State v. Carpenter, COA16-973
| Decision Date | 02 May 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. COA16-973,COA16-973 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. Courtney Nicole CARPENTER |
Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Assistant Attorney General Joseph L. Hyde, for the State.
Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Constance E. Widenhouse, Durham and Amanda S. Zimmer, Southern Pines, for defendant-appellant.
This case presents the issue of whether conduct by law enforcement officers during a "knock and talk" at the defendant's home during the early morning hours coerced her into involuntarily consenting to a warrantless search of her home. Courtney Nicole Carpenter ("Defendant") appeals from her convictions for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by (1) denying her motion to suppress the items seized during the search of her home on 25 September 2013; and (2) sentencing her to an improper term of supervised probation. After careful review, we conclude that she received a fair trial free from error but remand for resentencing.
Based on a tip that a man named Chad Clark was manufacturing methamphetamine at Defendant's home, deputies with the Avery County Sheriff's Office approached the home in the early morning hours of 25 September 2013 to conduct a "knock and talk" investigation.1 They did not possess a search warrant for the property. Detective Frank Catalano and Deputy Daniel Jones went to the front door of Defendant's single-wide trailer while Deputies Tim Clawson, Casey Lee, and Brett Stockton went to the back door. All of the officers wore sidearms and protective vests, and Detective Catalano also had an AR-15 assault rifle strapped across his chest, which was pointed downward at all times.
Detective Catalano knocked on the front door and identified himself as an officer of the Avery County Sheriff's Office. The door was immediately opened by a man named Christopher Morrison who then granted Detective Catalano's request to come inside. As he entered the home, Detective Catalano noticed Defendant—who was already awake because of the arrival of her cousin's boyfriend 30 minutes earlier—walking down a hallway toward him. Detective Catalano informed Defendant that he was with the Avery County Sheriff's Office and was there because of a tip that Clark was manufacturing methamphetamine at the home.
Defendant told Detective Catalano that no methamphetamine was being manufactured in the home and that Clark was not present. Detective Catalano asked Defendant if he and the sheriff's deputies with him could search her residence to make sure Clark was not present and that methamphetamine was not being manufactured there. Defendant said they "could look" but to make sure that they did not wake her nine-year-old daughter who was sleeping in an adjoining room. At no time did any of the officers raise their voices when talking to Defendant or point their weapons at her.
Detective Catalano and the deputies proceeded to search the home. Defendant was seated on a loveseat in the living room when Deputy Stockton asked her to move to another sofa so that he could search the area where she had been sitting. After she stood up, Deputy Stockton observed a small black box, which was described as approximately five inches long and three inches wide and large enough to contain index cards, between the cushions behind where she had been sitting. Upon opening the box, he discovered methamphetamine and various items of drug paraphernalia inside. Also in the black box was a small round box with Defendant's initials inside it. Without advising Defendant of her Miranda rights, Deputy Stockton asked whether these items belonged to her, and she admitted that they did.
On 13 April 2015, Defendant was indicted for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia based on the evidence seized from the black box. Defendant filed a motion to suppress on 5 November 2015 in which she sought the suppression of (1) the items seized pursuant to the search of her home; and (2) her statements to law enforcement officers on the date of the search.
A suppression hearing was held before the Honorable Alan Z. Thornburg in Avery County Superior Court on 29 February 2016. Testimony was given by Detective Catalano, Deputy Stockton, and Defendant. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court granted Defendant's motion to suppress with respect to her incriminating statements on the ground that her Miranda rights had been violated. However, the court denied her motion with respect to the items seized from the black box in her trailer. On 13 April 2016, the trial court issued separate written orders addressing each of these issues.
A jury trial was held beginning on 29 February 2016, and Defendant was convicted of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. For the methamphetamine conviction, the trial court sentenced her to 6 to 17 months imprisonment, suspended the sentence, and placed her on 36 months of supervised probation. She was sentenced to 45 days imprisonment for the drug paraphernalia conviction. Defendant filed a timely written notice of appeal.
Defendant makes two arguments with respect to the trial court's denial of her motion to suppress the items seized from her home: (1) her consent to search the trailer was coerced and therefore legally invalid; and (2) Deputy Stockton exceeded the reasonable scope of any consent given by her when he opened the black box. We address each argument in turn.
State v. Golphin , 352 N.C. 364, 463, 533 S.E.2d 168, 232 (2000) (citations omitted), cert. denied , 532 U.S. 931, 149 L.Ed. 2d 305 (2001). Accordingly, Defendant has failed to properly preserve this issue for appellate review.
However, "to the extent [a] defendant fail[s] to preserve issues relating to [a] motion to suppress, we review for plain error" if the defendant "specifically and distinctly assign[s] plain error" on appeal. State v. Waring , 364 N.C. 443, 468, 508, 701 S.E.2d 615, 632, 656 (2010), cert. denied , 565 U.S. 832, 181 L.Ed. 2d 53 (2011). Because Defendant has made such a specific assignment, we review the issues raised by Defendant on appeal for plain error.
For error to constitute plain error, a defendant must demonstrate that a fundamental error occurred at trial. To show that an error was fundamental, a defendant must establish prejudice—that, after examination of the entire record, the error had a probable impact on the jury's finding that the defendant was guilty. Moreover, because plain error is to be applied cautiously and only in the exceptional case, the error will often be one that seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.
State v. Lawrence , 365 N.C. 506, 518, 723 S.E.2d 326, 334 (2012) (internal citations, quotation marks, and brackets omitted).
In conducting our review under the plain error standard, we must first determine whether the trial court did, in fact, err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. See State v. Oxendine , ––– N.C. App. ––––, ––––, 783 S.E.2d 286, 292, disc. reviewdenied , ––– N.C. ––––, 787 S.E.2d 24 (2016) ().
"The standard of review in evaluating the denial of a motion to suppress is whether competent evidence supports the trial court's findings of fact and whether the findings of fact support the conclusions of law." State v. Jackson , 368 N.C. 75, 78, 772 S.E.2d 847, 849 (2015) (citation and quotation marks omitted). When "the trial court's findings of fact are not challenged on appeal, they are deemed to be supported by competent evidence and are binding on appeal." State v. Evans , ––– N.C. App. ––––, ––––, 795 S.E.2d 444, 453-54 (2017) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Conclusions of law are reviewed de novo . Id. at ––––, 795 S.E.2d at 454.
In its order denying Defendant's motion to suppress, the trial court made the following findings of fact:
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