Bragg v. State

• Court: Arkansas Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: BART F. VIRDEN, Judge
• Citation: Bragg v. State, 2016 Ark. App. 378, 499 S.W.3d 261 (Ark. App. 2016)
• Decision Date: 07 September 2016
• Docket Number: No. CR-15-926,CR-15-926
• Parties: Anthony L. Bragg, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

2016 Ark. App. 378

499 S.W.3d 261

Anthony L. Bragg, Appellant

v.State of Arkansas, Appellee

No. CR-15-926

Court of Appeals of Arkansas, DIVISION III.

Opinion Delivered: September 7, 2016

Charles D. Hancock, Little Rock, for appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Pamela Rumpz, Ass't Att'y Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.

BART F. VIRDEN, Judge

Appellant Anthony Bragg entered a conditional guilty plea to several felony drug offenses and a firearms offense in the Boone County Circuit Court. On appeal, Bragg argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence on the basis that the affiant included false statements in the affidavit for a search warrant. We find no error and affirm.

I. Background

On January 23, 2015, Robert Williams gave the Boone County Sheriff's Office a handwritten statement that

I had my maintenance man called to come fix my fan that broke[.] [H]e came into my house an[d] proceed[ed] to fix the fan but he didn't have the right piece[.] [B]efore he left he pulled a black pouch out of his front shirt pocket [,] opened it up[, and] pulled [out] a big bag of what I believe was meth an[d] asked me an[d] my [fiancée] [if] we wanted some[.] I told him he needed to leave an[d] when I said that he pulled a gun an[d] said [“]I guess this don't need to be talked about again[”] an[d] then he left so I got me[,] my [fiancée, and] our 10 month old an[d] left to come to the police because we are scared for our lives[.]

In an affidavit to establish probable cause and grounds for issuance of a search warrant, Coordinator Robert Braden with the Fourteenth Judicial District Drug Task Force provided the following facts:

That on Friday January 23rd, 2015, Robert Williams, resident at [redacted] in Omaha Arkansas otherwise known as State Line RV Park, went to the Boone County Sheriff's Office and reported an incident involving Anthony Bragg, maintenance man at the State Line RV Park. Williams made a report with Deputy Robert Cutburth of the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

Affiant Robert Braden of the 14th Judicial Drug Task Force spoke to Williams on the phone and received a description of the handgun along with a recap of the incident.

Williams gave the following statement: On Friday January 23rd, 2015, he had requested maintenance come to his residence to repair his fan. Williams stated maintenance man Anthony Bragg came to his residence but did not have the part to fix the fan. While there Bragg removed a black pouch from his front shirt pocket.

Bragg opened the pouch and showed Williams a one gallon size zip-loc bag half full of a white crystalline substance he believed to be methamphetamine. Bragg offered some of the substance to Williams at which time Williams refused and told Bragg he needed to leave the residence. Bragg pulled a black semi-auto pistol from his right front pocket and stated “I guess this don't need to be talked about again.” Bragg then left the residence.

Williams stated he felt threatened by the actions of Bragg and immediately brought his family to the Boone County Sheriff's Office to report the incident.

A judge issued the search warrant, and it was executed by Braden and several other officers. Bragg's home, vehicle, and a nearby shed were searched, and several incriminating items were seized. The State charged Bragg with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of firearms by certain persons, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana. Bragg filed a motion to suppress evidence alleging, among other things, a violation of the United States Supreme Court's holding in Franks v. Delaware , 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978).

II. Hearing on Motion to Suppress

At a hearing on Bragg's motion to suppress, the parties stipulated to the following facts in relevant part:¹

On January 23, 2015, Robert Williams, a resident of State Line RV Park in Omaha, came to the Boone County Sheriff's [Office] to file a complaint. ... Boone County Deputy Robert Cutburth took the complaint and spoke with Mr. Williams. In his conversation with Deputy Cutburth, Mr. Williams referred to the person he was complaining about as “Anthony the maintenance man.” Deputy Cutburth knew there was an individual who resided at State Line RV Park, worked there as a maintenance man, and was a black male named Anthony Bragg, because Deputy Cutburth had arrested Anthony Bragg at the RV park in a previous investigation.

Deputy Cutburth relayed the complaint and information provided by Mr. Williams to Captain Tom Smith and Investigator Colin Lillard, both with the Boone County Sheriff's Office. Captain Smith and Colin Lillard were also familiar with the same Anthony Bragg due to recent and repeated contact with Mr. Bragg in another ongoing but unrelated investigation.

Pursuant to the complaint and information provided by Deputy Cutburth, Captain Smith contacted Investigator Robert Braden with the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force to assist in the investigation. Inv. Braden had also assisted the sheriff's office in the ongoing, unrelated investigation referenced above. Based on the complaint and information provided by Captain Smith, Investigator Braden spoke via telephone with Mr. Williams. In their phone conversation, Mr. Williams referred to the person he was complaining about as “a black man named Anthony.”

In denying Bragg's motion, the trial court entered an order finding that “Bragg has not made the required showing that the affiant of the affidavit for the search warrant, knowingly, intentional[ly] or recklessly made any false statements or omissions. Further, the affidavit provides a substantial basis for a finding of reasonable cause to believe that things subject to seizure would be found on Bragg's property.”

III. Standard of Review

In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we conduct a de novo review based on the totality of the circumstances, reviewing findings of historical fact for clear error and determining whether those facts give rise to reasonable suspicion or probable cause, giving due weight to inferences drawn by the trial court and proper deference to the trial court's findings. Hampton v. State , 90 Ark.App. 174, 204 S.W.3d 572 (2005).

IV. Discussion

Bragg argues that the affiant identified “Anthony Bragg” as the person who categorically did the things alleged in the search-warrant affidavit, yet Robert Williams never named “Anthony Bragg.” Bragg contends that inserting the name “Anthony Bragg” in the affidavit was a total disregard for the truth and improper under Franks v. Delaware , 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57...