State v. Mickle
| Citation | 164 S.W.3d 33 |
| Decision Date | 21 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. WD 61916.,WD 61916. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Missouri |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri, Respondent, v. James A. MICKLE, Appellant. |
Rosalynn Koch, Columbia, MO, for Appellant.
Linda Lemke, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, for Respondent.
Before EDWIN H. SMITH, C.J., LOWENSTEIN, BRECKENRIDGE, SPINDEN, SMART, ELLIS, HOWARD, NEWTON, HOLLIGER, HARDWICK, JJ, and MARTIN, SR. J.
James Mickle appeals the judgment of his convictions, after a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Vernon County, on Count I, of attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, § 195.211;1 on Count II, of possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, § 195.246; and, on Count III, of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use to manufacture methamphetamine, § 195.233. As a result of his convictions, the appellant was sentenced, as a prior drug offender, § 195.275, to consecutive terms in the Missouri Department of Corrections of ten years on Count I, five years on Count II, and five years on Count III.
The appellant raises four points on appeal. In Point I, he claims that the trial court erred in overruling his motions for judgment of acquittal at the close of the State's and all the evidence, as to Counts I, II and III, because it failed to make a submissible case as to each in that the evidence did not demonstrate, as required to convict, that he possessed, as alleged in the information, the meth-related items seized from his vehicle at the time of his arrest. In Point II, he claims that the trial court "erred in overruling [his] motion in limine and allowing the [S]tate to elicit from Rosalee Woods that [he] had used methamphetamine frequently," because such evidence constituted inadmissible evidence of uncharged crimes. In Point III, the appellant claims that the trial court plainly erred in failing to exclude, sua sponte, the testimony of Woods that the appellant refused to consent to a search of his vehicle and failing to prohibit the State from arguing the same in closing argument because it violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In Point IV, he claims that the trial court plainly erred in giving Instructions No. 7 and 9, the State's verdict directors as to Counts II and III, because they did not conform to MAI-CR 3d 325.32 and MAI-CR 3d 325.22, the mandatory MAI-CR instructions for submitting those offenses.
We affirm.
On January 17, 2002, the appellant was charged, in the State's second amended information, as a prior drug offender, § 195.275, with attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, § 195.211; possession of ephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, § 195.246; and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use to manufacture methamphetamine, § 195.233.
The charges against the appellant arose from events occurring on August 25, 2000. On that date, the appellant and Rosalee Woods, while returning home to Kansas following a three-day trip to Monnett, Missouri, came to a sobriety checkpoint on Highway 54, which was being conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Before reaching the checkpoint, Woods, who was driving, pulled the vehicle over to the shoulder of the road and opened the driver's side door. Trooper Brad Bearden immediately approached the vehicle, as he was the "chase car officer" on duty, meaning his assignment was to pursue vehicles that might attempt to elude the checkpoint. Initially, Trooper Bearden engaged Woods, as she was the driver of the vehicle. However, Trooper Bearden's attention quickly turned to the appellant, who was in the front passenger seat, as he began to reach down between his seat and the door. Fearing that the appellant was reaching for a weapon, Trooper Bearden quickly ordered the appellant to exit the vehicle, and, in doing so, noticed a bag of plastic syringes at the appellant's feet. He also noticed a chemical odor emanating from the vehicle's interior.
Due to his suspicions concerning the syringes and the chemical odor, Trooper Bearden called for assistance, with Trooper Roger Renken responding. Upon Trooper Renken's arrival, a search of the appellant's vehicle was conducted. The vehicle was a red Chevrolet Camaro, which is a mid-size sports coupe/hatchback.
