State v. Dillard

Decision Date22 March 2005
Docket NumberNo. 26008.,26008.
Citation158 S.W.3d 291
PartiesSTATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. James W. DILLARD, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals

Irene Karns, Columbia, MO, for appellant.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Daniel N. McPherson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.

JEFFREY W. BATES, Chief Judge.

James Dillard ("Defendant") was charged by information with two counts of committing the class C felony of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine and more than 35 grams of marijuana) in violation of § 195.202.1 The information was later amended to allege that Defendant was a prior and persistent drug offender and that these offenses could be treated as class A felonies for purposes of sentencing. See § 195.275; § 195.285.2 After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted on both counts and sentenced to concurrent terms of 25 years in prison.

Defendant's appeal presents three points for decision. He contends the trial court erred by: (1) denying Defendant's motion to suppress and admitting drugs, paraphernalia and his inculpatory statements obtained as the result of an unconstitutional search and seizure; (2) denying Defendant his constitutional right to a jury trial; and (3) imposing sentences so grossly disproportionate to the offenses he committed that they violate the federal and state constitutional proscriptions against cruel and unusual punishment found in the Eighth Amendment and art. I, § 21. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions. In this appeal, we consider the facts and all reasonable inferences derived therefrom in a light most favorable to the verdict, and we reject all contrary evidence and inferences. State v. Cravens, 132 S.W.3d 919, 921 (Mo.App.2004); State v. Campbell, 122 S.W.3d 736, 737 (Mo.App.2004). Viewed from that perspective, the favorable evidence and inferences supporting the State's case against Defendant are summarized below.

On January 11, 2002, Deputy Raymond Koch ("Deputy Koch") of the Wayne County, Missouri, Sheriff's Department received an anonymous telephone tip. The caller stated Defendant was driving a white van from the St. Louis area to Wayne County, and the van might contain drugs. Acting on the tip, Deputy Koch and Sergeant Jamie Garris ("Sergeant Garris"), a Wayne County drug task force officer, drove in Deputy Koch's truck to a location on Highway 67 near the Wayne County-Madison County line. The two officers parked beside the road and began observing southbound traffic. About 20 minutes later, they were joined at this location by Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Michael Carson ("Corporal Carson") and Williamsville Police Officer Kevin Henson ("Officer Henson"), who arrived together in Corporal Carson's patrol car.

At approximately 8:00 p.m., a white van pulling a box trailer passed by the officers. This was the first white van the officers had seen since they arrived to conduct surveillance. The van appeared to be exceeding the posted speed limit of 60 miles per hour. Both police vehicles entered the southbound lanes of Highway 67 and began to follow the van. Deputy Koch paced the van and determined that it was speeding, according to the speedometer in his truck. Corporal Carson, who was behind Deputy Koch, used the radar unit in the highway patrol car to verify that the van was traveling approximately 70 miles per hour. Deputy Koch also ran a check on the trailer's license plates and learned they had expired. He activated his emergency lights to pull the van over and also noticed the trailer's brake lights were not functioning.

Defendant, who was driving the van, pulled onto the shoulder of Highway 67 and stopped. Because it was a Friday night, traffic was heavy. Deputy Koch parked his truck in front of the van, and Corporal Carson parked his patrol car behind the van. Both Deputy Koch and Corporal Carson were familiar with Defendant from prior encounters they had with him. Deputy Koch approached the driver's side of the van and asked Defendant for his driver's license and proof of insurance. Defendant started looking in his checkbook and seemed to be having problems finding the items Deputy Koch asked to see. Defendant's verbal responses also were "slow." While Defendant fumbled through some papers, Deputy Koch looked inside the van for officer safety reasons and noticed that a cup holder on top of the vehicle's engine compartment contained a beer bottle. By that time, Corporal Carson had approached the driver's door of the van, holding a flashlight to illuminate the scene. Suspecting Defendant had been drinking and driving, Deputy Koch asked Defendant to get out of the van.

As Defendant exited his vehicle, Corporal Carson saw a small piece of aluminum foil fall out of the van and land on the ground at the edge of the highway. Corporal Carson recognized the tin foil as a type of drug paraphernalia commonly used to smoke methamphetamine. After the tin foil had lain there a moment, Defendant put his foot on top of it. Defendant was standing on the edge of the traveled portion of the highway, which was dangerous due to the heavy traffic volume. After Defendant twice refused to remove his foot from the foil, Corporal Carson took Defendant by the arm and moved him onto the shoulder of the road in front of the van.

