People v. Winpigler

• Decision Date: 06 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 99SA272.,99SA272.
• Citation: 8 P.3d 439
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. James WINPIGLER, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

8 P.3d 439

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. James WINPIGLER, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 99SA272.

Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc.

December 6, 1999.

Frank J. Daniels, District Attorney Twenty-First Judicial District, Brian J. Flynn, Deputy District Attorney, Grand Junction, Colorado, Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant.

David F. Vela, Colorado State Public Defender, William T. McNulty, Deputy State Public Defender, Grand Junction, Colorado, Attorneys for Defendant-Appellee.

Justice RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court.

The People bring this interlocutory appeal pursuant to C.A.R. 4.1, seeking reversal of the trial court's order suppressing all evidence obtained following the warrantless entry of the police into the defendant's residence. The defendant moved for suppression of the evidence on the grounds that the police entry into his house violated his constitutional rights. The trial court agreed, holding that although the police may have possessed probable cause to believe a crime was being committed in the defendant's residence, they lacked sufficient exigent circumstances to justify the warrantless entry. Upon review of the record, we agree that the police had probable cause but lacked the necessary exigent circumstances to justify the warrantless entry. Accordingly, we affirm the order of the trial court suppressing all evidence obtained after the warrantless entry.

I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

On February 13, 1999, Officer Derek Rosales of the Grand Junction Police Department conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle on South Fifth Street in Grand Junction. During his contact with the two occupants of the vehicle, Officer Rosales learned that the driver of the vehicle possessed an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Officer Rosales placed the driver under arrest and a search of the vehicle revealed items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine. At this point, Officer Rosales contacted the Mesa County Sheriff's Department Grand Valley Joint Drug Task Force, and additional officers from that task force arrived to assist with the narcotics investigation. The passenger in the vehicle told the police he and the driver were on their way to see the defendant, James Winpigler, at the time they were stopped by Officer Rosales. The police were aware that Mr. Winpigler had been arrested once before for menacing with a knife, and that he was known to carry knives.

The police attempted to contact Mr. Winpigler at his residence nearby by knocking on his door, but received no response. Two individuals, Brad West and Amanda Thompson, then arrived at the residence. The police learned from them that they had been staying with Mr. Winpigler and that Mr. Winpigler was probably asleep inside the residence because he had been feeling ill. While the officers stayed on the front porch, Mr. West entered the residence through the back door and opened the front door. The officers asked Mr. West to wake up Mr. Winpigler and bring him to the front door so they could speak with him. Mr. West left and returned back into the residence to wake up Mr. Winpigler.

As Mr. West had left the front door open, the police could see partially into the residence from the front porch and observed a collection of swords mounted on a wall. The police also smelled the strong odor of iodine, which they knew from their training and experience to be consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine. After waiting for approximately thirty seconds for someone to return, the police entered the residence and secured the premises. After the police entered the residence and brought Mr. Winpigler to the front room, Mr. Winpigler consented to a search of the premises. The police then searched Mr. Winpigler's bedroom and found a handgun with the serial number filed off, and various items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine. The police placed Mr. Winpigler under arrest and found three packages containing methamphetamine in Mr. Winpigler's pocket. At this point, the police obtained a search warrant for the premises, conducted a more thorough search, and found several more items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine as well as numerous weapons. The police then transported Mr. Winpigler to jail where he made a statement after waiving his Miranda rights by signing a preprinted "Waiver of Rights" form.

The Mesa County District Attorney charged Mr. Winpigler with several offenses relating to possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia, possession of illegal weapons, and reckless endangerment. Mr. Winpigler moved to suppress all evidence obtained by the police following the warrantless entry into his residence, alleging a violation of his rights under the United States and Colorado Constitutions. Specifically, Mr. Winpigler argued that the police entered his home without the requisite exigent circumstances to justify the warrantless entry and that all evidence obtained thereafter, including his statement to the police, must be suppressed as fruits of the illegal entry.

