State v. Hampton

• Decision Date: 14 November 2022
• Docket Number: W2021-00938-CCA-R3-CD
• Parties: STATE OF TENNESSEE v. STEPHEN PAUL HAMPTON and MARGARET MARY HAMPTON
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. STEPHEN PAUL HAMPTON and MARGARET MARY HAMPTON

No. W2021-00938-CCA-R3-CD

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, Jackson

November 14, 2022

Session September 7, 2022

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Madison County No. 20-23 Donald H Allen, Judge

Stephen Paul Hampton and Margaret Mary Hampton were charged in the Madison County Circuit Court with drug and weapon offenses, but the charges were dismissed after the trial court granted their motions to suppress statements made to a police officer and evidence found in their vehicle. On appeal, the State contends that the trial court erred by granting the motions to suppress because the statements were not made during a custodial interrogation and because the police officer had probable cause to search the vehicle. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties' briefs, we reverse the trial court's orders granting the motions to suppress, vacate the order dismissing the indictment, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Tenn R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Circuit Court Reversed, Case Remanded

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Andrew C. Coulam, Assistant Attorney General; Jody Pickens, District Attorney General; and Shaun A. Brown, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellant, State of Tennessee.

Cory Hancock (on appeal) and C. Mark Donahoe (at hearing), Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellees, Stephen Paul Hampton and Margaret Mary Hampton.

JOHN W. CAMPBELL, SR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J. ROSS DYER and JILL BARTEE AYERS, JJ., joined.

OPINION

JOHN W. CAMPBELL, SR., JUDGE

FACTS

In December 2019, the Madison County Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment, charging the Defendants jointly with possession of not less than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to sell, a Class E felony; possession of not less than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver, a Class E felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and charging Mr. Hampton alone with two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class D felony. On March 19, 2021, the Defendants filed a motion to suppress the evidence found in their SUV on the basis that the police officer obtained the evidence as a result of a warrantless search without probable cause. Mr. Hampton also filed a motion to suppress statements he made to the officer on the basis that the statements were the result of a custodial interrogation without receiving Miranda warnings.

At the suppression hearing, Investigator Robert Pomeroy of the Jackson Police Department's Metro Narcotics Unit testified that about 9:00 p.m. on August 17, 2019, he was participating in an undercover prostitution operation and had been assigned to watch the parking lot of a hotel at 200 Campbell Oaks Drive. Investigator Pomeroy was sitting in his unmarked police car with his windows slightly open and "kept smelling marijuana." The odor intensified but Investigator Pomeroy did not see anyone in the parking lot. He eventually looked over his right shoulder and noticed an SUV parked at the dead end of Campbell Oaks Drive. Two people were standing outside the SUV. Investigator Pomeroy could not see their faces but could see "the hot embers of something being moved back and forth." The two people got into the SUV, and the SUV began traveling on Campbell Oaks Drive.

Investigator Pomeroy testified that he pulled out behind the SUV and began putting on his bulletproof vest. The SUV turned into the parking lot of another hotel at 150 Campbell Oaks Drive, so Officer Pomeroy followed the SUV into the parking lot. The SUV backed into a parking space, and Investigator Pomeroy pulled into a parking space two or three spaces away. Investigator Pomeroy got out of his police car and walked toward the SUV. He said that as he approached the vehicle, the smell of marijuana was "getting stronger and stronger." Mr. Hampton was sitting in the driver's seat and started to get out of the SUV. Investigator Pomeroy was standing by the driver's door and asked Mr. Hampton, "[H]ey, why are ya'll smoking marijuana in the parking lot[?]" Mr. Hampton initially denied smoking marijuana, so Investigator Pomeroy told him, "I can smell it and it's very strong." Investigator Pomeroy then asked Mr. Hampton, "[H]ow much weed you got in the car?" Mr. Hampton answered, "[A]bout six ounces." At that point, Mrs. Hampton, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, said, "'It's ours.'"

Investigator Pomeroy testified that he "went to get [Mr. Hampton] out of the car to detain him," that he handcuffed Mr. Hampton, and that he saw a Sig Sauer handgun in the pocket of the driver's door. Investigator Pomeroy said that he never turned on his police car's blue lights and that Mr. Hampton was not in custody when Investigator Pomeroy asked Mr. Hampton about the marijuana. Investigator Pomeroy did not ask Mrs. Hampton any questions, and he acknowledged that she voluntarily stated, "'It's ours.'"

