Payton v. State

• Decision Date: 08 April 2014
• Docket Number: No. A13A1980.,A13A1980.
• Citation: 755 S.E.2d 261,326 Ga.App. 846
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Parties: PAYTON v. The STATE.

326 Ga.App. 846

755 S.E.2d 261

PAYTON

v.The STATE.

No. A13A1980.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 4, 2014.

Reconsideration Denied April 8, 2014.

Kristen Charrise Quinton, for Appellant.

Fredric Daniel Bright, Dist. Atty., Gregory Lyn Bushway, Asst. Dist. Atty., for Appellee.

MILLER, Judge.

Jonathan Michael Payton was charged with possession of cocaine (OCGA § 16–13–30(a)), possession of alprazolam (OCGA § 16–13–30(a)), aggravated assault (OCGA § 16–5–21), simple battery (OCGA § 16–5–23), and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana (OCGA § 16–13–30(j)(1)).Payton filed a motion to suppress the drugs seized from his bedroom in a warrantless search conducted by police officers pursuant to the homeowner's consent.The trial court denied Payton's motion, finding that Payton was a guest, not a tenant, in the homeowner's house and that, as a result, the homeowner was authorized to consent to the search of Payton's bedroom.This Court granted Payton's application for interlocutory review, and on appeal, he contends that the homeowner did not have common authority over his bedroombecause he was paying rent, and therefore, the police officers did not have valid consent to conduct the search.For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

In considering an appeal from the denial of a motion to suppress, this Court construes the evidence in favor of the trial court's ruling, and we review de novo the trial court's application of the law to undisputed facts.Additionally, we must defer to the trial court's determination on the credibility of witnesses, and the trial court's ruling on disputed facts must be accepted unless it is clearly erroneous.

(Footnotes omitted.)Burke v. State,302 Ga.App. 469, 691 S.E.2d 314(2010).

So viewed, the evidence shows that in August 2011, and for two years prior to this time, Payton lived in a residence at 186 Candler Road in Jones County.Ennis Grady Odom owned the residence, and although he considers Payton to be his grandson, there is no blood relation between the two.Odom, two other unrelated individuals, and Payton all had separate bedrooms in the house.Payton's girlfriend also resided at the house and shared a bedroom with Payton.

On August 5, 2011, Odom heard a rumbling coming from inside his house, and he then saw Payton and his girlfriend fighting as they came out of their bedroom.According to Odom, Payton and the girlfriend fought down the hallway and into the kitchen, where she grabbed two knives and slashed at Payton, causing several minor wounds.Odom then called the police.

The responding police officer spoke to Payton, his girlfriend, and Odom, who gave a written statement to police.According to the police officer, Payton appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol because he was jumpy, he exhibited dramatic mood swings, and his eyes were bloodshot and glossy.During his investigation, the police officer noticed fresh blood on Payton's hand, broken furniture, blood in the kitchen and on a broken chair, and a few knives on the kitchen countertop.The officer then arrested Payton and his girlfriend for domestic violence.

After putting Payton into a patrol car, the police officer expressed to Odom that Payton might be involved with drugs and asked for permission to search Payton's room.The police officer testified that Odom expressed frustration with Payton and his girlfriend because they lived in his house and ate his food without paying for anything.The police officer testified that he understood Odom's statement to mean that neither Payton nor his girlfriend paid any rent.The police officer further testified that Odom then gave permission to search Payton's room.The police officer used a drug dog to assist in the search of Payton's room, and the drug dog alerted to a speaker in Payton's room.The police officer found cocaine and alprazolam inside the speaker and a marijuana cigarette in an ashtray on a dresser.

Payton was subsequently charged with possession of cocaine, alprazolam, and marijuana, as well as aggravated assault and simple battery.Payton filed a motion to suppress the drugs found in his room, arguing that the police officer was required to ask him for consent to search since he was present at the scene.Following a hearing, the trial court denied Payton's motion.In so ruling, the trial court specifically found that Payton was a guest, not a tenant, in Odom's house and that, as a result, Odom had the authority to consent to a search of Payton's room.This appeal followed.

On appeal,¹ Payton contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the police officers lacked exigent circumstances or valid consent to conduct the warrantless search.Specifically, he argues that the trial court erred in concluding that he was a guest in Odom's house because Odom's testimony at the suppression hearing established that he paid rent.We disagree.

