Hairston v. Com., 750182
| Decision Date | 01 December 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 750182,750182 |
| Court | Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | Lillie Belle HAIRSTON v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record |
John H. Kennett, Jr., Roanoke, for plaintiff in error.
Patrick A. O'Hare, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Andrew P. Miller, Atty. Gen., and John R. Alderman, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., on brief), for defendant in error.
Before I'ANSON, C.J., and CARRICO, HARRISON, COCHRAN, POFF and COMPTON, JJ.
The defendant, Lillie Belle Hairston, was convicted by the trial court, sitting without a jury, of unlawful possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. She was sentenced to pay a fine of $150.00 and to serve a term of 30 days in jail, which term was suspended on condition of good behavior. The sole question on appeal is whether the drugs found in the defendant's possession were seized as the result of an illegal search of her wallet.
The record shows that on June 6, 1974, Detective F. S. Cruser, Jr., and several other officers of the Roanoke Police Department entered Miss Rene's Massage Parlor to execute a warrant for the arrest of the manager, L. R. Brown, Jr. The officers also intended to investigate a report that juveniles were employed in the establishment.
According to the Commonwealth's evidence, after Brown was placed under arrest, Detective Cruser asked the defendant, who was in the front office, for 'some sort of identification to ascertain her age.' The defendant began 'looking through her pocketbook' and, becoming 'rather perturbed,' opened the purse and 'dumped . . . out' its contents on a sofa. She then said to Cruser, 'I can't find (any identification), you look for it.' Cruser looked 'through the contents,' found a wallet, examined it, and discovered four tablets in one of its compartments. A temporary driver's license also found in the wallet showed that the defendant was 25 years old.
The defendant, testifying in her own behalf, stated that she was not 25 but 30 years old. She said that, after Brown was arrested, three police officers 'cornered' her and told her she was 'under arrest too,' although it was later admitted that 'they didn't arrest her.' The defendant testified that Detective Cruser took her purse, 'just dumped it out,' and 'went through' it. She claimed that she 'had $100 in (her) purse, but it was missing' after the incident.
The four tablets found in the defendant's wallet were subsequently analyzed as phenobarbital, a controlled substance. Later, approximately four weeks after the incident at the massage parlor, the defendant was arrested and charged with possession of the drugs.
We will assume, without deciding, that Detective Cruser's examination of the defendant's wallet constituted a search. The crucial question then becomes whether the search was unreasonable.
A search conducted with the...
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