Investigator Pomeroy testified that he detained the Defendants and that he radioed for other officers. He acknowledged that the smell of marijuana gave him probable cause to search the SUV and said that he found 153 grams of marijuana, "a few little like marijuana edibles," a couple of vials of THC oil, a marijuana pipe, and a partially-smoked marijuana "roach" in the vehicle. Mr. Hampton voluntarily told Investigator Pomeroy that their daughter had scoliosis and lived in Nashville and that they were taking the items to her for "therapeutic treatment." Other officers arrived on the scene, and Investigator Pomeroy did not hear any officers ask either of the Defendants about the marijuana. He acknowledged that he was familiar with the smell of marijuana and said that he had smelled marijuana "[t]housands of times."

On cross-examination, Investigator Pomeroy acknowledged that hemp, which was legal in Tennessee, looked and smelled identical to marijuana. He also acknowledged that when he first saw the Defendants standing outside the SUV at the end of Campbell Oaks Drive, they were alone and were not selling marijuana to anyone. Investigator Pomeroy said that he initially planned to follow the SUV "to find probable cause for a traffic stop." However, the SUV turned into the hotel parking lot at 150 Campbell Oaks Drive, so Investigator Pomeroy also turned into the parking lot. Investigator Pomeroy, who was wearing his bulletproof vest and was clearly marked as a police officer, approached the SUV as Mr. Hampton was getting out of the vehicle. Investigator Pomeroy saw the gun while Mr. Hampton was exiting the SUV, and he arrested Mr. Hampton for possessing the marijuana and firearm. He acknowledged that he never advised the Defendants of their Miranda rights.

Investigator Pomeroy testified that the marijuana was in small pill bottles, that he found "quite a few" bottles in the SUV, and that the marijuana had been "[p]ackaged for distribution from a legal dispensary." He acknowledged that the bottles of marijuana had been labeled legally in another state and that Mr. Hampton had a medical marijuana card from Oklahoma. He also acknowledged that there was no proof in the SUV that the Defendants were selling or distributing the marijuana, and he described them as "[p]robably one of the nicest couples I've ever dealt with." Defense counsel asked if exigent circumstances existed in the case, and Investigator Pomeroy said no because the SUV was parked in a parking space. Investigator Pomeroy said that he did not hear other officers ask the Defendants any questions but that it was possible another officer asked them about the marijuana.

At the conclusion of Investigator Pomeroy's testimony, the trial court questioned him as follows:

THE COURT: All right. So you smelled marijuana and then what did you do when you noticed what you believed to be marijuana?

WITNESS: So I started looking around the parking lot, you know, because I'm in this undercover vehicle trying to figure out where it's coming from. When I looked back over my right shoulder, that's when I seen the vehicle parked at the -- it's like they are going to extend the road eventually and they may have by now, but there's a vehicle parked there and I can see two subjects who I can't make out standing around the rear of the vehicle and I can see something burning like a cigarette or, you know, marijuana or a cigar in that area. So, that's where I assumed that smell was coming from because there was nobody else on the lot. There was nobody in front of me because I had been out there for a couple of hours.

THE COURT: Okay. All right. So, you noticed that and then what did you do?

WITNESS: So, I was going to go down there and make contact with them at the dead end. Before I was able to do that, they got in their car and started driving. I had [thrown] my vest over my head and as I was driving I kind of strapped it on and then they immediately turned into the next parking lot which would be 150 Campbell Oaks. They pulled in and pulled into a parking spot. So, I drove in and drove past them and parked about three or four spaces down and then just walked up and made a consensual encounter with them at the vehicle.

THE COURT: All right. And tell me again, what was the first thing you said to them when you approached their vehicle?

WITNESS: So, he looks at me and I ask him, I said, "Why were y'all smoking marijuana in the parking lot?" He denied that at first and I ended up telling him, you know "I can smell it. It's very strong." I asked him -- I said, "How much weed is in the car?" He said, "About six ounces." That's when

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