Redden v. State

• Decision Date: 12 July 2006
• Docket Number: No. 31A04-0509-CR-522.,31A04-0509-CR-522.
• Citation: 850 N.E.2d 451
• Parties: John REDDEN, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

850 N.E.2d 451

John REDDEN, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 31A04-0509-CR-522.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 12, 2006.

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Matthew Jon McGovern, Evansville, IN, for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Matthew D. Fisher, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, for Appellee.

OPINION

SHARPNACK, Judge.

John Redden appeals his convictions and sentences for possession of marijuana as a class A misdemeanor,¹ possession of two or more precursors while possessing a firearm as a class C felony,² possession of methamphetamine while possessing a firearm as a class C felony,³ and dumping controlled substance waste as a class D felony.⁴ Redden raises four issues, which we revise and restate as:

I. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence seized from Redden's property;

II. Whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain Redden's conviction for dumping controlled substance waste as a class D felony;

III. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Redden; and

IV. Whether Redden's ten-year sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.

We affirm.

The relevant facts follow. On January 15, 2005, a confidential informant told Indiana State Police Detective Barry Brown that methamphetamine was being manufactured at a residence in New Amsterdam, Indiana. The informant, who had previously provided Detective Brown with reliable information, identified the residence as the two drove past.

On January 25, 2005, between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Detective Brown returned to the residence with Indiana State Police Trooper Mark Strange. Neither officer saw a "No Trespassing" sign when they entered the property. Because the front porch of the residence was inaccessible due to "clutter or junk," Detective Brown and Trooper Strange approached the back door. Transcript at 287.

Detective Brown stood on the porch and knocked on the back door, while Trooper Strange stood below the porch steps. Redden answered the door, and Detective Brown told Redden that they were "conducting a criminal investigation and requested. . . permission to come inside." Id. at 289-290. As Detective Brown was speaking to Redden, Detective Brown detected a strong chemical odor common in methamphetamine manufacturing. Redden then exited the house, shut the door, and asked if Detective Brown had a warrant. Detective Brown asked Redden why he needed a warrant, and Redden replied, "Because I have marijuana inside my residence." Id. at 294. Detective Brown then advised Redden of his Miranda rights. At that time, Detective Brown also saw a white jug of muriatic acid on the porch and a garbage can containing what he believed to be "pill soak" next to the porch. Id. at 304. Both muriatic acid and pill soak are part of the process in manufacturing methamphetamine. Based upon Redden's admission regarding the marijuana and the presence of muriatic acid and pill soak, Detective Brown sent Trooper Strange to get a warrant to search Redden's residence and called the methamphetamine investigation lab team to the scene.

Trooper Strange's affidavit for the search warrant provided:

Mark Strange, officer with the Indiana State Police, affirms under the pains and penalties of perjury that:

1. He believes and has good cause to believe that marijuana; paraphernalia; precursors to methamphetamine and/or methamphetamine will be found in, on or about property owned and/or occupied by John Redden at 7020 New Amsterdam Road, SW, Central, Harrison County, Indiana. . . .

2. In support of my assertions as to the existence of probable cause the following facts and circumstances are offered:

(a) That on January 26, 2005, Barry Brown, an Indiana State Police Officer received information from a person who he believes to be credible and reliable. A person he has used in the past who has led to arrest and/or seizures of unlawful drugs and/or precursors to methamphetamine. The person told Barry Brown that he would find marijuana and/or methamphetamine at a home located at 7020 New Amsterdam Road, SW, Central, Harrison County, Indiana.

(b) That Barry Brown and other law enforcement officers met at this location. Barry Brown knocked on the door. A white male who later identified himself as John Redden answered the door. At that time Barry Brown could smell the odor of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine. Barry Brown recognized the odor by his training and experience as a police officer and past arrests and/or seizures of meth labs. Barry Brown also saw in plain view muriatic acid and glass ware containing what appeared to be "pill dough."

