Grissom v. State
| Decision Date | 13 October 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-154.,04-154. |
| Citation | 121 P.3d 127,2005 WY 132 |
| Parties | John Michael GRISSOM, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Defendant). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Ken Koski, Public Defender; Donna D. Domonkos, Appellate Counsel; and Marion Yoder, Senior Assistant Public Defender.
Representing Appellee: Patrick J. Crank, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Georgia L. Tibbetts, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Eric Johnson, Director, Prosecution Assistance Program; and Jenny L. Craig, Student Director.
Before HILL, C.J., and GOLDEN, KITE, VOIGT, and BURKE, JJ.
[¶ 1] In February 2004, a Natrona County jury found John Michael Grissom (the appellant) guilty of three crimes: possession of methamphetamine (a misdemeanor); possession of marijuana (a misdemeanor); and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver (a felony). The appellant now appeals those convictions, claiming that his trial counsel were ineffective because they did not file a suppression motion and that the evidence received at trial was insufficient to prove that he intended to deliver the methamphetamine in his possession. We affirm.
1. Whether the appellant's trial counsel were ineffective because they did not file a motion to suppress the evidence seized from the appellant's person?
2. Whether the appellant's trial counsel were ineffective because they did not file a motion to suppress the appellant's statements to law enforcement?
3. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that the appellant intended to deliver the methamphetamine in his possession?
[¶ 2] On September 19, 2003, Stephanie Syverson (Syverson) "attempted to run over an officer" (presumably a law enforcement officer) near the Eastridge Mall in Casper and was therefore "wanted for allegations of committing a felony. . . ." An employee at a local hotel informed the police later that day that a vehicle matching the description of Syverson's vehicle was parked at the hotel, and that the employee had observed a female enter the vehicle and then return to a particular hotel room. Casper police officer Roger Burns was dispatched to the hotel at about 3:00 or 3:30 p.m., where he verified with the front desk that the hotel room at issue was indeed registered to Syverson. Casper police officer Toby Buhler also arrived at the hotel and observed the subject vehicle in the hotel parking lot.
[¶ 3] The ground-floor hotel room registered to Syverson had both a door that opened into the hotel and a door that opened into the hotel parking lot. The officers decided that Officer Buhler would enter the hotel and watch the door that opened into the hotel "so nobody . . . would leave and so no one attempted to make contact from the outside" and that Officer Burns would exit the hotel and watch the door that opened into the hotel parking lot.
[¶ 4] Officer Buhler, who was familiar with Syverson from previous contacts, entered the hotel and spotted Syverson ahead of him in the hallway relatively close to her room door. Syverson turned and looked back, but the officer "played dumb" by staring into the hotel's office windows because he was worried that Syverson would dash into her room, shut the door, and thereby complicate the officer's objectives. Syverson went two or three more steps and entered her hotel room. Officer Buhler waited in the alcove of the hotel room adjacent to Syverson's room, suspecting that she would look through her door's "spy hole" to see whether the officer passed by her room and continued down the hallway, or instead came to her door. The officer figured that Syverson's curiosity would overcome her and she would ultimately open the door and look for the officer.
[¶ 5] Syverson eventually opened her door, looked down the hallway, and Officer Buhler "rushed her." Syverson tried to run back into her hotel room and slam the door, but the officer wedged his feet between the door and the door frame and attempted to push and squeeze his way into the hotel room. As he was struggling to keep the door open, Officer Buhler saw Syverson on the opposite side of the door (nearly horizontal in her attempt to push the door closed), another female sitting on a bed, and the appellant in the back of the room. As soon as the appellant saw the officer coming through the door, the appellant exhibited a "look of fear in his face," grabbed something that was on a table, and ran out the room's other door into the hotel parking lot. At some point, Syverson relented and backed away from the room's interior door.1
[¶ 6] Meanwhile, Officer Burns was conferring with Casper police sergeant Chris Hadlock outside the hotel room when the appellant suddenly ran out of the room, saw the officers, and ran the opposite direction. Officer Burns pursued the appellant, who stopped approximately fifty to one-hundred feet from the hotel room and put his hands up in the air. The officer "took [the appellant] down to the ground so he didn't take off running on [the officer] or have a chance to fight with [the officer]. . . ." Upon observing a sheathed eight-inch hunting knife attached to the belt on the appellant's hip, Officer Burns handcuffed him for safety reasons and proceeded to pat him down for additional weapons. The officer wanted to find out who the appellant was, why he ran, and whether he was the subject of any outstanding arrest warrants. When Officer Burns asked the appellant for his name and identification, the appellant was cooperative, provided his name, and indicated that his identification was in his wallet. The officer ultimately arrested the appellant because he was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant.
[¶ 7] When he was arrested, the appellant was wearing a fanny pack around his waist. The following items were, at some point, seized from the fanny pack and/or the appellant's person: (1) a small digital scale containing a white powder residue Officer Burns suspected was methamphetamine; (2) eight small baggies with a white powder residue that a forensic chemist later testified was methamphetamine; (3) two small baggies, each with a substance containing tetrahydrocannabinol (the active ingredient in marijuana); (4) a small plastic container with methamphetamine residue; (5) a spoon containing methamphetamine residue; (6) five empty syringes; (7) two razor blades; (8) a glass methamphetamine pipe, and a brass marijuana pipe; (9) various other baggies, some of which baggies appeared to contain an unidentified residue and 112 of which baggies appeared to be unused; (10) an address book and a phone number book; (11) business cards and numerous pieces of paper in a small notebook; and (12) a cell phone. A forensic chemist testified that the total weight of the substances that contained methamphetamine was 1.39 grams.
[¶ 8] Officer Burns placed the appellant in the back seat of a patrol vehicle, whereupon the appellant indicated that he wanted to talk to DCI (the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation). A call was placed to DCI and Natrona County deputy sheriff Keith Wilhelm (who was at that time assigned to DCI's drug task force) arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. Deputy Wilhelm located the appellant in Officer Burns' patrol vehicle and read him his Miranda rights. According to Deputy Wilhelm, the appellant indicated that he understood his rights and that he wanted to waive those rights and make a statement. The appellant then stated: (1) that he had purchased two grams of methamphetamine "about an hour" before the police arrived at the hotel; (2) that he was very familiar with Syverson;2 (3) that he knew she was staying in the hotel room; (4) that he went there to "get high, to party;" (5) that he had been in the hotel room for fifteen minutes before the police arrived; and (6) that he had already arranged to purchase a quarter-ounce of methamphetamine later that afternoon and trade it to another individual.
[¶ 9] The appellant was charged with: (1) possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, a felony in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-7-1031(a)(i) (LexisNexis 2003); (2) possession of methamphetamine, a misdemeanor in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-7-1031(c)(i); and (3) possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-7-1031(c)(i). On February 19, 2004, a Natrona County jury found the appellant guilty of all three charges. The district court sentenced the appellant to imprisonment for eight to twelve years for the felony conviction and also imposed sentences for the misdemeanor convictions. The appellant now appeals from the district court's judgment and sentence.
[¶ 10] Two public defenders represented the appellant at trial. On appeal, the appellant asserts that his trial counsel were ineffective because they did not file a motion to suppress the evidence seized from the appellant's person (essentially the contents of the appellant's fanny pack) or the statements the appellant made to law enforcement.
[¶ 11] Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are reviewed under the following standard:
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