1.Odom, as head of the household, had the authority to consent to the search.

The Fourth Amendment states that people shall be secure in their person, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.Fundamentally, there exists a justified expectation of privacy against unreasonable intrusions into the home.Therefore, an unconsented police entry into the home constitutes a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

(Citation and punctuation omitted.)Hunt v. State,302 Ga.App. 578, 581, 691 S.E.2d 368(2010).A police officer's warrantless search of a house without consent or exigent circumstances “constitutes an unjustified, forcible intrusion that violates the Fourth Amendment.”(Footnote omitted.)Leon–Velazquez v. State,269 Ga.App. 760, 761(1), 605 S.E.2d 400(2004).

While a person may have a reasonable expectation of privacy, a warrantless search of a residence may nevertheless “be authorized by the consent of any person who possesses common authority over or sufficient relationship to the premises to be searched.”(Citations and punctuation omitted; emphasis supplied.)Smith v. State,264 Ga. 87, 87–88(2), 441 S.E.2d 241(1994);see alsoRockholt v. State,291 Ga. 85, 88(2), 727 S.E.2d 492(2012)(although defendant, as an overnight guest of a residence, has a reasonable expectation of privacy, the resident owner's consent to a search gives officers the legal authority to conduct a warrantless search).The “common authority over the premises” is one independent prong unrelated to the second prong of “sufficient relationship to the premises.”State v. West,237 Ga.App. 185, 185–186, 514 S.E.2d 257(1999).As a result, it is the general rule that

the voluntary consent of the head of a household to the search of premises owned or controlled by such head of the household is sufficient to authorize a search of the premises without a search warrant, and such search does not violate the constitutional prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.

(Punctuation omitted.)Tolbert v. State,224 Ga. 291, 293(2), 161 S.E.2d 279(1968);see alsoWarner v. State,299 Ga.App. 56, 58(1), 681 S.E.2d 624(2009).A landlord, however, cannot give consent to a search of his tenant's quarters.Warner,supra, 299 Ga.App. at 58(1), 681 S.E.2d 624.Consequently, whether Payton was a guest or a tenant is a factual determination that is reserved for the trial court, and we must sustain the trial court's resolution of this issue if there is any evidence to support it.Id.

In this case, some evidence supported the trial court's finding that Payton was a guest rather than a tenant.The responding police officer testified that Odom told him that Payton and his girlfriend “don't pay anything” for living at his house and eating his food.Additionally, Payton told officers that he was unemployed at the time.Although Odom testified at the motion to suppress hearing that Payton paid $75 a week in rent, Odom admitted that he had no documentary proof to show that Payton actually paid rent.Based on this evidence, along with Odom's admission that he would do what he could to help Payton, the trial court was not required to accept Odom's testimony that Payton paid rent.Tobias v. State,319 Ga.App. 320, 323(1), 735 S.E.2d 113(2012)(at a motion to suppress hearing, a trial court has no obligation to believe a witness's testimony, even in the absence of contradictory testimony).As a result, the trial court was authorized to believe the police officer's testimony and reject Odom's testimony in concluding that Payton was Odom's guest.

Since the trial court found that Payton was a guest in Odom's house, Odom, as the residenthomeowner, was authorized to consent to the search of Payton's bedroom, regardless of whether Payton was an adult, locked his door, or kept Odom out of his bedroom.See, e.g., Warner,supra, 299 Ga.App. at 58–59(1), 681 S.E.2d 624(evidence showing that parents were heads of household, as opposed to landlords, supported trial court's finding that parents were authorized to consent to a search of their college-age son's bedroom);West,supra, 237 Ga.App. at 186–187, 514 S.E.2d 257(resident homeowner had the right to enter the room of her adult son who did not pay rent, regardless of factors such as access or mutual use, and could assign that right to police officers);Howard v. State,207 Ga.App. 125, 126(1), 427 S.E.2d 96(1993)(defendant's mother, who co-owned residence with defendant's father, had a sufficient relationship to premises to consent to warrantless search of her adult son's bedroom because there was no landlord-tenant relationship between the defendant and his mother).Moreover, there is no evidence that Odom was coerced or placed under duress in order to obtain that consent.SeeBrown v. State,288 Ga. 404, 406–407(2), 703 S.E.2d 624(2010)(evidence did not show that householder's consent to search was obtained as the result of duress or coercion).

2.Police officers reasonably believed Odom had the authority to...