Richardson v. State
| Decision Date | 12 June 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 24A04-0507-CR-378.,24A04-0507-CR-378. |
| Citation | 848 N.E.2d 1097 |
| Parties | Phillip W. RICHARDSON and Anita B. Richardson, Appellants-Defendants, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Robert G. Gulde, Clarkson & Gulde, P.C., Rushville, IN, Attorney for Appellants.
Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Kelly A. Miklos, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Appellants-Defendants Phillip W. and Anita B. Richardson (collectively, the "Richardsons") appeal the trial court's denial of their motions to suppress evidence obtained from the warrantless search of their trash. We affirm.1
The Richardsons raise two issues on interlocutory appeal, which we restate as whether the trial court erred by denying their motions to suppress evidence under the Indiana Constitution because:
I. An anonymous tip that the Richardsons manufactured methamphetamine did not give police reasonable, articulable suspicion to search their trash; and
II. The good faith exception established in Indiana Code Section 35-37-4-5 is inapplicable to the present action.
On or about August 10, 2003, Indiana State Police Trooper Rick Gill ("Trooper Gill") received a telephone call from a "concerned citizen." Tr. at 5. The citizen, who remained anonymous,2 informed Trooper Gill that Mr. Richardson "was manufacturing methamphetamine at his residence on Stipps Hill Road and that . . . they [sic] observed him growing marijuana behind an outbuilding behind the residence." Id. The caller also told Trooper Gill that Mr. Richardson had a suspended driver's license, a fact which the officer later verified. Trooper Gill relayed the information about Mr. Richardson's possible drug activity to another state trooper, Trooper Wuestefeld, who had already been advised of the same information.3
Subsequently, Troopers Gill and Wuestefeld decided to investigate the anonymous tip or tips further. On August 11, 2003, the officers contacted the private trash service used by the Richardsons and arranged to "ride along with the trash truck" as it picked up the Richardson's trash. Id. at 12.
Two days later, Trooper Gill, wearing plain clothes, met with the driver of the garbage truck for the ride along. At that time, the trooper inspected the back of the truck and made certain that it was empty. Trooper Gill then rode in the passenger seat of the truck as the driver made a "direct beeline right to the Richardson's trash dumpster." Id. at 16. The dumpster was located on private property, in close proximity to three residences, including that of the Richardsons. When the driver backed the truck up to the dumpster, Trooper Gill got out of the truck and watched the driver empty the contents of the dumpster into the trash truck, along with other items that were lying near the dumpster. Trooper Gill then returned to the passenger seat of the garbage truck and the driver drove to a pre-arranged location.
There, Troopers Gill and Wuestefeld searched the trash, directing their attention to four bags in particular. In one bag, the troopers found an empty bottle of mini-ephedrine and a letter addressed to Mr. Richardson at "23104 Stipps Hill Road, Laurel, Indiana." Id. at 20. In a second trash bag, the officers found numerous plastic baggies with the corners cut off and a letter addressed to Mrs. Richardson at "23104 Stipps Hill Road." Id. at 20-21. The third trash bag contained "zig-zag rolling paper with numerous cut straws containing residue and a burnt hand-rolled cigarette which later tested positive for THC."4 Id. at 21. The troopers also discovered a prescription to Mr. Richardson in the third bag. Finally in the fourth bag, the troopers found: (1) two empty bottles of mini-ephedrine; (2) numerous cut straws with residue inside; (3) unaltered plastic baggies; and (4) plastic baggies with the corners cut off. The fourth bag of trash also contained a prescription for Zanax to Mrs. Richardson, other empty prescription bottles, and a "receipt for hydrocodone to [Mr.] Richardson." Id.
As a result of the trash search, Troopers Gill and Wuestefeld sought and obtained a search warrant for the Richardsons' home and property. During the execution of that warrant, the officers searched a one-room building where Mrs. Richardson's son was staying and found suspected marijuana plants that had been stripped, pipes containing THC, and plastic baggies containing plant material. The officers also found "eight plastic baggies, two cellophane bags, one corner had been cut on a plastic bags [sic], two cut straws with residue," and a fire extinguisher that tested positive for anhydrous ammonia. Id. at 34.