(c) That Barry Brown identified himself as a police officer and told John Redden why he was there. Barry Brown asked if he could enter the home so that they could discuss the call he had received concerning the drugs and/or precursors that were reported to be in his home. John Redden said "No, you can't come in . . . I have marijuana in the house" and indicated that he did not want to go to jail for the marijuana. John Redden told Barry Brown to go get a search warrant.

The foregoing represents the grounds for my belief. Therefore, I respectfully request the Court issue a Search Warrant directing a search for any and all illegal drugs and/or paraphernalia and/or precursors to methamphetamine and/or a "meth dump" and/or . . . papers or things related to the dealing and/or manufacture of illegal drugs . . . .

Appellant's Appendix at 187-188.

After Trooper Strange returned with the search warrant, the lab team searched the house and, in various locations throughout the house, found 10.83 grams of methamphetamine, 3.68 grams of marijuana, glass pipes, foil, rolling papers, a loaded .22 caliber revolver hidden inside the couch, eighteen twenty-four count boxes of pseudoephedrine totaling 25.92 grams, denatured alcohol, strike plates removed from matchboxes, filters with red phosphorus, tincture of iodine, hydrogen peroxide, a reflux condenser, coffee filters, muriatic acid, several cans of organic solvent, and various extraction vessels. Everything needed to manufacture methamphetamine using the red phosphorous method was found inside Redden's house. Outside of Redden's residence, the officers found a backhoe next to a hole that contained empty containers of denatured alcohol, camp fuel, xylene, and naphtha.

The State charged Redden with:⁵ (1) Count I, possession of precursors as a class D felony;⁶ (2) Count II, possession of marijuana as a class A misdemeanor; (3) Count III, possession of two or more precursors while possessing a firearm as a class C felony; (4) Count IV, possession of methamphetamine while possessing a firearm as a class C felony; (5) Count V, possession of precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine as a class D felony;⁷ (6) Count VI, dumping controlled substance waste as a class D felony; and (7) Count VII, possession of methamphetamine as a class C felony.⁸

Redden filed a motion to suppress the evidence taken from his property and argued that the "knock and talk" investigation and the subsequent search violated Redden's rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Redden also argued that the search warrant was based upon hearsay. The trial court denied Redden's motion.

After a trial, the jury found Redden guilty as charged. The trial court found two aggravating factors: (1) Redden's criminal history, and (2) the fact that Redden committed the offenses in the presence of minors. The trial court sentenced Redden to six months for the possession of marijuana as a class A misdemeanor conviction, four years for the possession of precursors while in possession of a firearm as a class C felony conviction, four years for the methamphetamine possession while in possession of a firearm as a class C felony conviction, and eighteen months for the dumping controlled substance waste conviction. The trial court did not enter judgment of conviction on the remaining guilty verdicts. The trial court ordered that the sentences be served consecutively for an aggregate sentence of ten years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

I.

The first issue is whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence seized from Redden's property. We review the trial court's ruling on the admission of evidence for an abuse of discretion. Noojin v. State, 730 N.E.2d 672, 676 (Ind. 2000). We reverse only where the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances. Joyner v. State, 678 N.E.2d 386, 390 (Ind.1997), reh'g denied.

Redden argues that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence found at his home because the search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Redden also argues that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence discovered pursuant to the search warrant because the search warrant was based upon hearsay. We will address each argument separately.

A. Fourth Amendment.

We first note that Redden did not object at trial to Detective Brown's testimony regarding Redden's admission that he had marijuana inside the house and did not object to Detective Brown's testimony regarding the chemical odor coming from Redden's house. Redden has waived any argument regarding the admission of this evidence. See Wright v. State, 593 N.E.2d 1192, 1194 (Ind.1992) ("When the trial court denies a motion to suppress evidence. . ., the moving party must renew his objection to admission of the evidence at trial. If the moving party does not object to the evidence at trial, then any error is waived.") (citation omitted), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1001, 113 S.Ct. 605, 121...