State v. Hoosman, No. 0-160/09-0067 (Iowa App. 4/21/2010)
| Decision Date | 21 April 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 0-160/09-0067.,0-160/09-0067. |
| Parties | STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SHAWN DESHAY HOOSMAN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jon Fister (motion to suppress) and Bruce Zager (trial and sentencing), Judges.
Shawn Hoosman appeals from his convictions and sentences for possession of a controlled substance (more than ten grams of cocaine base) with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to deliver, failure to affix a drug tax stamp, and driving while barred. AFFIRMED.
Clemens A. Erdahl of Nidey, Wenzel, Erdahl, Tindal & Fisher, P.L.C., Williamsburg, and Rachel Antonuccio of Cole & Vondra, L.L.P., Iowa City, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kyle Hanson, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and Brad Walz, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
Heard by Sackett, C.J., and Doyle and Danilson, JJ.
Shawn Hoosman appeals following convictions and sentences for possession of more than ten grams of cocaine base with intent to deliver in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b) (2007); possession of marijuana with intent to deliver in violation of section 124.401(1)(d); failure to affix a drug tax stamp in violation of section 453B.12; and driving while barred in violation of sections 321.560 and 321.561. On appeal, Hoosman asserts the district court erred in: (1) admitting evidence resulting from a search under "disputed consent"; (2) denying Hoosman's motion for mistrial during opening argument; (3) finding Hoosman had constructive possession of the controlled substances at issue; (4) limiting evidence of the controlled buys; (5) admitting the investigator's "loaded questions" in a videotaped interview with Hoosman; and (6) not allowing reputation evidence of the investigator. We affirm.
In early 2006, Sergeant Mark Meyer of the Tri-County Drug Task Force learned from four separate confidential informants that Hoosman was selling crack cocaine out of a Waterloo apartment. According to Hoosman, he lived in Chicago, but traveled back and forth to Waterloo to sell drugs out of apartment #213 at 1306 West Donald Street, which was rented by his girlfriend, La'Tia Campbell. Hoosman provided drugs for dealers and users, and had a pager for his customers to call to set up sales. Upon some preliminary investigation in the week prior to March 17, 2006, officers observed a brown Buick Lucerne that Hoosman had rented in Chicago, and a white Chevy Caprice owned by Hoosman's father parked outside the apartment. Based on this information, at 11:15 p.m. on March 17, 2006,1 a magistrate issued a warrant for officers to search the apartment, the vehicles, and Hoosman's person for crack cocaine and associated equipment, moneys, and records.
Investigators Kristin Hoelscher and Lionel Braun were assigned to stop and search Hoosman's white Chevy. At around midnight after the search warrant was issued, the investigators drove to several bars in the area to look for the vehicle after realizing it was no longer parked outside the apartment. They discovered the vehicle parked unoccupied outside the New World Lounge, and waited approximately fifteen minutes until two males came out of the bar and got into the vehicle. One of the men, matching Hoosman's description, drove the vehicle out of the parking lot. Knowing Hoosman's license was suspended, the investigators requested the help of a marked patrol car to stop the vehicle.
The investigators confirmed the driver was Hoosman, and identified the passenger as Desmond Cage. Both men were searched and taken to the Waterloo Police Department for questioning. Cage told Investigator Hoelscher that Hoosman lived in Chicago. Hoosman said he had just come from his parents' house before going to the New World Lounge. Hoosman stated he was unemployed. Officers found $168 in his pockets and asked where he got the money. Hoosman responded that the question "insulted his intelligence." Officers also found two cell phones and a pager on Hoosman.
In the meantime, Sergeant Meyer, with the help of several other investigators, executed a search warrant on the apartment. Two women, La'Tia Campbell and Chantal Bishop, and an infant were inside the apartment. In the kitchen, investigators discovered a small digital scale in a cupboard; $340 in a cereal box; and a false can of soda in the refrigerator containing a pill of MDMA (ecstasy), a bag of powder cocaine, and nine bags of crack cocaine each weighing between two and three grams. In the living room, investigators discovered fourteen individually wrapped bags of marijuana, inconsistent with personal use, in a CD case that opened into a secret compartment. In a bedroom closet, investigators discovered: a second digital scale; a size 78 leather coat consistent with Hoosman's size; and a box for a Motorola cell phone with a phone number matching one of the phones on Hoosman's person when he was arrested that night. In the trash, investigators found several plastic bags with the corners cut off, consistent with drug packaging. In the apartment building's laundry room, investigators discovered a bag of powder cocaine hidden in a ball of lint under a counter, and a plastic bag consistent with those containing the crack cocaine found in the apartment.
