State v. Amirkhizi

• Decision Date: 23 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 20030639-CA.,20030639-CA.
• Citation: 2004 UT App 324,100 P.3d 225
• Parties: STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Rameen Rey AMIRKHIZI, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

100 P.3d 225

2004 UT App 324

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Rameen Rey AMIRKHIZI, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 20030639-CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

September 23, 2004.

Loni F. DeLand and Michael R. Sikora, Salt Lake City, for Appellant.

Mark L. Shurtleff, Attorney General, and J. Frederic Voros Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.

Before BENCH, Associate P.J., DAVIS, and GREENWOOD, JJ.

OPINION

GREENWOOD, Judge:

¶ 1 Defendant Rameen Rey Amirkhizi appeals a conviction of two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a third degree felony. See Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-8(2)(a)(i) (2002). Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it concluded that the emergency medical technician (EMT) who searched his backpack was not engaged in state action, and that the contraband found in Defendant's backpack would have been inevitably discovered by police officers and was therefore admissible. We reverse.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 Dexter Mohler was an EMT employed by the Evanston Fire Department in Uintah County, Wyoming. On September 17, 2002, Mohler responded to a one-car accident on Interstate 80 in eastern Utah, not far from the Wyoming border. Mohler arrived at the scene of the accident and found a station wagon that had apparently struck a roadside embankment. Mohler observed Defendant standing outside the vehicle with what appeared to be minor injuries. Although Defendant was initially reluctant to go to an emergency room to have his injuries checked, Mohler eventually convinced him it was in his best interest to go. ¶ 3 After Defendant was strapped to a gurney and placed in the back of an ambulance, he asked Mohler to retrieve his car keys. Because Defendant was immobilized, Mohler asked Defendant if he wanted him to place the keys in Defendant's backpack. Defendant said yes, and Mohler unzipped one of the backpack's side pockets and placed the keys inside. While doing this, Mohler noticed a prescription pill bottle for the drug hydrocodone. Mohler examined the bottle and saw that the name on the bottle was not Defendant's. Mohler also observed that although there was a capsule at the bottom of the bottle, the bottle did not rattle when he turned it over. Without asking Defendant's permission, Mohler opened the bottle and saw a small bag containing white powder. According to Mohler, he opened the bottle because he was concerned that Defendant had taken some medication that he had not told Mohler about.

¶ 4 Based on Mohler's training and experience,¹ he believed the powder he had found was a controlled substance. Concerned that there might be more drugs or even weapons in the backpack, Mohler proceeded to search the rest of the backpack. Upon opening another of the backpack's pockets, Mohler discovered two syringes. Mohler informed the nurse in the back of the ambulance about the syringes "as well as some other things to kind of give him a heads up to be a little more cautious with [Defendant]."

¶ 5 Mohler also told two Wyoming police officers who were at the scene what he had found in Defendant's backpack. One of these officers then informed Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Davis about Mohler's discovery. The officer also told Trooper Davis that Defendant "had a known drug history."²

¶ 6 Based on this information, Trooper Davis asked Defendant if he could search Defendant's backpack. When Defendant refused to consent to the search, Trooper Davis searched the backpack anyway. At the time of the search, Defendant's backpack was lying on the hood of a patrol car parked behind the ambulance. According to Trooper Davis, no warrant to conduct the search was necessary because of the "unusual circumstances of the case," the information the Wyoming police officer had provided him, and Defendant's refusal to consent to the search.

¶ 7 When Trooper Davis opened the prescription pill bottle inside the backpack, he found three plastic bags: the first containing a white powdery substance, the second containing what he suspected to be methamphetamine, and the third containing what he suspected to be marijuana. Trooper Davis also found three pill capsules, each containing a white powdery substance. A field test conducted by Trooper Davis revealed that the white powdery substance was cocaine. Trooper Davis then searched Defendant's car and found marijuana residue in the car.³

¶ 8 Defendant was later charged with the following: two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a third degree felony, see Utah Code Ann. § 58-37c-8(2)(a)(i) (2002); possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, see Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-8(1)(a)(ii) (2002); and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor. See Utah Code Ann. § 58-37a-5 (2002). Defendant filed a motion to suppress on the basis that the searches conducted by Mohler and Trooper Davis were unlawful. The trial court denied Defendant's motion and Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to the two counts of possession of a controlled substance, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The remaining two counts were dismissed as part of the plea bargain. Defendant timely filed his notice of appeal.

