State v. Rollie

962 S.W.2d 412, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 201, 1998 WL 49466
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 10, 1998
DocketNo. WD 53077
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 962 S.W.2d 412 (State v. Rollie) 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. Rollie, 962 S.W.2d 412, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 201, 1998 WL 49466 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

ULRICH, Chief Judge, Presiding Judge.

Henry Rollie appeals his convictions for one count of delivery of a controlled substance, section 195.211,1 two counts of first degree trafficking drugs, section 195.222, and one count of second degree trafficking drugs, section 195.223, and sentence as a prior offender to four concurrent fifteen-year terms of imprisonment. Mr. Rollie claims that the trial court erred in (1) overruling his motion to compel the State to disclose the identify of the confidential informant and precluding him from cross-examining a State witness about the informant’s credibility, bias, and motivation, and (2) sentencing him as a prior offender pursuant to section 558.019. The judgment of convictions is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the trial court with directions.

FACTS

On November 21, 1994, Detective Robert Sorensen, while working undercover with the Jackson County Drug Task Force, was contacted by a confidential informant named [414]*414Linda regarding a narcotics sale she arranged between the detective and the appellant, Henry Rollie. Early that afternoon, Detective Sorensen and Linda drove to the parking lot of Feldman’s store in Blue Springs. Mr. Rollie arrived in another car with two other men. All three men exited the car; Mr. Rollie got into the back seat of the detective’s car; and the other men walked into the store. Linda introduced Detective Sorensen as her friend, Barry, to Mr. Rollie. Mr. Rollie then sold Detective Soren-sen seven rocks of crack cocaine for $90. Mr. Rollie removed the rocks, which were individually wrapped, from a larger bag containing additional rocks and gave them to the detective. At this meeting, the two men exchanged pager numbers so they would be able to contact one another regarding future sales. After the sale, Mr. Rollie got out of the car and walked toward the store.2 As Detective Sorensen drove Linda home, he discovered that Mr. Rollie had left his pager on the floorboard of the backseat of his car.

Later that afternoon, Detective Sorensen received a page from Mr. Rollie and called him back at his home. Mr. Rollie asked if the detective had his pager, and Detective Sorensen stated that he did. Detective Sor-ensen then arranged to meet Mr. Rollie at McDonald’s on Van Brunt that evening to return the pager and possibly purchase more drugs.

That evening, Detective Sorensen arrived at McDonald’s and parked next to Mr. Rol-lie’s car. He returned the pager and asked Mr. Rollie if he had any crack for sale. Mr. Rollie replied that he did and asked the detective how much he wanted. Detective Sorensen asked how much he could get for $110. Mr. Rollie replied that he would sell eight rocks for $110. Detective Sorensen agreed to the sale, and Mr. Rollie counted out eight individually wrapped rocks from a larger bag. Mr. Rollie then told the detective to page him again when he wanted more. Lab tests later determined that the bags purchased by Detective Sorensen contained 1.88 grams of crack cocaine.

On December 1, 1994, Detective Sorensen paged Mr. Rollie to purchase more narcotics. The men arranged to meet in the parking lot of Chi-Chi’s restaurant at Blue Ridge Mall. When Detective Sorensen arrived, Mr. Rollie walked up to his car and sat in the front passenger seat. The detective told Mr. Rol-lie that he wanted to purchase $800 worth of crack, and Mr. Rollie stated that he would sell him 18 rocks for that price. Detective Sorensen said that, based on prior transactions, he thought he should get more than 18 rocks for $800, so Mr. Rollie agreed to add a larger rock. Mr. Rollie gave Detective Sor-ensen 18 individually wrapped rocks and removed a larger one from another bag, which contained more rocks. Detective Sorensen then asked Mr. Rollie if he could provide larger quantities. Mr. Rollie answered that he would need a day’s notice and that he could sell the detective a half ounce for $500. The detective told Mr. Rollie that he was interested and would contact him at a later date. Lab tests later determined that the rocks purchased by Detective Sorensen on December 1, 1994, contained 4.67 grams of crack cocaine.

One week later, on December 8, 1994, Detective Sorensen paged Mr. Rollie to purchase a half ounce of crack for $500. Mr. Rollie agreed to sell to the detective that amount for that price. The men arranged to meet in the parking lot of McDonald’s later that day. Detective Sorensen arrived at the appointment approximately 30 minutes late, parked, and waited. When Mr. Rollie did not show, Detective Sorensen paged him. Mr. Rollie returned his page stating that he had waited for the detective and would not return to McDonald’s. Instead, he gave the detective an address on Troost Avenue and told him to meet him there if he was still interested in purchasing the crack.

Detective Sorensen drove to the address on Troost Avenue to complete the transaction. Other officers from his police unit drove to the address separately to arrest Mr. Rollie after the transaction. When he arrived at the address, Detective Sorensen honked the horn of his car, and Mr. Rollie came out of the house and sat in the front passenger seat of the car. He handed the [415]*415detective a large rock, which he took from his coat pocket, and Detective Sorensen gave him $500. Mr. Rollie then told Detective Sorensen to contact him if he needed more crack and got out of the car.

As Detective Sorensen drove away, Mr. Rollie was apprehended by the arresting officers. A search of Mr. Rollie found a loaded .25 caliber pistol in his jacket pocket and a clear plastic bag containing a large quantity of rocks in his pants pocket. Lab tests later revealed that the rock purchased by Detective Sorensen on December 8, 1994, contained 10.64 grams of crack cocaine and that the rocks found in Mr. Rollie’s pants pocket when he was arrested contained 5.82 grams of crack cocaine.

Mr. Rollie was charged by indictment on January 6, 1995, with three counts of first degree drug trafficking, one count of second degree drug trafficking, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. An amended information subsequently filed charged Mr. Rollie as a prior offender and changed one count of first degree drug trafficking to delivery of a controlled substance.

Prior to trial, Mr. Rollie filed a “Motion to Compel State to Produce to Defendant Police Files Regarding Confidential Informant and to Disclose the Confidential Informant’s Identity.” Following a hearing, the trial court overruled Mr. Rollie’s motion. The State then filed a motion in limine to prevent the defense from cross-examining Detective Sorensen about his prior dealings with the confidential informant or about the informant’s credibility, bias, or motivation, and the motion was sustained by the trial court.

At trial, Mr. Rollie testified in his own defense. He stated that he had met the confidential informant, Linda, in October 1994 and began a sexual relationship with her. He claimed that Linda encouraged him to sell drugs on several occasions, but he refused. Mr. Rollie asserted that he ultimately sold crack to Barry because Linda had told him she owed Barry money and he was concerned for her safety.

Following trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on one count of delivery of a controlled substance, two counts of first degree trafficking drugs, and one count of second degree trafficking drugs. It acquitted Mr. Rollie of unlawful use of a weapon. The trial court sentenced Mr. Rollie as a prior offender to four concurrent fifteen-year terms of imprisonment. This appeal followed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
962 S.W.2d 412, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 201, 1998 WL 49466, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-rollie-moctapp-1998.