The trial court considered Mr. Winpigler's motion at a suppression hearing and found that the police "probably had probable cause to believe that at some point methamphetamine manufacture had occurred in the house, and . . . that perhaps conspiracy to commit to manufacture was afoot." However, the court found that the "circumstances and the reasonable inferences from them did not constitute exigent circumstances justifying a warrantless entry into the residence." In making this finding, the court rejected the State's arguments that the exigent circumstances consisted of the officers' fear for their personal safety, the possibility that improperly disposed of chemicals could blow up, and the risk of destruction of evidence. The trial court suppressed all evidence obtained following the entry into the defendant's home, including the defendant's statement at the jail.

II. ANALYSIS

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution proscribe all unreasonable searches and seizures.¹ A warrantless search is presumed to violate the constitutional provisions forbidding unreasonable searches and seizures, especially where there is a warrantless intrusion into a home. See Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 586, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980); People v. Jansen, 713 P.2d 907, 911 (Colo.1986). To overcome this presumption, the prosecution has the burden of establishing that the warrantless search is supported by probable cause and is justified under one of the narrowly defined exceptions to the warrant requirement. See People v. Garcia, 752 P.2d 570, 581 (Colo.1988). One such exception to the warrant requirement applies when exigent circumstances exist that necessitate immediate police action. See Mendez v. People, 986 P.2d 275, 279 (Colo. 1999); People v. Kluhsman, 980 P.2d 529, 534 (Colo.1999); People v. McKinstry, 843 P.2d 18, 19-20 (Colo.1993); People v. Malczewski, 744 P.2d 62, 66 (Colo.1987). We have recognized the exigent circumstances exception in the following three situations: (1) the bona fide "hot pursuit" of a fleeing suspect; (2) the risk of immediate destruction of evidence; and (3) a colorable claim of an emergency which threatens the life or safety of another. See Kluhsman, 980 P.2d at 534; People v. Higbee, 802 P.2d 1085, 1088 (Colo. 1990). In these three circumstances, evidence discovered in the course of a warrantless search is admissible if the prosecution establishes both probable cause to support the search and exigent circumstances justifying the warrantless entry. See Kluhsman, 980 P.2d at 534; see also People v. Crawford, 891 P.2d 255, 258 (Colo.1995). Finally, the scope of the intrusion must be strictly circumscribed by the exigency justifying the initiation of the warrantless intrusion. See People v. Wright, 804 P.2d 866, 869 (Colo. 1991).

If law enforcement officials conduct an unconstitutional search or seizure, any illegally obtained evidence is subject to the exclusionary rule, which seeks to deter such wrongful action. See United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 347, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974); Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 655, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961); McKinstry, 843 P.2d at 20. This prohibition applies as well to the fruits of the illegally seized evidence. See Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 484-85, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); People v. Lewis, 975 P.2d 160, 170 (Colo.1999); People v. Jones, 828 P.2d 797, 800 (Colo.1992).

The State urges us to reverse the trial court's suppression order on the grounds that the warrantless entry by the police into the defendant's home was justified by both probable cause and exigent circumstances. Conversely, the defendant contends that even if the police possessed probable cause, they lacked the requisite exigent circumstances to justify the warrantless entry.

Our task is to review the record and the trial court's findings to determine whether the necessary probable cause and exigent circumstances existed at the time of the police entry into the defendant's residence to justify the warrantless intrusion. The existence of probable cause and exigent circumstances must be determined by evaluating the facts available to the police at the time of the warrantless entry and search. See Jansen, 713 P.2d at 911. We accord deference to the trial court's findings of fact and will not overturn them provided they are supported by competent evidence in the record. See People v. Thomas, 853 P.2d 1147, 1149 (Colo.1993). An ultimate conclusion of constitutional law that is inconsistent with or unsupported by evidentiary findings, however, is subject to correction by a reviewing court. See People v. Quezada, 731 P.2d 730, 732-33 (Colo.1987). When the controlling facts are undisputed, the legal effect of those facts constitutes a question of law which is subject to de...