ISSUE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9 Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. While Defendant does not dispute the trial court's factual findings, he challenges the court's legal conclusions that (1) Mohler was not engaged in state action when he searched Defendant's backpack; and (2) the contraband found in Defendant's backpack would have been inevitably discovered by police officers. The State argues that the trial court could also have determined the search was lawful as a search incident to arrest. This court reviews the conclusions of law underlying a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress under a correctness standard, according no deference to the trial court's legal conclusions. See State v. Anderson, 910 P.2d 1229, 1232 (Utah 1996)

.

ANALYSIS

I. Whether Mohler Was Engaged in State Action at the Time He Searched Defendant's Backpack

¶ 10 Defendant first argues that the trial court erred when it concluded that when Mohler searched Defendant's backpack, he "acted out of personal safety and for proper medical reasons," and therefore, was not engaged in state action for Fourth Amendment purposes. According to Defendant, Mohler's conduct constituted state action because he was a county employee who had received training in drug recognition from the Wyoming police and had been encouraged by police officers to inform them any time he found drugs while carrying out his duties as an EMT. In response, the State argues that Mohler was not engaged in state action because his examination of Defendant's backpack was motivated by reasons unrelated to law enforcement.

¶ 11 The Fourth Amendment protects the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. However, "the [F]ourth [A]mendment cannot be triggered simply because a person is acting on behalf of the government." United States v. Attson, 900 F.2d 1427, 1429 (9th Cir.1990). In order for the conduct of a non-law enforcement governmental party to be subject to the Fourth Amendment, "`the governmental party engaging in that conduct must have acted with the intent to assist the government in its investigatory or administrative purposes and not for an independent purpose.'" State v. Ellingsworth, 966 P.2d 1220, 1223 (Utah Ct. App.1998) (emphasis added) (quoting Attson, 900 F.2d at 1433).

¶ 12 In this case, although Mohler ultimately assisted law enforcement, the trial court determined that when Mohler examined the contents of Defendant's backpack he was not acting "`with the intent to assist the government in its investigatory or administrative purposes.'" Id. (emphasis added) (citation omitted). Mohler testified that he opened the prescription bottle in Defendant's backpack because he was concerned that Defendant had taken medication that he had not told Mohler about. Mohler further testified that he searched the remainder of Defendant's backpack because he had just discovered what he believed to be a controlled substance and was worried that there might be more drugs, or even weapons, in the backpack. Given his role as an EMT, Mohler's concerns about his personal safety and Defendant's medical treatment were reasonable. More importantly, such concerns clearly served a purpose independent of law enforcement.

¶ 13 In support of his argument that Mohler engaged in state action, Defendant argues that the Wyoming police provided Mohler with drug recognition training and encouraged him to inform them any time he came across drugs during the course of his duties. Defendant also maintains that Mohler's statement to the nurse at the scene of the accident that Defendant's backpack contained syringes demonstrates that Mohler was more concerned about law enforcement than medical treatment.

¶ 14 Under Utah law, "[t]he burden of establishing governmental involvement in a private search rests upon the party objecting to the evidence." State v. Watts, 750 P.2d 1219, 1221 (Utah 1988) (footnote omitted). As such, it appears that the facts cited by Defendant are insufficient to establish that Mohler's search of his backpack constituted state action. Mohler testified that his drug recognition training was for safety rather than law enforcement reasons, and he specifically denied that once he found the pill bottle in Defendant's backpack, his role changed from "ambulance driver to cop, investigator." Moreover, Mohler's statement to the nurse about the syringes in Defendant's backpack is too vague to be construed as evidence that Mohler was acting on behalf of law enforcement rather than conveying relevant medical information. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not err in determining that Mohler was...