State v. Fletcher
| Decision Date | 20 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | NO. CA2016–08–016,CA2016–08–016 |
| Citation | 2017 Ohio 1006,86 N.E.3d 591 |
| Parties | STATE of Ohio, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Deanna FLETCHER, Defendant–Appellant. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Jessica A. Little, Brown County Prosecuting Attorney, Mary McMullen, 510 East State Street, Suite 2, Georgetown, Ohio 45121, for plaintiff-appellee
Joshua R. Crousey, One East Main Street, Amelia, Ohio 45102, for defendant-appellant
{¶ 1} Defendant-appellant, Deanna Fletcher, appeals from her conviction in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas for aggravated trafficking in drugs, aggravated possession of drugs, and possession of drugs. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the matter for further proceedings.
{¶ 2} On the evening of February 20, 2016, Michael Dearing, an officer with the Mt. Orab Police Department and an agent with the Brown County Drug and Major Crimes Task Force, went to the Green Crest Motel in Mt. Orab, Brown County, Ohio. Following a brief interaction with individuals sitting in cars parked in front of Room No. 6 of the motel, Dearing approached Room No. 6 to talk to its occupants. As Dearing approached Room No. 6, he noticed that the door was open approximately 12 inches. Dearing saw a man, later identified as Donnie Fletcher, sitting on a bed next to a stack of money. Dearing knocked on the door jamb, identified himself as a Mt. Orab police officer, and asked the man to come to the door. As the man approached the door, Dearing pushed the door to the motel room completely open. Dearing saw two females in the room, who were later identified as appellant (Donnie's wife) and Dezaraya Fletcher (Donnie and appellant's daughter). Appellant, Donnie, and Dezaraya all spoke with Dearing outside the motel room, and Donnie and appellant—the two individuals living in Room No. 6—gave Dearing consent to search their motel room and their silver GMC truck.
{¶ 3} Inside the motel room, law enforcement found scales, glass pipes, butane torches, Clonazepam pills, marijuana budder, plastic baggies, miniature plastic cups, a grinder, four cell phones, a gun knife, $630 in cash, methamphetamine totaling over 17 grams, a magazine for a .9 mm handgun, and multiple rounds of different caliber ammunition. Inside the GMC truck, which was parked in front of Room No. 6, law enforcement found a handicap sticker registered to appellant and a bag containing five firearms, ammunition, and a large knife.
{¶ 4} Appellant, Donnie, and Dezaraya were all arrested. Appellant was subsequently indicted on one count of aggravated trafficking in drugs in violation of R.C. 2925.03(A)(2), a felony of the second degree (count one), one count of aggravated possession of drugs in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), a felony of the second degree (count two), and one count of possession of the drug Clonazepam in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A), a misdemeanor of the first degree (count three). Counts one and two set forth that the amount of methamphetamine involved equaled or exceeded five times the bulk amount but was less than fifty times the bulk amount. Counts one and two were each accompanied by a firearm specification under R.C. 2941.141(A) and forfeiture specifications for the money and guns found in the motel room and GMC truck.
{¶ 5} Appellant entered a not guilty plea to the charges. On June 8, 2016, appellant moved to suppress evidence obtained after law enforcements' search of the motel room and GMC truck on the basis that "said searches and seizures were conducted without a warrant, without probable cause, and not incident to a lawful arrest." Appellant specifically alleged that "the officer's entry into the motel and search was unconstitutional and without warrant or merit." Appellant's husband filed a similar motion in his criminal case, and, by agreement of all parties, appellant's case and Donnie's case were consolidated.
{¶ 6} A hearing on appellant's motion to suppress was held on July 13, 2016. At this time, the state presented testimony from Officer Dearing. Dearing explained that on February 20, 2016, he was notified by a fellow officer that a male staying in Room No. 7 of the Green Crest Motel Room had advised of possible narcotics trafficking and narcotics use in Room No. 6. The occupant of Room No. 7 had noticed several people going in and out of Room No. 6 and had smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the room.
{¶ 7} Dearing drove past the Green Crest Motel around 11:00 p.m. on February 20, 2016. At that time, he noticed that there were three vehicles parked in the area of Room No. 6. Two of the vehicles were occupied and running. Dearing explained, "the Green Crest Motel is a commonplace for drug trafficking" and "it's very common, in drug trafficking cases, where subjects will park in—with—have a driver or have somebody else in the vehicle, while the other person goes in and purchases the narcotics."
