State v. Hunter
| Decision Date | 30 October 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 112963.,112963. |
| Citation | 358 P.3d 878 (Table) |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellant, v. Jessica J. HUNTER, Appellee. |
| Court | Kansas Court of Appeals |
Kenneth Van Blaricum, county attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellant.
Tracey T. Beverlin, of Hanson, Jorns & Beverlin, LLC, of Pratt, for appellee.
Before MALONE, C.J., GREEN and POWELL, JJ.
The State appeals the district court's decision to suppress evidence that was obtained as a result of a search of Jessica Hunter's purse during the execution of a search warrant. Hunter was a social guest on the premises subject to the search warrant, but she was not named in the warrant. The State argues that the district court erred when it suppressed the evidence because Hunter was more than a casual social guest at the residence; thus, she was subject to the warrant. For the reasons stated herein, we reject the State's argument and affirm the district court's judgment.
Pratt police department Detective Jeff Ward filed an affidavit and application for a search warrant with the Pratt County District Court on December 16, 2013, at 11:45 a.m. The search warrant affidavit alleged that Pratt police Corporal Jon McCarley, who had been a law enforcement officer since 2006 and had experience with drug and narcotic investigations, had spoken with Justin Lee Reyna on December 15, 2013, at 6:10 p.m. Reyna told McCarley that he previously had smoked marijuana and methamphetamine with Bryan Thomas Roberts at a residence on Brendon Court in Pratt, Kansas. Reyna indicated that Roberts was living at this address, and McCarley knew from prior experience that Roberts often stayed there. Reyna told McCarley that he had been to Roberts' house the previous night, December 14 at around 9 p.m., and had observed Roberts crush up some type of prescription pills, mix them into a solution, and use a needle to inject the solution into his body. Reyna said that Roberts did not have a prescription for these pills.
Based on this information, the district court issued a search warrant for the residence at a residence on Brendon Court in Pratt, Kansas, on December 16, 2013, at 11:58 a.m. The warrant authorized police to search for “[c]ontrolled dangerous substances to include but not be limited to unlawfully obtained or possession prescription only medications; Drug paraphernalia used to inject, inhale, ingest, or otherwise introduce illegal drugs into the human body.” The police did not execute the search warrant that day.
On December 17, 2013, around 7:50 a.m., Pratt police officer Mike McAbee was dispatched to the residence on Brendon Court for a report of a pharmaceutical theft. When he arrived, he spoke with Kathy Saloga who was living at the residence with Roberts and Joann Pearce. Saloga showed him what prescription medications she was missing, but she did not name anyone she considered as a suspect. McAbee took a report, gave her his business card, and started to leave the residence.
As McAbee was leaving the residence, he received a call from Sergeant Kent Wyatt who told McAbee to remain at the residence because officers were en route with a search warrant for the residence. While McAbee waited for the other officers to arrive, he continued to speak with Saloga. She told him that Roberts and Hunter were in the residence in Roberts' room. She guessed that Hunter had spent the night at the residence.
Two officers arrived with the search warrant, and McAbee assisted in executing the warrant. McAbee did not read the search warrant before the search was conducted. He also was not briefed before the warrant was executed. McAbee testified that he assisted in the search warrant “blind” as to the information surrounding the search. The only thing McAbee knew about the search was that it was related to a drug issue. He also was aware of past drug issues involving the residence and Roberts. However, he was not aware of the specific illegal acts that justified the search warrant.
When McAbee reentered the residence, he met Hunter at the front door. Hunter was holding her purse, and she retrieved identification from her purse and provided it to McAbee. Hunter told McAbee that she wanted to leave but McAbee told her she could not leave because she was subject to the search warrant. McAbee searched Hunter's purse without her consent and found a white substance that tested positive for the presence of amphetamines and green vegetation that tested positive for marijuana. McAbee also found a marijuana pipe and a set of digital scales in the purse. Hunter admitted that she knew the marijuana pipe was in her purse but she was not aware of the methamphetamine and that someone else must have put it there.
On January 29, 2014, the State charged Hunter with one count of possession of opiates, opium, or narcotic drugs; one count of possession of hallucinogenic drugs; and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. On March 4, 2014, Hunter filed a motion to suppress the evidence. In the motion, Hunter argued that the search warrant did not provide justification for the search of her purse and wallet.
On June 3, 2014, the district court held a joint preliminary hearing and hearing on the motion to suppress. The judge who presided over the hearing was the same judge who authorized the search warrant. McAbee and Saloga were the only two witnesses who testified at the hearing. After the evidence was presented, the State argued that the search of Hunter's purse was valid under the warrant because she was a visitor at the residence who was more than a casual, social guest. Hunter argued that McAbee was not...
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