State v. Lubbers

• Decision Date: 30 April 2002
• Docket Number: No. ED 79766.,ED 79766.
• Citation: 81 S.W.3d 156
• Parties: STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Kathleen N. LUBBERS, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

81 S.W.3d 156

STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. Kathleen N. LUBBERS, Appellant.

No. ED 79766.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Two.

April 30, 2002.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to Supreme Court Denied June 5, 2002.

Application for Transfer Denied August 27, 2002.

Amy M. Bartholow, Columbia, MO, for appellant.

John Munson Morris III, Anne E. Edgington, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent.

MARY R. RUSSELL, Judge.

Kathleen N. Lubbers ("Defendant") appeals from a conviction following a jury verdict finding her guilty of possession of chemicals with intent to create a controlled substance and of possession of a controlled substance, in violation of sections 195.420 and 195.202 RSMo 2000,¹ respectively. Defendant was sentenced to two one-year prison terms to be served concurrently. The trial court denied defendant's Motion for Acquittal or in the Alternative for a New Trial. Because of Defendant's failure to file her motion in a timely manner, we are limited to plain error review. We find the state presented sufficient evidence to prove Defendant possessed methamphetamine, but it failed to proffer any evidence from which a reasonable person could conclude she possessed ether and lithium batteries with an intent to manufacture methamphetamine. As a result, we affirm in part and reverse in part the trial court's denial of her motion for acquittal or for a new trial.

Defendant was with her boyfriend, Chris Colter ("Boyfriend") at a friend's house on March 6, 1999, when Defendant borrowed Boyfriend's truck to run an errand. As she was driving the truck, a Farmington police officer pulled her over. The officer stopped Defendant to inquire as to whether she had any information pertaining to an unrelated matter he was investigating. When the officer turned his lights on to signal for her to pull over, Defendant continued for several blocks, leaning toward the passenger side of the truck in the meantime, before stopping in a grocery store parking lot.

When the officer approached the vehicle, Defendant was lighting a cigarette. When she rolled down the truck window, the officer smelled ether, a highly flammable and explosive chemical, and he immediately asked her to extinguish the cigarette. Knowing that ether was commonly used in manufacturing methamphetamine, a controlled substance, the officer called for assistance because of his limited knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing. Defendant produced her driver's license for the officer. When she could not find any proof of insurance for the vehicle, she explained to the officer that it was Boyfriend's truck.

After another officer arrived, they asked Defendant for permission to search the truck, and she consented in writing. A purse was lying on the seat of the truck. Underneath some clothing and a tarpaulin in the cab, they found a box with several items inside, including plastic wrap, coffee filters, plastic tubing, and several jars, some of which contained a liquid. Some of the jars had residue in them, which caused one of the officers to believe the contents were in the later stages of methamphetamine processing. The officers contacted two detectives from the Farmington Police Department and arrested Defendant.

When the two detectives saw what was in the truck, they called a tow truck to transport it to the local police department. Inside the passenger compartment of the truck, the detectives found a few garden pump handles and sprayers. Between the truck's bucket seats, the detectives found a red duffel bag that contained several items, including jars filled with "a two-layer liquid," a cloth bag with lithium batteries inside it, and a red rag.

As the detectives further examined the contents of the truck cab, they concurred with the other officers' suspicions that it contained items used in methamphetamine manufacturing. The detectives then called a state trooper and a local drug task force officer because they were not trained to dismantle or to take samples from such a lab.

The detectives found a plastic tote box in the truck's floorboard. Inside, they found a college chemistry book, coffee filters, several cans of starter fluid, rubber gloves, various funnels, rock salt, jars, table salt, and several sheets of paper. One page contained a list of "common chemicals and items used in the production of methamphetamine," and others showed names of several chemicals used in methamphetamine manufacturing. At trial, one of the detectives testified that ethyl ether can be extracted from the starter fluid and that salt can be used in a generator made from garden sprayers to produce a gas necessary for the final stage of methamphetamine processing.

The state trooper drew 14 samples from the various jars found in the truck and sent them to the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Laboratory for evaluation, where they were received three days later. Some of the samples tested positive for methamphetamine, and some contained ephedrine, the main ingredient for methamphetamine manufacturing.

