Halsema v. State
| Decision Date | 09 March 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 79S04-0307-CR-350, No. 79S02-0307-CR-351. |
| Citation | 823 N.E.2d 668 |
| Parties | Ritchie HALSEMA, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below). Frank L. Halsema, Appellant (Defendant below), v. State of Indiana, Appellee (Plaintiff below). |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Thomas J. O'Brien, O'Brien & Dekker, Lafayette, IN, Attorney for Appellant, Ritchie Halsema.
Phillip R. Smith, Helmerick & Smith, Lafayette, IN, Attorney for Appellant, Frank L. Halsema.
Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Monika Prekopa Talbot, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Is the weight of a given quantity of drugs a matter of general knowledge and experience that jurors possess? On this record we conclude it is not.
Tried as co-defendants, cousins Frank and Ritchie Halsema were convicted of several drug-related offenses including possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school. They pursued separate appeals. One issue common to both was whether, in the absence of scientific measurement, there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the weight of the drugs was at least three grams. In Frank Halsema's case, one panel of the Court of Appeals said yes. See Halsema v. State, 783 N.E.2d 1199, 1205 (Ind.Ct. App.2003)
(). In the case of Ritchie Halsema, another panel of the Court said no. See Halsema v. State, 79A04-0207-CR-316, 784 N.E.2d 591 (Ind.Ct.App., March 6, 2003) (). We now address these two cases in a consolidated opinion.
In the late evening hours of September 15, 2001, a West Lafayette patrol officer observed a 1984 Chrysler LeBaron with a defective exhaust traveling along U.S. Highway 52 in Tippecanoe County. The passenger was not wearing a seat belt. Following for about a mile the officer observed the car twice swerve across the center line. Activating his lights to initiate a traffic stop, the officer observed the two occupants in the car bending down and making furtive gestures. A license plate check revealed that the car was registered to a person by the name of Juliet Whiteley, whose address was 1216 Shenandoah Drive, Lafayette, Indiana. When the officer approached the car, he saw a case of beer on the back seat, observed that the driver's eyes were bloodshot, and smelled an odor of alcohol on his breath. The driver identified himself as Ritchie Halsema, advised the officer he lived at 1216 Shenandoah Drive, and informed the officer that his driver's license was suspended. He was arrested.
Other officers arrived on the scene. When asked to identify himself, the passenger of the car said that his name was Lonnie Halsema. He was later identified as Frank Halsema. As one of the officers was giving Frank Halsema a citation for not wearing a seat belt, he saw on the passenger side of the car a clear plastic bag containing a green leafy substance. Suspecting the substance was marijuana, the officer placed Frank under arrest.
The officers then searched the car and found throughout a large quantity of individually wrapped bags of what later was identified as methamphetamine and a number of pills later identified as schedule II controlled substances. In the trunk of the car, the officers found a set of digital scales and various drug paraphernalia. Both Frank and Ritchie stipulated at trial that the total amount of methamphetamine found in the car was 112 grams.
The following day officers went to 1216 Shenandoah Drive, which is located within 1000 feet of a school, and spoke with Juliet Whiteley. Also present was Whiteley's three-year-old daughter and a man by the name of Roger Ferguson. Whiteley informed the officers that she leased the premises, that Ritchie was a friend, that he had been staying in the house for the past five to seven days, and that he slept in her bedroom while she slept on a couch downstairs. Whiteley signed a written consent form giving the officers permission to search the residence. During the search, officers confiscated methamphetamine from both Whiteley and Ferguson. They also seized a quantity of methamphetamine from a dresser drawer in the bedroom where Ritchie had been staying. The drawer also contained a black organizer bearing Ritchie's name, along with documents also bearing his name.
The State charged Ritchie Halsema with dealing in methamphetamine, a Class A felony; possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school, a Class A felony; conspiracy to commit dealing in methamphetamine, a Class A felony; possession of a schedule II controlled substance, a Class D felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a Class D felony; operating a motor vehicle as an habitual traffic offender, a Class D felony; possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; and reckless possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Ritchie was also alleged to be an habitual substance offender.
The State charged Frank Halsema with dealing in methamphetamine, a Class A felony; possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school, a Class A felony; conspiracy to commit dealing in methamphetamine, a Class A felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a Class D felony; possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; reckless possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor; and false informing, a Class A misdemeanor. Frank also was alleged to be an habitual substance offender.
After a trial by jury in which the Halsemas appeared as co-defendants, Ritchie Halsema was found guilty as charged. He thereafter admitted to being an habitual substance offender. Frank Halsema was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school, possession of marijuana, reckless possession of paraphernalia, and false informing. He was acquitted of the remaining charges. Frank Halsema also admitted to being an habitual substance offender. The trial court imposed forty-year concurrent sentences on Ritchie Halsema's two Class A felony convictions, imposed various concurrent terms of years for the remaining convictions, and enhanced the sentence by five years for the habitual offender adjudication for a total executed term of forty-five years. As for Frank Halsema, the trial court imposed a forty-year sentence for the Class A felony conviction, imposed various concurrent terms of years for the remaining convictions, enhanced the sentence by five years for the habitual offender adjudication, and suspended six months to probation for a total executed term of forty-four years and six months.
The Halsemas pursued separate appeals. Frank Halsema raised three issues: (1) whether there was sufficient evidence to support his convictions for possession of marijuana and reckless possession of paraphernalia; (2) whether there was sufficient evidence that he possessed at least three grams of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school; and (3) whether the jury's verdict finding him guilty of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, reckless possession of paraphernalia, and false informing was inconsistent. The panel reviewing the appeal affirmed the convictions. Ritchie Halsema raised two issues on appeal: (1) whether Juliet Whiteley had the authority to give consent to search a dresser drawer containing his personal effects; and (2) whether there was sufficient evidence that he possessed at least three grams of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school. Ritchie Halsema did not challenge his other convictions. Finding it unnecessary to reach the first issue, the panel reviewing this appeal reversed Ritchie Halsema's conviction for possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school.
Frank Halsema petitioned to transfer his case and the State petitioned to transfer Ritchie Halsema's case. Having previously granted both petitions, we now address whether there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the weight of the drugs was at least three grams. Finding there was not sufficient evidence, we reverse the Halsemas' convictions for possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school as Class A felonies. In Frank Halsema's case we summarily affirm the remainder of the Court of Appeals' opinion. As for Ritchie Halsema, we also address whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence the methamphetamine seized from the dresser drawer.
Relevant to our discussion, the Halsemas were charged with and convicted of possession of methamphetamine under Indiana Code section 35-48-4-6 which provides in relevant part:
Ind.Code § 35-48-4-6 (West Supp.2004). We first observe, and all parties seem to agree, the methamphetamine that is the subject of this offense was found in a bedroom dresser drawer at the residence. Apparently the car was not located in, on or near the prohibited sites. There is no question that the residence from which the drugs were seized was located within 1000 feet of school property, specifically the Glen Acres Elementary School and the Kiddie Kollege Day Care, a licensed day care facility. The Halsemas stipulated as much at trial. See Appellant's App. at 364. The issue is joined on the question of whether there was sufficient evidence that the...
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