State v. Poaipuni

49 P.3d 353, 98 Haw. 387, 2002 Haw. LEXIS 301
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedMay 14, 2002
DocketNo. 22756
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 49 P.3d 353 (State v. Poaipuni) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Poaipuni, 49 P.3d 353, 98 Haw. 387, 2002 Haw. LEXIS 301 (haw 2002).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court by

LEVINSON, J.

The defendant-appellant Peter Alvin Poai-puni, Jr., appeals the judgment of the second circuit court, the Honorable Artemio C. Baxa presiding, convicting him of and sentencing him for unlawful possession of a firearm, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 134-7(b) (1993 and Supp.1998). On appeal, Poaipuni advances five points of error, all of which implicate the circuit court’s receipt of the firearms predicating the charge against him and his statement to police officers confessing that he had possessed them into evidence at trial.1 Specifically, Poaipuni contends that the circuit court erred in partially denying his pretrial motion to suppress the firearms because (1) his father’s consent to search the toolshed in which the police found the firearms was not voluntary, knowing, and intelligent and (2) his father’s consent was the result of exploitation by the police of an unlawful search warrant, thereby rendering the firearms “tainted fruit of the poisonous tree.” As to his subsequent statement confessing to the police that he had possessed the firearms, Poaipuini asserts that (3) the circuit court erred in ruling in limine that his statement was voluntary and, therefore, admissible at trial. In addition, Poaipuni urges that (4) his trial counsel provided him with ineffective assistance, reflected most notably in counsel’s failure to seek suppression of his confession on the ground that it was tainted by the execution of the unlawful search warrant. Finally, Poaipuni posits that (5) the circuit court “committed plain error when it failed, sua sponte, to suppress” the firearms and his statement “as fruit of an illegal search.”

We hold that the firearms and Poaipuni’s statement constituted “fruit of the poisonous [389]*389tree,” because, but for the exploitation by the police of a prior illegality—i.e., the execution of an unlawful search warrant—the police would not have learned of the firearms, obtained the father’s consent to search the toolshed, discovered the firearms, questioned Poaipuni about the firearms, and obtained Poaipuni’s statement confessing that he had possessed the firearms.

I. BACKGROUND

On the morning of July 7, 1998, Maui County Police Department (MPD) officers arrested Poaipuni in connection with several burglary offenses and retained him in police custody. Later that day, MPD Detective James Fletcher obtained a warrant to search Poaipuni’s family home, which Poaipuni’s father owned and in which Poaipuni resided with his father and other family members.

Detective Fletcher’s affidavit in support of the search warrant asserted that he had been assigned to investigate second degree burglary offenses, involving the thefts of two automated teller machines located within commercial establishments, in connection with which he was investigating (1) three different “premises,” one of which he believed that Poaipuni “occupied,” and (2) a “Toyota pick up truck, maroon in color” that had been “found” in Poaipuni’s possession. Detective Fletcher sought warrants to search the three premises and the truck for items related to the thefts.2

As the factual basis for issuing the search warrants, Detective Fletcher related that the first theft occurred during the night of June 30, 1998, when “unknown person(s) drove a forklift into” a grocery store and “stole” an automated teller machine. According to Detective Fletcher, “[in] this incident[,] a white Jeep pickup truck with no license plates [was] reported in the area just prior to the break-in” and “[t]he thief’ absconded with the automated teller machine. Detective Fletcher’s affidavit did not reflect the source of the foregoing information. As to the second theft, Detective Fletcher related that, approximately a week later, “unknown person(s) drove a white Jeep pickup truck into” a sundries store and stole another automated teller machine. Detective Fletcher averred that, “[a]ccording to witnesses, two males loaded the ATM into the back of a pickup truck.” However, the machine fell from the bed of the truck while police were pursuing it, and, consequently, the police recovered the ATM. “In both instances,” averred Detective Fletcher, “a white Jeep pickup was observed to be involved in the theft[s].” The truck was eventually recovered by police officers, apparently abandoned in a sugar cane field.

Detective Fletcher averred that, during the interval between the two thefts, a police officer had observed the “same white Jeep pickup truck” outside the residence of Jeffrey Gray (which was one of the premises for which Detective Fletcher sought a search warrant) while the officer was speaking with Harry “Bobo” Pahukoa, III. Detective Fletcher’s affidavit, however, did not explain the basis for concluding that the truck was, in fact, the “same” as that used during the two thefts. Subsequently, when “speak[ing] with” Pahukoa and Poaipuni on July 7, 1998—the day after the second theft occurred—“regarding a separate matter,” Poai-puni informed police officers that he and Pahukoa had spent the previous night at Poaipuni’s family home. Detective Fletcher “believe[d]” that it was “odd” for Pahukoa to have done so, inasmuch as he “had his own residence” elsewhere.

Because the Criminal Investigation Division of the MPD had “received information from the Crime Stoppers bulletin” that Pahu-koa “was responsible for the theft of’ the first automated teller machine, Detective Fletcher averred that he “believe[d] that” Poaipuni, Pahukoa, and Gray were all involved in both thefts. Hence, he “desire[d] to conduct a search” of their respective homes and Poaipuni’s maroon pickup truck. On the basis of Detective Fletcher’s affidavit, [390]*390the district court of the second circuit issued the requested search warrants.3

Thereafter, Detective Fletcher, together with several other police officers, executed the search warrant on Poaipuni’s family home at approximately 7:00 p.m. on July 7, 1998, while Poaipum remained in police custody elsewhere. Detective Fletcher introduced himself, “gave [Poaipuni’s father] a copy of the search warranty and explained what [he and the other officers] were about to do.” The officers entered the home, “secured” it by locating all of the occupants, and directed the occupants into the family room, where they remained, under the supervision of a police officer, throughout the remainder of the search, which appears to have consumed several hours.

According to Detective Fletcher, while the search was underway, Poaipuni’s father asked to speak with him, informed him that his son had placed a case containing firearms in a tool shed, which was located on the property but not attached to the house, and consented to a search of the tool shed.4 Within the tool shed, Detective Fletcher found the case, which, he testified, he opened at Poaipuni’s father’s request. Inside the case, Detective Fletcher found numerous firearms. In addition to the firearms, some ammunition was eventually discovered within Poaipuni’s bedroom. The search, however, unearthed no evidence relating to the burglaries or automated teller machine thefts, and Poaipuni was apparently never charged with them commission.

Subsequently, Detective Fletcher returned to the police station at which Poaipuni was being held in police custody. Shortly thereafter, Detective Mervin Holokai, joined by Detective Fletcher, commenced interrogating Poaipuni.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 P.3d 353, 98 Haw. 387, 2002 Haw. LEXIS 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-poaipuni-haw-2002.