{¶ 8} Dearing parked his patrol car down the street and walked up to the vehicles parked in front of Room No. 6. The occupants of the first vehicle he stopped at, a Dodge Dakota, were looking to rent a room. The second vehicle, a silver GMC truck was unoccupied. The occupant of the third vehicle, a Kia Soul, was Daniel Davis. Davis was sitting in the Soul while his girlfriend, Dezaraya, visited her parents in Room No. 6. During Dearing's conversation with Davis, Davis admitted to having narcotics in the vehicle. Dearing called for backup, and Corporal Eric Lang from the Brown County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene. Davis was secured in the back of Lang's patrol car, which was parked within view of Room No. 6.
{¶ 9} Dearing and Lang then approached Room No. 6 to do a "knock and talk." When he was about four-to-five feet away from the door to the room, Dearing noticed the door was open approximately 12 inches. Dearing saw a man, later identified as Donnie, sitting on a bed near a "substantial stack" of money. Dearing knocked on the door jamb of the room, identified himself as an officer, and asked the man to come to the door. According to Dearing, as Donnie walked towards the door, "due to officer safety, and in my training and experience, knowing that when narcotics are involved, there's a good possibility of guns, I pushed the door completely open, so I could see who was behind the door, to make sure that there was no one that was gonna cause—cause harm to myself or Corp. Lang." Once Dearing pushed opened the door, he saw two females, later identified as appellant and Dezaraya, in the room. Appellant was sitting on a second bed, which was closest to the bathroom.
{¶ 10} Also, after pushing open the door, Dearing noticed that the male walking towards him had a tattoo of the name "Joe" on his forearm. Dearing explained that he had been investigating a male subject known as "Joe" since August 2015, as "Joe" had reportedly been trafficking in large amounts of crystal methamphetamine. Dearing also explained that "Joe" was reportedly driving a silver or tan GMC truck.
{¶ 11} Dearing asked all of the room's occupants to step outside and talk with him. Dearing did not enter the motel room; nor did he see any contraband in the room at this time. After the occupants exited the motel room, Dearing spoke with Donnie. Other officers spoke with appellant and Dezaraya.
{¶ 12} During Dearing's conversation with Donnie, Donnie admitted that there was "a couple grams of methamphetamine" in the motel room. Dearing sought and obtained consent from Donnie and appellant to search their motel room and the GMC truck. Appellant did ask, "what if we don't [consent]" and was advised by Dearing that he would obtain a warrant to search. Thereafter, both Donnie and appellant signed a "Permission to Search" form. Following a search of the motel room and GMC truck, Donnie, appellant, and Dezaraya were arrested and taken to the Mt. Orab Police Department. After being advised of their Miranda Rights, and signing a written waiver of such rights, Donnie, appellant, and Dezaraya separately spoke with Dearing.
{¶ 13} The defense presented testimony from Davis. Davis testified that he stayed in the Kia Soul while Dezaraya went in Room No. 6 to visit with her parents. According to Davis, Dezaraya closed the door after entering the motel room. He testified that after he was removed from the Kia and placed in the back of Corporal Lang's patrol car, he could continue to see the door to Room No. 6. Davis maintained that the door to Room No. 6 was closed when law enforcement reached it. Davis testified, "Dearing reached up and grabbed the knob, opened the door, looked in and motioned for 'em to come out." Davis explained he was approximately 50 feet away from the motel room door when he observed Dearing's actions.
{¶ 14} In addition to testimony from Dearing and Davis, the court also accepted as evidence photographs of the various vehicles parked outside of the motel room, a "Permission to Search" form signed by appellant and Donnie, Miranda Waiver forms signed by appellant and Donnie, recorded statements that Donnie and appellant separately made to Dearing, and a portion of Dearing's incident report detailing his observations and actions after approaching the Green Crest Motel on February 20, 2016.
{¶ 15} The court took the matter under advisement and, on July 25, 2016, issued a decision denying appellant's motion to suppress.
In denying the motion, the court stated, in relevant part, the following:
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