.2d 1095 (La.1992), an officer had a search warrant to search the Deeuirs’ home. At the home, the officer informed Mr. Decuir that he had a search warrant and asked Mr. Decuir if he had any illegal drugs in the residence. De-cuir said he did and led the officer into the bedroom where he showed the officer an ashtray containing marijuana and two “joints.” Decuir was then arrested and given his Miranda, rights. The appellate court found that the investigation had begun to focus on the defendant when the officer asked him if he had any drugs in the residence. However, the court found that there was no evidence of statements or actions by the officers or the defendant which indicated that the defendant was in custody or under significant restraint so that the drugs and the defendant’s statement were admissible at trial.

In State v. Watkins, 526 So.2d 357 (La.App. 4 Cir.1988), the officers had a search warrant and ordered the occupants into one room, read them an incomplete version of the Miranda warnings, and then asked them if they had any valuables, guns, or drugs to declare. In that case there was evidence of actions by the officers which indicated that the defendant was under significant restraint when the occupants were read a version of the Miranda rights. This |scourt found that the Miranda warnings were misleading because the officer told the defendant that he need not make any statement at that time, which did not indicate to the defendant that he never had to make a statement if he chose not to. Therefore, the statement was inadmissible. In the present case, prior to his statements, the defendant Tony Nguyen was not given his Miranda

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Related

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788 So. 2d 1242 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)
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Bluebook (online)
707 So. 2d 66, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 18, 1998 WL 12636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nguyen-lactapp-1998.