Deputy Koch picked up the tin foil. It was a 2-inch by 2-inch piece of folded tin foil. On both sides of one end, there was a burnt black residue. There also was a brown substance on the outside of the foil. From prior training, experience and arrests, Deputy Koch and Corporal Carson recognized this foil packet as a type of drug paraphernalia commonly used to smoke methamphetamine. When the folded square of foil was opened, it contained what Corporal Carson believed to be methamphetamine. Deputy Garris observed that the tin foil also had a burnt residue on the inside, which was consistent with the use of methamphetamine.

Defendant was placed under arrest, handcuffed and given his Miranda warning.3 Corporal Carson then searched Defendant and found a clear plastic baggie containing an off-white powdery substance in his right-front pants' pocket. Deputy Koch searched the interior of the van and found an ashtray containing marijuana cigarette butts, a pair of forceps holding a burnt marijuana cigarette, a complete roll of aluminum foil under the driver's seat, and two plastic pens with the insides removed and what appeared to be burnt methamphetamine residue on them.

Because Defendant's van and trailer were parked in a dangerous position on the roadside, Officer Henson drove the van to a baseball field in Greenville, Missouri, so a more complete search could be conducted. Defendant was transported to the same location by Corporal Carson. During the trip, Defendant said he did not want to go back to court and offered to cooperate by providing the police with information.4 In response to questioning by Corporal Carson, Defendant admitted there was one-quarter pound of marijuana in a travel mug behind the driver's seat of his van. Once Corporal Carson arrived at the baseball field, he recovered the mug from the van. Later that evening, Defendant gave a written statement to Corporal Carson at the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. In the statement, Defendant admitted buying one gram of methamphetamine and one-quarter pound of marijuana from an individual in St. Louis that day. Defendant also admitted that he had used "one line" of methamphetamine after he bought it.

Laboratory tests were conducted on the items seized from Defendant and his vehicle. The results included the following findings: (1) the aluminum foil packet that fell out of Defendant's van contained about one-tenth of a gram of methamphetamine; (2) the plastic baggie taken from his pants' pocket contained seven-tenths of a gram of methamphetamine; (3) the travel mug contained 104.30 grams of marijuana.

Additional facts necessary to the disposition of the case are included below as we address Defendant's three points on appeal.

Discussion and Decision
Point I

Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress the drugs, paraphernalia and the inculpatory statements he made to police after he was arrested. The motion alleged this evidence was seized in violation of Defendant's Fourth Amendment rights because it was not obtained via a search warrant or the existence of circumstances authorizing a warrantless search. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing at which Corporal Carson and Defendant testified. The court denied the motion to suppress. During the trial, Defendant renewed his constitutional objection, which was overruled.

In Defendant's first point, he contends these rulings were error because seizure of the foil packet was not justified as part of the traffic stop, the investigative stop to determine whether Defendant was driving while intoxicated or pursuant to the plain view doctrine. He also argues that all of the other post-arrest evidence should have been suppressed as fruits of an unlawful search. Thus, the linchpin of Defendant's argument is that the foil packet was unconstitutionally seized.

In reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress, our inquiry is limited to determining whether the decision is supported by substantial evidence. State v. Edwards, 116 S.W.3d 511, 530 (Mo. banc 2003). We consider the evidence presented at the pretrial hearing, as well as any additional evidence presented at trial. State v. Deck, 994 S.W.2d 527, 534 (Mo. banc 1999). The evidence presented on a motion to suppress is viewed in a light most favorable to the ruling. State v. Williams, 97 S.W.3d 462, 469 (Mo. banc 2003). Therefore, we consider only the facts and reasonable inferences derived therefrom favorable to the ruling. State v. Galazin, 58 S.W.3d 500, 507 (Mo. banc 2001). Evidence and...

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  • State v. Lloyd, 26737.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • November 27, 2006
    ...... See State v. Dillard, 158 S.W.3d 291, 305 (Mo.App.2005). .         GARRISON and BARNEY, JJ., concur. . --------------- . . Notes: . 1. All references to ......
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