State v. Bremenkamp

• Decision Date: 10 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. 26975.,26975.
• Citation: 190 S.W.3d 487
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Annalea R. BREMENKAMP, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

190 S.W.3d 487

STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Annalea R. BREMENKAMP, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 26975.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Division Two.

April 10, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Amy M. Bartholow, Columbia, for Appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Attorney General, of Jefferson City, Daniel N. McPherson, Assistant Attorney General, of Jefferson City, for Respondent.

PHILLIP R. GARRISON, Judge.

Annalea R. Bremenkamp ("Defendant") was convicted, following a bench trial, of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, a violation of Section 195.211,¹ and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, a violation of Section 195.420. She received concurrent sentences of eight years and five years' imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant alleges trial court error in allowing the State to introduce an inculpatory statement made to police during the execution of a search warrant, and she challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction on both counts. We affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence reveals that on October 16, 2003, Springfield Police Officers served a search warrant on 3300 West Kearney in Springfield, Missouri ("the residence"). Police had received information from a reliable informant, that a man named "Russell" was selling methamphetamine from the residence. The residence, a two-story house along with several outbuildings, sat on approximately twenty acres of land. The buildings were surrounded by a six-foot tall corrugated metal privacy fence separating them from the road.

Prior to entering the house, officers observed people going in and out of the outbuildings. When the officers entered the residence they found Defendant, her husband ("Russell"), and two other males sitting at the kitchen table. A small black duffle bag sat on the table directly in front of Defendant and Russell. The duffle bag was sitting closer to Russell, but within Defendant's reach. Inside the duffle bag, the officers found several prescription pills, approximately twelve bags of methamphetamine, a plastic container containing burnt marijuana roaches, a piece of paper with instructions and a list of ingredients used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, a check made out to an individual who did not reside at the residence, and an electronic scale.

In a downstairs bedroom, the officers found some pseudoephedrine pills on a trunk at the foot of the bed. Two jars of unknown liquid were located underneath the kitchen sink. A search of the outbuildings revealed a fork-lift type propane cylinder that had a black pole duct taped to it. The cylinder had a strong odor of anhydrous ammonia. The officer who discovered the propane cylinder, possibly due to his exposure to the anhydrous ammonia, began having trouble breathing. He became light-headed and had a weakness in his legs. After becoming nauseated and feeling faint, he was taken to the emergency room for treatment. Other tanks were also found on the property.

Defendant and the other people at the residence were arrested. Defendant was given her Miranda rights and she invoked her right to counsel. She was held in custody for twenty hours and released.

A second search warrant was executed on the residence on November 12, 2003. During the execution of the search warrant, officers found Russell outside behind one of the outbuildings with $3,550 in his pocket. In a large shed the officers found a clear liquid compound in a glass jar. Inside the residence, Defendant and two others were sitting at the kitchen table. Defendant was seen pulling a syringe out of her arm and throwing it down, while another woman threw her syringe onto the table. There was blood on Defendant's arm and on the syringe. On the table the officers found a razor blade and some empty plastic baggies. A young child sitting on a couch in the adjoining living room was the child of the man and woman sitting at the kitchen table with Defendant.

An officer again read Defendant her Miranda rights which she said she understood. This time, however, she agreed to speak to the officers. Defendant indicated that the syringe belonged to her. She was also asked if she was preparing to inject methamphetamine and she replied, "Yes." The officers questioned her about selling methamphetamine and she explained that "things were different now." When asked if that meant that they were no longer selling methamphetamine out of their house, she stated, "I'm not saying we haven't, but it's not like before."

On November 29, 2003, a third search warrant was issued for the residence, after someone had admitted to police they had purchased methamphetamine from Russell at the residence. At the time this search warrant was executed, Defendant, Russell and five other people were at the residence. Officers found hidden in the furnace room a drill bit box containing several plastic baggies of methamphetamine, a prescription bottle belonging to Russell and smaller baggies of marijuana. Officers also found a tin box on top of the piano that contained a razor blade and baggies of methamphetamine residue.

Defendant was again read her Miranda rights and she agreed to speak with the officers. Defendant was asked if there were any drugs in the residence, and she responded by saying, "[n]ot that she knew of." She also stated that she was "trying to quit using." Defendant then told officers there had been a small amount of methamphetamine in the house a couple of days prior.

Defendant was charged by felony information of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, and endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree.

After the court denied Defendant's motions to suppress evidence and statements the case was tried without a jury. At the close of the State's case, Defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on all three counts. The trial court granted the motion as to the count for endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, but found Defendant guilty on the other counts. At sentencing, the trial court overruled Defendant's motion to reconsider and sentenced Defendant to concurrent terms of eight years for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and five years for possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. This appeal followed.

Defendant's first point relied on is set forth below:

The trial court erred in overruling [Defendant]'s motion to suppress statements and allowing Officer Spaeth to testify regarding [Defendant]'s statements of November 12, 2003, that could be construed to show her involvement in Russell's earlier sales of methamphetamine from the residence, because the admission of this testimony violated [Defendant]'s rights to counsel and to be free from compelled self-incrimination, as guaranteed by the 5th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Sections 10 and 19 of the Missouri Constitution, in that Officer Spaeth was present on October 16, 2003, when [Defendant] invoked her Miranda right to counsel, and [Defendant] did not reinitiate contact with the police prior to November 12, 2003, on which date [Defendant] was again in custody and subjected to police interrogation, during which Officer Spaeth initiated contact regarding the circumstances of [Defendant]'s October 16th arrest, and [Defendant] made incriminating statements that were used against her at trial on charges arising out of the October 16th arrest where she had invoked her right to counsel. Without [Defendant]'s statements, the State had insufficient evidence upon which to convict [Defendant] of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on October 16.

Our review of a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress is limited to ascertaining whether the court's decision is supported by substantial evidence. State v. Seibert, 103 S.W.3d 295, 300 (Mo.App. S.D. 2003). We view the facts and all reasonable inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the trial court's determination. Id. "Whether a defendant's constitutional rights were violated is a question of law reviewed de novo." State v. Nunnery, 129 S.W.3d 13, 17 (Mo. App. S.D.2004).

In the present case, during the execution of the October 16, 2003, search warrant, after being read the Miranda warnings, Defendant invoked her right to counsel. Police then arrested Defendant and held her in custody for approximately twenty hours. During the execution of the November 12, 2003, search warrant, police again read Defendant the Miranda warnings. On this occasion, Defendant stated that she understood her rights, and agreed to speak with police. She then made the inculpatory statements at issue in this appeal.

In order to reduce the risk of a coerced confession and to enforce the privilege against self-incrimination "[an] accused must be adequately and effectively apprised of his rights and the exercise of those rights must be honored." Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 467, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1624, 16 L.Ed.2d 694, 719 (1966). The admissibility of any custodial confession is conditioned on warning a suspect of his rights. Missouri v. Seibert, 542 U.S. 600, 608, 124 S.Ct. 2601, 2608, 159 L.Ed.2d 643, 653 (2004). "[F]ailure to give the prescribed warnings and obtain a waiver of rights before custodial questioning generally requires exclusion of any statements obtained." Id.

"[A]n accused, . . . having expressed his desire to deal with the police only through counsel, is not subject to further interrogation by the authorities until counsel has been made available to him, unless the accused himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police." Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 484-85, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 1885, 68 L.Ed.2d 378, 386 (1981). "[W]...