Wray v. State

11 S.W.3d 9, 69 Ark. App. 170, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 81
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 23, 2000
DocketCA CR 99-933
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 11 S.W.3d 9 (Wray v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wray v. State, 11 S.W.3d 9, 69 Ark. App. 170, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 81 (Ark. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

JOHN B. ROBBINS, Chief Judge.

Appellant Louis Wray entered a negotiated plea of guilty to manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia on February 24, 1998. He appealed to this court, arguing that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress items seized by law enforcement officers. However, in an unpublished opinion delivered on March 3, 1999, we dismissed his appeal for failure to comply with Rule 24.3(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides the only avenue for an appeal from a guilty plea.

Following the dismissal, Mr. Wray filed a motion pursuant to Rule 26.1 to withdraw his guilty plea, and the trial court granted the motion. Thereafter, Mr. Wray again entered a negotiated plea of guilty to the crimes with which he was charged. This time, there was compliance with the provisions of Rule 24.3(b), and on May 11, 1999, a judgment and commitment order was filed sentencing Mr. Wray to ten years in prison with five years suspended. He now appeals from this order, again arguing that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the incriminating evidence collected by the police. In particular, he contends that there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the search warrant that ordered a search of his property. We affirm.

In this case, the affidavit presented in support of the search warrant was prepared by Investigator Linda Law, and it stated:

The undersigned being duly sworn deposes and says: That he (has reason to believe) (is positive) that (on the person) (in the vehicle) and/or (on the premises known as) A residence located at the end of Union County Road 434. The residence is a travel trailer that is located next to a burned down house at this location.
in the City of El Dorado, County of Union, State of Arkansas, there is now being concealed certain property, or persons, namely:
Controlled substances, monies, drug paraphernalia, and any documentation concerning drug activities, stolen property and weapons.
which (is) (are)
in violation of the Arkansas Statute 5-64-401
and that the facts tending to establish the foregoing grounds for issuance of a Search Warrant are as follows:
On Sunday August 10, 1997 an informant for the Drug Task Force provided information that at the above described residence is a Methamphetamine Laboratory.
From this officers training and experience, it is common knowledge that those dealing and selling controlled substances carry weapons, including but not limited to firearms. It is also customary for those dealing and selling controlled substances to exchange those substances for weapons. Customarily, the weapons are located in close proximity to the controlled substances and on the persons inside the residence where controlled substances are sold. It is based on this training and experience the affiant includes the request to search and seize weapons which might be located in the residence.
It is also this officers knowledge that stolen property is often exchanged for controlled substances. It is not uncommon for stolen property to be found inside the residence where search warrants are conducted for violating the Arkansas Controlled Substance Act. Permission to search for stolen property is requested.

It is undisputed that the affidavit was given under oath.

In addition to the affidavit, the trial court relied on a recorded statement given by Investigator Law. Prior to this statement, an accompanying officer, Lieutenant Diffee, was placed under oath, but Investigator Law was not. The substance of Investigator Law’s verbal statement can be summarized as follows:

Last night agents from the Camden office called me and Lt. Diffee and advised us that they had an informant who had been contacted by Louis Wray. He had red phosphorous and all the other chemicals and had the ephedrine soaking so he could cook up some meth and he was short some iodine, and they obtained the iodine or acid from somewhere. At 1:30 this morning the informant went to that residence and the way he described it, it is a dead end road, and we haven’t been able to go down there, but it’s on the very dead end on County Road 434 and there is one cab-over trailer and another like a travel trailer that is next to a burned-out house. We want to make sure that we get all the outer buildings and everything else on there and that is where the house is located. We had been listening to the informant since about 1:30 this morning, and they had been cooking meth all night. The final product is expected to be finished at about 7:00 or 7:30 this morning. I’m not sure if we’re going to hit it then or prior to them finishing it. The task force officers have been listening to them all night. David Norwood and Terry Clark had been sitting in the woods all night listening to them, and we didn’t go with them because the first time someone followed the truck, they would be hit and burned. We have already notified the DEA and they are on the way down.

Based on the representations made by Investigator Law in her affidavit and oral statement, the judge found reasonable cause to issue a search warrant, and the search resulted in the seizure of contraband.

Mr. Wray now argues that the search warrant was invalid and that his motion to suppress should have been granted. He cites Rule 13.1(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides:

The application for a search warrant shall describe with particularity the persons or places to be searched and the persons or things to be seized, and shall be supported by one (1) or more affidavits or recorded testimony under oath before a judicial officer particularly setting forth the facts and circumstances tending to show that such persons or things are in the places, or the things are in possession of the person, to be searched. If an affidavit or testimony is based in whole or in part on hearsay, the affiant or witness shall set forth particular facts bearing on the informant’s reliability and shall disclose, as far as practicable, the means by which the information was obtained. An affidavit or testimony is sufficient' if it describes circumstances establishing reasonable cause to believe that things subject to seizure will be found in a particular place. Failure of the affidavit or testimony to establish the veracity and bases of knowledge of person providing information to the affiant shall not require that the application be denied, if the affidavit or testimony viewed as a whole, provides a substantial basis for a finding of reasonable cause to believe that things subject to seizure will be found in a particular place.

Mr. Wray submits that, since the recorded statement by Investigator Law was not made under oath, it should not have been considered by the issuing judge. He further asserts that, absent the recorded statement, there was an insufficient basis upon which to issue the warrant. Mr. Wray points out that nothing in the affidavit sets forth any facts bearing on the reliability of the informant as required by Rule 13.1(b).

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Stevens v. State
208 S.W.3d 224 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
11 S.W.3d 9, 69 Ark. App. 170, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wray-v-state-arkctapp-2000.