Inside the Richardsons' residence, the troopers found a pipe that later tested positive for THC, cut straws with residue, and empty bottles of mini-ephedrine. The officers also found electronic scales, a brass pipe that tested positive for THC, and approximately eight guns. Near a shed on the property, the officers discovered a propane tank with a rubber hose attached that tested positive for anhydrous ammonia. Behind the shed, the troopers saw growing marijuana plants, which Mrs. Richardson's son later identified as his.
On August 21, 2003, the State charged the Richardsons, individually, with the following Counts: (I) cultivating marijuana as a Class D felony;5 (II) possessing anhydrous ammonia with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine as a Class D felony;6 (III) possessing drug paraphernalia as a Class A misdemeanor;7 (IV) maintaining a common nuisance as a Class D felony;8 (V) improper handling of anhydrous ammonia as a Class A misdemeanor;9 and (VI), possessing cocaine as a Class D felony.10 On October 5, 2004, the Richardsons filed separate motions to suppress the physical evidence seized from their property, which the trial court denied after conducting a hearing. On May 17, 2005, the Richardsons filed a motion to reconsider the denial of the motions to suppress, requesting that the trial court reconsider its judgment in light of Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356 (Ind.2005). However, the trial court denied this motion.
On June 14, 2005, the trial court certified for interlocutory appeal its orders denying the Richardsons' motions to suppress. The Richardsons then filed this discretionary interlocutory appeal, pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 14, which we granted on August 9, 2005.
The Richardsons challenge the trial court's denial of their motions to suppress. We review the denial of a motion to suppress in a manner similar to other sufficiency matters. Taylor v. State, 689 N.E.2d 699, 702 (Ind.1997). We determine whether substantial evidence of probative value exists to support the trial court's denial of the motion. Id. In reviewing a motion to suppress, we do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Marlowe v. State, 786 N.E.2d 751, 753 (Ind.Ct.App.2003). However, unlike the typical sufficiency of the evidence case where only the evidence favorable to the judgment is considered, we also consider the uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant. Johnson v. State, 829 N.E.2d 44, 47 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied. We will affirm the judgment of the trial court if it is sustainable on any legal grounds apparent in the record. Alford v. State, 699 N.E.2d 247, 250 (Ind.1998).
On appeal, the Richardsons argue that the trial court erred when it denied their motions to suppress evidence because the police violated their rights under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution by searching their trash without reasonable articulable suspicion.11 Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution provides, in relevant part: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search or seizure, shall not be violated." The legality of a governmental search under the Indiana Constitution turns on an evaluation of the reasonableness of the police conduct under the totality of the circumstances. Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356, 358 (Ind.2005). Recently, our Supreme Court recognized: "[T]he totality of the circumstances requires consideration of both the degree of intrusion into the subject's ordinary activities and the basis upon which the officer selected the subject of the search or seizure." Id. The Litchfield Court noted that, while there may well be other relevant considerations under the circumstances, the reasonableness of a search or seizure turns on a balance of: (1) the degree of concern, suspicion, or knowledge that a violation has occurred; (2) the degree of intrusion that the method of the search or seizure imposes on the citizen's ordinary activities; and (3) the extent of law enforcement needs. Id. at 361; see also Crook v. State, 827 N.E.2d 643, 645 (Ind.Ct.App.2005).
The Indiana Supreme Court has observed that the "[s]eizure of trash that is in its usual location for pickup is no intrusion at all on the owner's liberty or property interests" because the owner of the property wants, and indeed expects, the trash to be taken away. Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at 363; see also Love v. State, 842 N.E.2d 420, 425 (Ind.Ct.App.2006). However, "it is not reasonable for law enforcement to search indiscriminately through people's trash." Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at 363. Therefore, to impose the appropriate balance between the privacy interest of citizens and the needs of law enforcement, two requirements exist for a search of trash to be reasonable. Edwards v. State, 832 N.E.2d 1072, 1074 (Ind.Ct.App.2005). First, the trash must be retrieved in substantially the same manner as the trash collector would use. Litchfield, 824 N.E.2d at 363. Because the Richardsons' trash service collected the garbage bags in question, this requirement...
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