State v. Warren

239 So. 3d 960
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 28, 2018
Docket17–1169
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 239 So. 3d 960 (State v. Warren) 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. Warren, 239 So. 3d 960 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

SAUNDERS, Judge.

On June 9, 2016, Defendant, Reginald Warren, was charged by bill of information with second offense possession with the intent to distribute CDS II (methamphetamine), in violation of La.R.S. 40:967 and 40:982 ; possession of CDS V (promethazine), in violation of La.R.S. 40:970 ; third offense possession of CDS I (marijuana), in violation of La.R.S. 40:966 and 40:982 ; illegal window tint, in violation of La.R.S. 32:361 ; and driving while under suspension, in violation of La.R.S. 32:415.

On September 22, 2016, Defendant filed two motions to suppress, alleging an illegal search of a residence and an illegal traffic stop which led to invalid consent to search a vehicle. On June 15, 2017, the trial court held a single hearing on the motions to suppress. On September 11, 2017, the trial court denied Defendant's motions, and on September 28, 2017, the trial court issued "Written Reasons for Judgment," denying Defendant's motions to suppress.

On September 22, 2017, Defendant filed his notice of intent to seek review and the trial court set a November 3, 2017 return date. On November 3, 2017, Defendant sought an extension of the return date from the trial court, which on November 7, 2017, extended the return date to December 18, 2017. Defendant's writ application was timely postmarked on December 18, 2017, and seeks review of the trial court's denial of the motions to suppress.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR:

In his sole assignment of error, Defendant alleges the trial court erred in denying his motions to suppress. Defendant breaks his argument into four parts: (1) the search of his wallet and seizure of the Motel 6 key card was illegal, (2) the search *964of the motel room itself should be illegal due to the illegality of the initial search of Defendant's wallet, (3) the search of the motel room was not legal "as a probationer search based on valid '[r]easonable [s]uspicion' that [he] was engaged in criminal activity[,]" and (4) the State failed to prove the motel room was his residence to make it subject to a probationer search. We will address the legality of the initial stop of Defendant, as well as the search of the wallet, and the search of the motel room itself.

The testimony presented at trial shows that on March 31, 2016, Defendant was stopped by two law enforcement officers who were on the look-out for him for driving a vehicle with illegal tint on the windows. Both officers smelled marijuana, leading to a K-9 open air sniff of the car. The animal alerted, and the officers searched the vehicle, finding marijuana residue. Based on information provided by a narcotics task force sergeant, the officers searched Defendant's wallet and obtained a motel room key card for a nearby Motel 6. At that time, following the arrival of Probation and Parole agents at the traffic stop, Defendant was transported to the Motel 6, and local law enforcement joined officers from Probation and Parole in entering the motel room whose key card Defendant, a parolee, had in his possession at the traffic stop. Officers found marijuana in plain sight in the room and subsequently found methamphetamine hidden in a small bag inside a clothes hamper. At that point, Probation and Parole turned the investigation over to local law enforcement. Upon taking over the investigation from Probation and Parole, local law enforcement sought a warrant for the motel room, after having already located the marijuana and methamphetamine.

On March 31, 2016, was the defendant stopped by Deputy Brandon Smith and Sergeant Clinton Dunn for driving with illegal tint on his windows. While speaking with Defendant, both Deputy Smith and Sergeant Dunn testified they could smell marijuana. Both officers testified the tint was measured and was illegal. Agent Cory Campbell, a K-9 officer, ran his dog around the vehicle, and it alerted. Deputy Smith was clear that the vehicle was not searched until after Agent Campbell ran his K-9, which alerted. Deputy Smith testified he found "marijuana shake and residue" inside the vehicle, along with cigars and spray bottles that he would consider paraphernalia due to the residue. Deputy Smith clarified that marijuana shake was "loose marijuana that they drop on the carpet or in a vehicle, not enough for us ... we could really charge for it, but we don't. It's just pieces of it, small pieces of it." Deputy Smith testified that he was instructed to bring Defendant to the Motel 6 by Sergeant Dunn and that he entered a motel room with several Probation and Parole officers, Sergeant Dunn, and Agent Trent Perry to clear the room for officer safety. Deputy Smith noted that while clearing the room, he observed a bag of suspected marijuana in plain view on the bed. He stated he heard the Probation and Parole officers say they were going to search the room prior to the decision to obtain a search warrant.

Sergeant Dunn testified that after the K-9 alerted on Defendant's vehicle, he searched Defendant's wallet where he found a key to a room at Motel 6. Sergeant Dunn believed the search of Defendant's wallet was legal because he felt they had probable cause to search him as a result of the K-9 alerting on the vehicle. Sergeant Dunn testified that he did not observe or recover any narcotics in the vehicle or on Defendant's person. He testified that once he obtained the card from Defendant's wallet, he spent the remainder of the time covering logistics with Sergeant Roberts *965via the radio. While certain an officer from Probation and Parole eventually arrived at the traffic stop, he did not know the name of the officer. Sergeant Dunn testified the uniformed officers who entered the motel room were there specifically to assist Probation and Parole. He stated that he noticed flakes of marijuana on the table, and he was present when someone found a bag of methamphetamine in a clothes hamper, at which point Sergeant Roberts had everyone exit the room while obtaining a search warrant.

Sergeant Dunn, on cross-examination, reiterated that he did not find narcotics in Defendant's car and that Defendant was not arrested for having illegal narcotics prior to the search of his wallet. He also acknowledged the K-9 alerting to the car did not create probable cause to arrest Defendant, but Defendant was detained at Probation and Parole's request. Sergeant Dunn also testified the sole purpose of searching Defendant's wallet was to obtain the motel key; he was not looking for weapons or narcotics, merely the key. Although Sergeant Dunn initially stated that Defendant was cooperative and handed over his wallet when asked, he acknowledged after reviewing body-cam footage Defendant simply acknowledged the wallet on the hood of the patrol car was his when asked. No testimony was presented to explain why Defendant's wallet was simply sitting on the hood of the car.

Sergeant Dunn testified that Defendant told him he was coming from the mechanic's shop, which was located next to the Motel 6. As Sergeant Roberts had already told Sergeant Dunn and Deputy Smith that Defendant had left the motel, they considered his claim of coming from the mechanic a lie. Sergeant Dunn acknowledged that multiple Probation and Parole officers arrived on-scene at the traffic stop, but he did not know their names. He acknowledged Sergeant Roberts was already in contact with Probation and Parole prior to the traffic stop, though he could not say when the initial contact between them occurred. Sergeant Dunn was unsure who found the methamphetamines in the laundry basket.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 So. 3d 960, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-warren-lactapp-2018.