Sanders v. State of Arkansas

• Decision Date: 05 December 2001
• Docket Number: 01-262
• Citation: 61 S.W.3d 871
• Parties: STEVEN SANDERS VS. STATE OF ARKANSAS CACR 01-262 APPELLANT CIRCUIT COURT, DIVISION I 5 December 2001 APPEAL FROM NEWTON COUNTY, HONORABLE ROBERT W. McCORKINDALE, CIRCUIT JUDGE APPELLEE AFFIRMED John E. Jennings, Judge. Steven Sanders was found guilty by a Newton County jury of possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of marijuana. He was sentenced to terms of three years in prison for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine to be served concurrently with a ten-year sentence for simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms. He was fined $500 for possession of marijuana. On appeal, he contends that there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized in searches of his vehicle and apartment. We find no reversible error and affirm. On
• Court: Arkansas Court of Appeals

STEVEN SANDERS

VS.

STATE OF ARKANSAS

CACR 01-262

APPELLANT CIRCUIT COURT, DIVISION I

5 December 2001

APPEAL FROM NEWTON COUNTY, HONORABLE ROBERT W. McCORKINDALE, CIRCUIT JUDGE

APPELLEE AFFIRMED

John E. Jennings, Judge.

Steven Sanders was found guilty by a Newton County jury of possession of drug paraphernalia, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of marijuana. He was sentenced to terms of three years in prison for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine to be served concurrently with a ten-year sentence for simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms. He was fined $500 for possession of marijuana. On appeal, he contends that there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized in searches of his vehicle and apartment. We find no reversible error and affirm.

On August 31, 1999, officers working under the Fourteenth Judicial District Drug Task Force were executing a search warrant at the residence of Sam Freeman in Newton County. The Freeman property was located northeast of Jasper off a county road. The residence and a shop were in a wooded area and sat at the end of a two-hundred-yard driveway.

At noon, Investigator Greg Harris was searching in the woods about half-way up the driveway when he heard a vehicle coming onto the property. The search was at an advanced stage at that point, and numerous illegal items had been found, including a methamphetamine lab and a stolen vehicle. By the sound of the approaching vehicle, Officer Harris did not believe it to be a police car, and he thought perhaps that personnel from the crime lab had arrived. He dismissed that notion when he heard the vehicle drive up to the residence, stop, and then head back out of the driveway to leave. Officer Harris walked toward the driveway and saw a pickup truck that was being driven by appellant. Harris said that the window was down and that he yelled to appellant to stop. Harris identified himself and asked appellant who he was and why he was there. Appellant told him that he was looking to find a transfer case for his truck. Harris asked appellant why he thought he could find a truck part there, and appellant said that someone had told him that he could. Appellant could not remember who had told him that, however. Harris then asked appellant if he knew who lived there. Appellant replied that he did not know who lived there and that he had not been there before. Harris then asked him how he had found the place, and appellant said that he had been told that the place to find truck parts was in Jasper.

Officer Harris testified that, under the circumstances, appellant's account did not ring true. He considered that the property was not in Jasper but in an out-of-the-way location where there were no signs for guidance and that this was the scene of a methamphetamine lab. Harris said that he asked appellant if there were any drugs or weapons in the truck. Appellant said that there were none. Harris testified that he asked appellant if he had a problem with him checking and that appellant gave him permission to search the truck.

Investigator David Small testified that he overheard appellant consent to a search of the truck. In the search, he found a gray box under the driver's seat that contained a handgun. A cigar case was found on the front seat under either a towel or a piece of clothing. The cigar case contained an eighth of one ounce of marijuana and four grams of methamphetamine. Appellant was then placed under arrest.

Paul Woodruff, an officer with the Harrison Police Department, applied for and obtained a search warrant for appellant's apartment in Harrison. In the course of that search, officers found on the kitchen counter a receipt from Wal-Mart that listed the purchase of a cigar case.