The substances discovered at the apartment subsequently tested positive for MDMA, marijuana, and cocaine base. The total weight of crack cocaine in the nine bags found at the apartment was 25.52 grams. The total weight of the cocaine powder found in the bags at the apartment laundry area was 25.08 grams.2 No fingerprints were detected on any of the evidence seized, and none of the drugs contained a tax stamp.
After completing the search of the apartment, Sergeant Meyer returned to the police department to speak with Hoosman in a video-recorded interview. Hoosman admitted the drugs found at La'Tia Campbell's apartment were his, and stated that Campbell was not involved. Hoosman indicated that he sold drugs in the hallway of the apartment building, and that he had started with a "four-four split"—four ounces of crack and four ounces of powder cocaine. Hoosman stated that he lived in Chicago, but traveled back and forth to Waterloo to visit his parents, who lived at 323 Quincy Street. He said he did not keep anything at his parent's house and denied Sergeant Meyer's request for consent to search the house. Hoosman became irritated and the interview ended.
Investigators decided to visit Hoosman's parents' house, and Sergeant Meyer called ahead to advise Hoosman's parents, Emmit and Marjorie Hoosman, because it was so late. When investigators arrived at the home, the Hoosmans answered the front door and allowed them inside. Investigators explained that their son had been arrested. Marjorie Hoosman told officers that after their son moved out, they began using his room for storing sewing supplies and seasonal clothing. Investigators asked for permission to search the room and the Hoosmans agreed, signed a written consent form, and led investigators to the upstairs bedroom.
The room appeared to be used mainly for storage consistent with Marjorie Hoosman's description. The room contained a bed, dresser, desk, sewing supplies, boxes of Marjorie's clothing, and plastic bins containing men's clothing and shoes. Investigators did find several items, however, that linked Hoosman to the room in the past, including: rental car receipts from February and March 2006 made out to Hoosman; two boxes of unused checkbooks—one listing his address as 323 Quincy and the other listing an Illinois address; and a $2000 deposit receipt for Hoosman's bank account dated January 2006. Investigators also discovered two bags of crack cocaine in a dresser drawer, each containing one sixteenth of an ounce; two possible drug notes listing names and addresses; several bundles of cash totaling $9695 (the approximate value of a "four-four split" Hoosman had admitted purchasing and selling) hidden behind a ledge on a shelf above the desk; and several small bags of marijuana in a black duffel bag on the bed.
The drugs discovered at the Hoosman house tested positive for psilocin (a type of hallucinogenic mushroom),3 marijuana, and cocaine base. The total weight of crack cocaine in the two bags found at the house was 3.3 grams. Again, no fingerprints were detected on any of the evidence seized, and none of the drugs contained a tax stamp.
On March 20, 2006, Hoosman was charged with possession of a controlled substance (more than ten grams of cocaine base) with the intent to deliver (Count I); possession of a controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms) with the intent to deliver (Count II); possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with the intent to deliver (Count III); a drug tax stamp violation (Count IV); and driving while license barred (Count V).4
Hoosman pled not guilty and elected a jury trial. On February 9, 2007, Hoosman filed a motion to suppress. Following a hearing, the district court denied the motion on May 23, 2007. Hoosman's jury trial began on June 24, 2008. On July 2, 2008, the jury entered verdicts finding Hoosman guilty on all counts except for Count II (possession of psilocybin mushrooms with intent to deliver). On December 1, 2008, following a separate enhancement trial, a jury found that Hoosman was a habitual offender and subject to sentence enhancement. On December 11, 2008, the court sentenced Hoosman to terms of imprisonment not to exceed forty-five years on Count I, fifteen years on Counts III and IV, and two years on Count V, to be run concurrently.5 Hoosman now appeals.
Hoosman argues the district court erred in admitting evidence seized in a search of his childhood bedroom in his parent's house at 323 Quincy Street. He contends he had an expectation of...
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