State v. Tynes

740 S.E.2d 512, 402 S.C. 211, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 101
CourtCourt of Appeals of South Carolina
DecidedApril 3, 2013
DocketAppellate Case No. 2010-162946; No. 5109
StatusPublished

This text of 740 S.E.2d 512 (State v. Tynes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Tynes, 740 S.E.2d 512, 402 S.C. 211, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 101 (S.C. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

THOMAS, J.

Mario Tynes appeals his convictions for first-degree burglary, armed robbery, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and unlawful carrying of a pistol. We affirm.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 13, 2007, the Horry County Police Department ■ received a radio dispatch to be on the lookout for a white older model four-door Ford Crown Victoria without hubcaps. According to the dispatch, the vehicle was travelling on Arrowhead Boulevard and was occupied by several black males who were waving guns in the air.

About one to two minutes later, Horry County Police Officer Justin Cole saw a vehicle matching the description given in the dispatch. Cole initiated a traffic stop on the car and directed the occupants to pull over to a gas station about two miles from Flint Lake Apartments, where the vehicle was first sighted. Cole saw five black males in the vehicle, most of [215]*215whom were wearing black clothing. Officer Larry Graham, who was on duty in the vicinity, heard the dispatch and went to assist Cole in the traffic stop.

The occupants were ordered to exit the car to be patted down for weapons. Cole and Graham searched the vehicle and found two firearms and three large plastic baggies, each filled with a green leafy substance. All the occupants were then arrested and given Miranda warnings. Videotape evidence showed that Tynes was in the vehicle, and Cole also identified Tynes as one of the occupants.

The following day, Horry County Police Officer John Stewart received a telephone call from a woman inquiring about her son (Victim), a college student living at Flint Lake Apartments who had recently been hospitalized for injuries he sustained during a home invasion. Victim recently purchased three pounds of marijuana and allowed a classmate' to come to his apartment to buy two pounds of it. While Victim was counting the cash for the transaction, several men with guns suddenly ran up the stairs of his building into his apartment. They took the cash and most of the drugs, beat Victim with the butt of a gun, and threw him around.

Although police had talked with Victim while he was in the hospital, no one had yet contacted him after his release,, prompting his mother’s call. Stewart then- called on Victim, who gave him a white baseball cap and a cartridge that were found in his apartment after the incident.

On January 4, 2008, the.Horry County Grand Jury indicted Tynes on one count of unlawful carrying of a pistol, one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, one count of first-degree burglary, and one count of armed robbery. He was scheduled to be tried with co-defendants Michael Jerrod Lackey and Joshua Readon in May 2010, both of whom were charged with the same offenses.

Before jury selection, Joshua Readon requested to enter an Alford plea on the charges of armed robbery and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. The trial court accepted the pleas, but delayed sentencing to allow the State to decide whether or not to make a recommendation based on Readon’s cooperation in prosecuting the. other' two defendants. The [216]*216jury found both Tynes and Lackey guilty as charged, and Tynes appeals.

ISSUES

I. Should the trial court have suppressed the evidence found during the search of the Crown Victoria based on (1) the inconsistency and unreliability of the officers’ testimony and (2) improper bolstering by a witness who allegedly was not properly sequestered?

Did the trial court commit reversible error m refusing to admit evidence that a witness’s agreement to testify for the State included a condition that the State could require the witness to submit to a polygraph examination?

III. Did the trial court err in allowing the State s DNA expert to testify that Tynes could not be excluded as a contributor of DNA found on a gun used in the crime?

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“In criminal cases, the appellate court sits to review errors of law only.” State v. Baccus, 367 S.C. 41, 48, 625 S.E.2d 216, 220 (2006). “The admission of evidence is within the discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion.” State v. Pagan, 369 S.C. 201, 208, 631 S.E.2d 262, 265 (2006). “An abuse of discretion occurs when the conclusions of the trial court either lack evidentiary support or are controlled by an error of law.” Id. An appellate court “will only reverse the circuit court’s decision on a motion to suppress when there is clear error.” Narciso v. State, 397 S.C. 24, 32, 723 S.E.2d 369, 373 (2012). “A trial court’s Fourth Amendment suppression ruling must be affirmed if supported by any evidence, and an appellate court may reverse only when there is clear error.” State v. Taylor, 401 S.C. 104, 108, 736 S.E.2d 663, 665 (2013). “A court’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion or commission of legal error that results in prejudice to the defendant.” State v. Adams, 354 S.C. 361, 377, 580 S.E.2d 785, 793 (Ct.App.2003).

[217]*217LAW/ANALYSIS

I. Vehicle Search

Tynes first argues the trial court should have suppressed the evidence recovered during the search of the Crown Victoria because (1) the testimony of the officers and the police report contained inconsistent and unreliable statements concerning when and where drugs were found in the car and thus could not support a finding of probable cause and (2) one of the officers was not properly sequestered during the suppression hearing. We disagree.

“[I]f there is probable cause to search a vehicle, a warrant is not necessary so long as the search is based on facts that would justify the issuance of a warrant, even though a warrant has not been actually obtained.” State v. Weaver, 374 S.C. 313, 320, 649 S.E.2d 479, 482 (2007).

Officer Cole testified that he stopped the car because it matched a description of a vehicle involved in possible criminal activity in the vicinity where he was working at the time, and Tynes does not challenge the propriety of the traffic stop. Officer Graham testified that after he arrived at the scene and the occupants were ordered from the car, he spotted marijuana in plain view on the front floorboard of the vehicle, and as the trial court found, videotape evidence played outside the jury’s presence corroborated Graham’s testimony. In addition, Officer Cole testified that once the occupants were outside the car, he saw a magazine clip in plain view on the back seat. The officers’ observation of the magazine clip, when considered with the report of suspicious activity and videotape evidence, was sufficient to establish exigent circumstances to justify searching the vehicle. See State v. Buitron, 318 S.C. 323, 332, 457 S.E.2d 616

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Related

State v. Dickman
534 S.E.2d 268 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2000)
State v. Adams
580 S.E.2d 785 (Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2003)
State v. Johnson
654 S.E.2d 835 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2007)
State v. Wiles
679 S.E.2d 172 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2009)
State v. Asbury
493 S.E.2d 349 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1997)
State v. McGuire
253 S.E.2d 103 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1979)
State v. Weaver
649 S.E.2d 479 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2007)
State v. Pagan
631 S.E.2d 262 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2006)
State v. Johnson
512 S.E.2d 795 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1999)
State v. Baccus
625 S.E.2d 216 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2006)
State v. Bultron
457 S.E.2d 616 (Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 1995)
Narciso v. State
723 S.E.2d 369 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2012)
State v. Morris
720 S.E.2d 468 (Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 2011)
State v. Taylor
736 S.E.2d 663 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
740 S.E.2d 512, 402 S.C. 211, 2013 S.C. App. LEXIS 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tynes-scctapp-2013.