Faught v. Com.
| Decision Date | 21 September 1983 |
| Citation | 656 S.W.2d 740 |
| Parties | David Edward FAUGHT, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
J.D. Raine, Jr., Louisville, for appellant.
Steven Beshear, Atty. Gen., Robert W. Hensley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Frankfort, for appellee.
David Edward Faught was convicted by a jury in Jefferson Circuit Court of trafficking in a controlled substance (K.R.S. 218A.140(1)). His punishment was fixed at 20 years' imprisonment and a $20,000 fine as a result of his being a subsequent offender under K.R.S. 218A.990(1).
On February 17, 1981, at 8:15 p.m., Detective Bledsoe of the Louisville Police Department Narcotics Unit received a telephone call from an informant telling him that appellant would be arriving shortly at the State Fairgrounds in a pickup truck with a large quantity of cocaine. Soon after Bledsoe and his partner, Detective Graff, arrived at the Fairgrounds, appellant's truck was spotted and followed for a short distance before being pulled over.
Both appellant and a Mr. Bojanowski, who was driving appellant's truck, were asked to get out of the truck and were arrested at about 9:30 p.m. As a result of the ensuing search Bledsoe discovered a bag of marijuana and a small glass vial containing cocaine in a jacket worn by appellant.
After appellant's arrest, Bledsoe called the informant and was told that other controlled substances could be found in the truck. A search warrant was obtained for the already impounded truck. Detectives Thomas and Layne discovered two sealed envelopes containing cocaine in the glove box. Also found in the truck were parts of a device used to sift cocaine and a bag of manitol which is a baby's laxative used to dilute cocaine.
A trial was conducted on April 1, 1982. Appellant presented no witnesses in his behalf and chose not to take the stand.
Appellant first complains that his arrest was made without probable cause and as a result all evidence obtained incident and subsequent to his arrest should have been excluded from trial. In order to show probable cause justifying a warrantless arrest which is based upon an informant's tip, it must be established that the informant is a reliable source and that substantial parts of the information furnished were confirmed by police before the arrest. Jones v. U.S., 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960); Roberson v. Commonwealth, Ky., 490 S.W.2d 733 (1973).
Two suppression hearings were conducted before trial where Detectives Bledsoe and Graff testified that the informant gave information concerning an imminent drug deal, specifying that two white males, one of whom was appellant, would be in a pickup truck, that the truck would be driven to the rear lot, that cocaine would be in appellant's possession, and that the cocaine would be delivered during or after a rock concert. All of these aspects of the informant's tip, with the exception of the cocaine being in the truck, were corroborated before appellant was arrested. Detective Bledsoe also testified that the informant had proved to be reliable in the past.
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Conner v. Commonwealth , No. 2006-CA-002188-MR (Ky. App. 12/14/2007)
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