After the samples, were drawn, one of the detectives questioned Defendant. She told him that the truck and its contents belonged to Boyfriend. Another detective searched through the purse found in the truck. Inside, he found a woman's compact, which had a white residue on the mirror, and a pill bottle containing 56 ephedrine hydrochloride tablets. The mirror residue tested positive for methamphetamine. The purse also contained a note with a dollar amount and some names written on it. The note read: "Have Dale ask Mike about my hundred dollars. He don't get anymore until he pays. No fronts. Dale or Mike will go talk to Roy. Have Roy give me my ring. Knock price off bill. Dale will give you 75 plus 7 plus my cookies."

Defendant's trial was held on May 5, 2001, and the jury returned its verdict and was dismissed that day. The jury found Defendant guilty of possession of chemicals with the intent to create a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance but found her not guilty of the third count, attempt to manufacture a controlled substance. Defendant filed her motion for acquittal or for a new trial on May 22, 2001. The trial court overruled the motion one month later.

We must first address the timeliness of Defendant's motion for acquittal or for a new trial. See State v. Kohser, 46 S.W.3d 108, 111 (Mo.App.2001). Rule 29.11, which governs the timeframe for motions for a new trial, provides in pertinent part:

(b) A motion for a new trial or a motion authorized by Rule 27.07(c) shall be filed within fifteen days after the return of the verdict. On application of the defendant made within fifteen days after the return of the verdict and for good cause shown the court may extend the time for filing of such motions for one additional period not to exceed ten days.

. . . .

(d) In jury-tried cases, allegations of error to be preserved for appellate review must be included in a motion for new trial except that ... questions authorized by Rule 27.07 to be presented by motion for judgment of acquittal need not be included in a motion for new trial.

In addition, subsection (c) of Rule 27.07 establishes the procedure for motions after discharge of the jury:

If the jury returns a verdict of guilty ..., a motion for judgment of acquittal may be made or renewed within 15 days after the return of the verdict or the jury is discharged. On application of the defendant made within fifteen days after the return of the verdict or the discharge of the jury and for good cause shown the court may extend the time for filing or renewing the motion for judgment of acquittal for an additional period not to exceed 10 days. If a verdict of guilty is returned the court may on such motion set aside the verdict and enter judgment of acquittal....

"If [D]efendant applied for and the trial court granted [D]efendant an extension of time to file [her] motion for new trial it was incumbent upon [her] to see that any record entry doing so was included in the transcript on appeal." State v. Larrabee, 572 S.W.2d 250, 251 (Mo.App. 1978). The legal file does not reflect any request for extension nor good cause shown for an extension. The docket sheets do not indicate any such motion or request, and the remainder of the legal file does not include a copy of any written request made by Defendant for additional time.

Although the state did not question whether Defendant preserved her claims of error for review, noncompliance must be raised sua sponte by the appellate court because neither the court nor the parties can waive its requirements. Kohser, 46 S.W.3d at 111; Larrabee, 572 S.W.2d at 251-52. The time limits in Rule 29.11 are mandatory. Kohser, 46 S.W.3d at 111. Defendant's failure to adhere to the time limits of Rule 29.11(b) and Rule 27.07(c) results in her motion for acquittal or for a new trial preserving nothing for our review. We therefore can consider her allegations only as to issues deemed plain error. Kohser, 46 S.W.3d at 111; State v. Yates, 982 S.W.2d 767, 769 (Mo. App.1998).

An appellate court may exercise its discretion to consider "plain errors affecting substantial rights ... when the court finds that manifest injustice or miscarriage of justice has resulted therefrom." Rule 30.20. The plain error rule is to be used sparingly and may not be used to justify a review of every point that has not been preserved for appellate review. State v. Clemons, 946 S.W.2d 206, 224 (Mo. banc 1997). However, "[i]f the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction, plain error affecting substantial rights is involved from which manifest injustice must have resulted." State v. Crenshaw, 59 S.W.3d 45, 49 (Mo.App.2001) (quoting State v. Withrow, 8 S.W.3d 75, 77 (Mo. banc 1999)).

Defendant asserts two points on appeal wherein she argues the trial court erred in overruling her motion for acquittal or for a new trial and in sentencing her. In her first point, she...