Appellant testified at the suppression hearing that he had been having trouble with the transfer case on the front differential of his truck and that he had gone to the Freeman property to find the part he needed. He said that he did not know Mr. Freeman, but that he knew Freeman had a salvage yard and that he did mechanic work. Appellant testified that he drove to the shop where he met Officer Gary Jenkins, and he said that he asked Jenkins if this was the Freeman place, since he had not been there before. Appellant said that Jenkins told him that it was Freeman's property but that Freeman was in jail. Appellant said Jenkins let him go but that he was stopped by Officer Darin Spears as he was backing out to leave. Appellant said that Spears also let him go after confirming with Officer Jenkins that Jenkins had already spoken to him. Appellant testified that Officer Harris then stopped him on the driveway and said, "Did you think that you'd leave without being searched when there's been two meth labs discovered?" Appellant said that Harris immediately ordered him out of the truck and told him that a warrant was not needed for him to search the truck. Appellant stated that Harris asked him if he was going to give them a hard time about the search. Appellant testified that he did not consent to a search of his truck, but that he only agreed that he would not give them a hard time.

Officer Harris testified in rebuttal that he did not tell appellant that he was going to search the truck or that a warrant was not necessary for him to do so.

Appellant's drug-paraphernalia conviction was based on his possession of the cigar case that contained marijuana and methamphetamine. Appellant argues that there is insufficient evidence to support this conviction because it is unreasonable to interpret the statute so broadly as to criminalize his possession of that object. We disagree.

The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether the verdict is supported by substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial. Ferguson v. State, 343 Ark. 159, 33 S.W.3d 115 (2000). Evidence is substantial if it is of sufficient force that it would compel a conclusion one way or the other without recourse to speculation and conjecture. Rose v. State, 72 Ark. App. 175, 35 S.W.3d 365 (2000). In determining whether there is substantial evidence, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Hale v. State, 34 Ark. 62, 31 S.W.3d 850 (2000).

Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-64-403(c)(1) (Supp. 1999) provides in pertinent part that it is unlawful for any person to use drug paraphernalia to store, contain, or conceal a controlled substance. The term "drug paraphernalia" includes all equipment, products and materials of any kind which are used to store, contain, or conceal controlled substances. Ark. Code Ann. 5-64-101(v) (Repl. 1997). Specifically included within the definition of drug paraphernalia are containers and other objects that are used in storing or concealing controlled substances. Ark. Code Ann. 5-64-101(v)(10) (Repl. 1997). Relevant factors in deter mining whether an object is drug paraphernalia include the proximity of the object to controlled substances, and the existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community. Ark. Code Ann. 5-64-101(v) (Repl. 1997).

The supreme court has held that the term "drug paraphernalia" is not unconstitutionally vague. Moore v. State, 297 Ark. 296, 761 S.W.2d 894 (1988); see also Crail v. State, 309 Ark. 120, 827 S.W.2d 157 (1992). The court has also ruled that there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction for this offense where the appellant was in possession of a vial that contained cocaine residue. Edwards v. State, 300 Ark. 4, 775 S.W.2d 900 (1989). Seealso, e.g., Ramey v. State, 42 Ark. App. 242, 857 S.W.2d 828 (1993).

Here, the appellant was in possession of a cigar case in which methamphetamine and marijuana were hidden. The jury could conclude that the case was used as a container to conceal controlled substances. Such an object fits squarely within the statutory definition of drug paraphernalia. We cannot say there is no substantial evidence to support the guilty verdict.

Appellant next argues that the trial court erred by not suppressing the evidence found in his vehicle. He contends that the stop of his vehicle was not justified under either Rule 3.1 or 2.2 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure. We hold that the encounter was authorized under Rule 2.2.

Rule 2.2(a) provides:

A law enforcement officer may request any person to furnish information or otherwise cooperate in the investigation or prevention of crime. The officer may request the person to respond to questions, to appear at a police station, or to comply with any other reason able request.

The supreme court has interpreted Rule 2.2 to provide that an officer may approach a citizen in much the same way a citizen may approach another citizen and request aid or information. State v. McFadden, 327 Ark. 16, 938 S.W.2d 797 (1997). However, the approach of a citizen pursuant to a policeman's investigative law enforcement function must be reasonable under the existent circumstances and requires a weighing of the government's interest for the intrusion against the individual's right to privacy and personal freedom. Baxter v. State, 274 Ark. 539, 626 S.W.2d 935 (1982). To be considered are the manner and intensity of the interference, the gravity of the crime involved, and the circum stances attending the encounter. Id. The court has clarified that an encounter under this rule is permissible only if the information or cooperation sought is in aid of an investigation or the prevention of a particular crime. Stewart v. State, 332 Ark. 138, 964 S.W.2d 793 (1998).

For example, in Baxter v. State, supra, an officer stopped the appellant's vehicle in a park that was near a jewelry store that had just been robbed to ask if anyone had been seen in the park. As it turned out, the vehicle was occupied by...