State v. Williams

859 So. 2d 751, 2003 WL 22359541
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided October 6, 2003·No. 2003-KA-0302·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

859 So.2d 751 (2003)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Clyde WILLIAMS and Ethel Davis.

No. 2003-KA-0302.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

October 6, 2003.

*752 Eddie J. Jordan, Jr., District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Kristen Keller, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee.

Karen G. Arena, Louisiana Appellate Project, Metairie, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Clyde Williams.

Clyde D. Merritt, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Ethel Davis.

(Court composed of Judge PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge MICHAEL E. KIRBY, Judge EDWIN A. LOMBARD).

PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge.

The sole issue presented in this case is whether the trial court erred in denying the defendants' motion to suppress evidence seized from their residence pursuant to a search warrant. For the following reasons, we affirm.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On December 30, 1998, Clyde Williams and Ethel Davis were charged by bill of information with possession of cocaine in an amount four hundred grams or more, a violation of La. R.S. 40:967(F)(1)(c). At their January 19, 1999 arraignment, they pleaded not guilty. The trial court denied their motion to suppress the evidence, and this court denied their writ applications from that ruling.

On December 8, 1999, they pleaded guilty under State v. Crosby, 338 So.2d 584 (La.1976). Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine in an amount more than two hundred grams but less than four hundred, a violation of La. R.S. 40:967(F)(1)(b); he was sentenced to twenty years at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Ms. Davis pleaded guilty to simple possession of cocaine, a violation of La. R.S. 40:967(C)(2); she was sentenced to five years at hard labor, sentence suspended, five years active probation with special conditions. Both Mr. Williams and Ms. Davis appeal.[1]

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

During October 1998, members of the New Orleans Police Department followed up on a confidential informant's tip that a man named "Clyde," later identified as Mr. Williams, was selling cocaine from his grocery store, the E and C Food Store, located at 7935 Forshey Street in New Orleans. The officers confirmed Mr. Williams' identity. Using the confidential informant ("CI"), the officers conducted two controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Mr. Williams at his grocery store. The officers observed Mr. Williams leaving his residence, located at 3028 Fern Street in New Orleans, near dawn carrying a brown paper bag. The officers next observed *753 him drive directly to his grocery store and engage in three or four apparent drug sales within a half-hour of his arrival at his store. Individuals would enter the store and exit a few minutes later empty-handed, carrying no food or drink.

On October 26, 1998, the officers applied for and obtained separate search warrants for the grocery store, 7935 Forshey Street, and the residence, 3028 Fern Street. Two days later, the officers simultaneously executed the search warrants. Mr. Williams was arrested at the grocery store; Ms. Davis was arrested at their residence. The cocaine they both were charged with possessing was recovered from their residence.

ERRORS PATENT

A review of the record reveals one error patent. The trial court sentenced Mr. Williams under La. R.S. 40:967(F)(1)(b) only to imprisonment. However, La. R.S. 40:967(F)(1)(b) provides that a person convicted of the offense shall be sentenced to imprisonment and shall be fined "not less than one hundred thousand dollars, nor more than three hundred fifty thousand dollars." The State neither objected to the illegally lenient sentence, nor raised the issue on appeal.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has held that an appellate court may correct an illegally lenient sentence by remanding to impose a mandatory fine. State v. Decrevel, XXXX-XXXX (La.5/16/03), 847 So.2d 1197. However, it did not say that an appellate court is required to do so. In State v. Comena, XXXX-XXXX, p. 4 (La.App. 4 Cir. 3/19/03), 843 So.2d 464, 467, and inState v. Major, XXXX-XXXX, p. 7 (La.App. 4 Cir. 10/2/02), 829 So.2d 625, 631, we declined to do so. However, a contrary holding was rendered right before Major, supra, was decided in State v. Legett, XXXX-XXXX (La. App. 4 Cir. 5/22/02), 819 So.2d 1104. In Legett, we held that the failure to impose the mandatory fine under La. R.S. 40:967 required we remand the matter for the imposition of that fine. Similarly, in State v. Hall, XXXX-XXXX, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 4 Cir. 3/19/03), 843 So.2d 488, 494, we held that "the matter must be remanded for the imposition of the fine." Id.

To resolve this conflict in this circuit, we submitted this issue for an en banc vote, and this circuit voted en banc to follow Legett and Hall. Following those cases, we remand this case to the trial court for the imposition of the mandatory fine.[2]

*754 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

As noted at the outset, the sole error assigned on this appeal is that the trial court erred in denying Mr. Williams' and Ms. Davis' motion to suppress the evidence seized from their residence at 3028 Fern Street. They argue that the affidavit on which the officers relied to obtain the search warrant did not set forth sufficient probable cause to support issuing a warrant for that location.

Summarizing the general rules regarding search warrants, the Louisiana Supreme Court in State v. Casey, 99-0023, pp. 3-4 (La.1/26/00), 775 So.2d 1022, 1027, stated:

The general rule is that probable cause sufficient to issue a search warrant "exists when the facts and circumstances within the affiant's knowledge and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to support a reasonable belief that an offense has been committed and that evidence or contraband may be found at the place to be searched." La.C.Cr.P. art. 162; State v. Johnson, 408 So.2d 1280, 1283 (La.1982). The issuing magistrate must make a practical, common sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit, a fair probability exists that the evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. State v. Byrd, 568 So.2d 554, 559 (La.1990). Additionally, a search warrant must establish a probable continuing nexus between the place sought to be searched and the property sought to be seized. State v. Weinberg, 364 So.2d 964, 968 (La.1978). Further, an affidavit must contain, within its four corners, the facts establishing the existence of probable cause for issuing the warrant. State v. Duncan, 420 So.2d 1105, 1108 (La.1982).

Id. The defendant bears the burden of proving that evidence pursuant to the issuance of a search warrant should be suppressed. La.C.Cr.P. art. 703(D). A trial court's factual findings on a motion to suppress the evidence are entitled to great weight and should not be disturbed unless they are clearly erroneous. Casey, 99-0023, p. 6, 775 So.2d at 1029.

Turning to the facts of the present case, the officers submitted identical three-page affidavits in support of their applications for the grocery store and the residence. Both were dated October 26, 1998, and in both Detective Donald Nides averred the following facts:

• Sometime before October 16, 1998, he spoke with a CI who informed him that a man named "Clyde" was selling crack cocaine from his business, the E and C Food Store. The CI was given

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