During the search, the troopers found, in the backseat of the vehicle, a plastic Wal-Mart bag containing drain cleaner, four cans of starting fluid, and a jar of white powdery liquid, which later tested positive for pseudoephedrine. They also found a large cooler containing 83.94 grams of powdered pseudoephedrine, a spatula, a beer can, and a black leather bag containing 17.89 grams of powdered pseudoephedrine, scales, small plastic baggies, mason lids, silicone gel, another spatula, rubber gloves, paper plates, coffee filters, vice grips, wire cutters, a can opener, a spoon, alcohol cleansing pads, a clear gas vial, a thermos, and lithium cores that had been stripped from batteries. In addition, they found an ice cream bucket containing a bottle of salt, a length of tubing with a two liter bottle attached, and black tape. Among these items, they also found a plastic Wal-Mart bag containing the appellant's clothes. In the hatchback of the vehicle, they found a rifle case containing a pump-action sawed-off shotgun. Where Trooper Bearden initially saw the appellant reach with his hand, they found a syringe with a bent needle, containing a small amount of cloudy liquid.
The appellant's case proceeded to a jury trial on July 25, 2002. Before voir dire, the court took up the appellant's motion in limine, filed on July 16, 2002, seeking to exclude any evidence concerning his prior methamphetamine use. The court, however, did not rule on the motion, indicating on its docket sheet: "D'S MOTION IN LIMINE RE: PRIOR OR UNCHARGED CRIMES TAKEN UNDER ADVISEMENT AS TO POSSIBLE REASONS FOR ADMISSABILITY[ADMISSIBILITY]."
At trial, Troopers Bearden and Renken, as well as Matthew Barb, a drug analyst with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, testified on behalf of the State. Among other things, they testified as to the items and ingredients seized from the appellant's vehicle, explaining that these items and ingredients constitute everything one would need to manufacture methamphetamine, except for anhydrous ammonia. The appellant presented testimony from his ex-wife, Donna Berry, and Woods, who testified that all of the meth-related items seized from the appellant's vehicle belonged to her and that the appellant was unaware of their presence in his vehicle. In rebuttal, the State called Trooper Bearden and Donna Lands, an acquaintance of Woods.
On July 26, 2002, the jury found the appellant guilty of the charged offenses. On September 10, 2002, the trial court denied the appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal or in the alternative, for a new trial, and, on that same date, sentenced the appellant, as a prior drug offender, to consecutive terms in the Missouri Department of Corrections of ten years on Count I, five years on Count II, and five years on Count III.
This appeal followed.
In Point I, the appellant claims that the trial court erred in overruling his motions for judgment of acquittal at the close of the State's and all the evidence, as to Counts I, II and III, because it failed to make a submissible case as to each in that the evidence did not demonstrate, as required to convict, that he possessed, as alleged in the information, the meth-related items seized from his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
Our standard of review, as to a claim of insufficiency of the evidence to convict, is set forth in State v. Johnson, 62 S.W.3d 61, 69-70 (Mo.App.2001) (quoting State v. O'Brien, 857 S.W.2d 212, 215-16 (Mo. banc 1993)):
A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support a finding of guilt is based in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. No person may be deprived of liberty, `except upon evidence that is sufficient fairly to support a conclusion that every element of the crime has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.' The constitutional sufficiency of the evidence is a question of law to be determined, in the first instance, by the trial court on proper motion by the defendant and again on appeal.
When properly raised by the defendant, the question of sufficiency arises before the case is put to the jury; the challenge is to the `submissibility' of the case. Therefore, any guilty verdict subsequently rendered by the jury is wholly irrelevant to the question of whether the case was sufficient to go to the jury at all. The Court's review is limited to determining whether the evidence is sufficient to persuade any reasonable juror as to each of the elements of the crime, beyond a reasonable doubt. To ensure that the reviewing court does not engage in futile attempts to weigh the evidence or judge the witnesses' credibility, courts employ `a legal conclusion that upon judicial review all of the evidence is to be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution.' Thus, evidence that supports a finding of guilt is taken as true and all logical inferences that support a finding of guilt and that may reasonably be drawn from the evidence are indulged. Conversely, the evidence and any inferences to be drawn therefrom that do not support a finding of guilt are ignored.
For clarity's sake, we will address each count separately to determine the sufficiency of the evidence to convict thereon.
In Count I, the appellant was charged with attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, under § 195.211.1 which reads: "[I]t is...
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