State v. Pratt
| Decision Date | 13 May 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-542-C,92-542-C |
| Citation | 641 A.2d 732 |
| Parties | STATE v. Michael D. PRATT. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This case came before the Supreme Court on appeal by Michael D. Pratt (defendant) from a judgment of conviction for possession of over five kilograms of marijuana. The defendant, after a jury trial in Superior Court, was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment and fined $20,000. The defendant argued on appeal that the trial justice's denial of his motion to suppress all tangible evidence and the denial of the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal were in error. The defendant also maintained that the trial justice committed reversible error by admitting irrelevant and prejudicial evidence at trial. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the conviction.
In June 1988 defendant became the target of a multijurisdictional undercover police investigation which, inter alia, concentrated on illegal drug activity in Newport, Rhode Island. Sergeant Gregory Ursini (Ursini) of the Bristol police department, a member of the Attorney General's task force on narcotics, assumed the alias Greg Manzi and befriended defendant. Ursini met defendant by enrolling in the Newport Flight School where defendant was an instructor. Ursini and defendant became friends, and when Ursini stated that he was searching for a place to live, defendant offered Ursini a room in his apartment. Shortly before Ursini moved in, defendant informed Ursini that he intended to install three surveillance cameras at the apartment to keep track of people entering and leaving the apartment. The defendant also told Ursini that he had a loaded mini-14 semiautomatic rifle in his room in the event anyone proceeded past the surveillance camera.
The defendant and Ursini soon became business associates when, in December 1988, defendant offered Ursini an opportunity to realize at least a $1,200 profit within one week on a $6,000 investment. According to Ursini, defendant proposed the purchase of twenty-two pounds of marijuana from a contact in West Palm Beach, Florida, with whom defendant had previously dealt. The defendant informed Ursini that this was a safe investment that had netted defendant profits of $3,000 to $6,000 on several earlier occasions. On December 13, 1988, the roommates traveled to West Palm Beach and met with John Icart (Icart), defendant's contact, who sold Ursini and defendant twenty-nine pounds of commercial marijuana. The defendant, although he attempted to obtain cocaine from Icart, did not make a purchase at that time.
Upon returning to Rhode Island, defendant and Ursini packaged the drugs into one-pound bags and began looking for potential buyers. By May 1989 the roommates had moved the marijuana several times and stored it in various locations, including in the garage of their apartment building located at 305 Corey Lane, Middletown. On or about May 15, 1989, defendant warned Ursini about a prospective drug raid in Middletown. Under the pretense of moving the drugs to a safer location, Ursini put the remaining marijuana, approximately twenty-four pounds, into the trunk of his car and turned it over to the police.
During their eleven-month acquaintance, the pair's business discussions did not solely focus on the December marijuana purchase. On several occasions between December and May, defendant suggested to Ursini the possibility of purchasing cocaine. Although the pair never effectuated a cocaine purchase, defendant made it clear to Ursini that he was conducting other transactions of which Ursini was not a part. As evidence of such transactions, Ursini knew of several meetings between defendant and suspected drug dealers at both the Newport Flight School and the apartment. The defendant never involved Ursini in these meetings; rather, Ursini would always be asked to leave the room. In April 1989, in order to bolster his own credibility, Ursini arranged a mock cocaine transaction between himself and an FBI agent. At Ursini's request, defendant flew Ursini and the cocaine to a prearranged location. Ursini paid defendant $550 for the transportation.
By mid-May 1989, although defendant had not included Ursini in any of the alleged cocaine transactions, the police decided to conclude the investigation. After Ursini obtained wiretaps of defendant discussing various drug transactions, the police obtained an arrest warrant and search warrants for defendant's apartment and the Newport Flight School. The apartment warrant authorized a search for:
On May 25, 1989, the FBI and the Newport police arrested defendant and executed the search warrants. The defendant was charged with possession of over five kilograms of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and delivery of marijuana. A judgment of acquittal with regard to the charge of delivery of marijuana was entered on May 28, 1991. A jury subsequently found defendant guilty of possession of over five kilograms of marijuana and possession with intent to deliver. However, prior to sentencing, the trial justice dismissed the charge of possession with intent to deliver. The defendant was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment and fined $20,000 for possession of over five kilograms of marijuana. In response, defendant filed the instant appeal pursuant to G.L.1956 (1985 Reenactment) § 9-24-32 and raised essentially four issues on appeal.
The defendant first argued that the trial justice erred when he denied defendant's motion to suppress all tangible evidence. The defendant alleged, as the first of several grounds to justify suppression of evidence, that the affidavit in support of the apartment search warrant did not establish probable cause to search the apartment for marijuana or drug paraphernalia. The defendant also maintained that the general, exploratory nature of the search violated his constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article 1, section 6, of the Rhode Island Constitution. Finally, defendant challenged application of the severability doctrine and asserted that the entire search warrant should have been declared invalid and the evidence seized thereunder should have been suppressed.
The Fourth Amendment and article 1, section 6, forbid the issuance of a search warrant without a showing of probable cause. State v. Riccio, 551 A.2d 1183, 1185 (R.I.1988); State v. Ricci, 472 A.2d 291, 294 (R.I.1984). A search warrant must be supported by oath or affirmation and must describe with particularity the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. Riccio, 551 A.2d at 1185.
In consideration of defendant's pretrial motion to suppress all tangible evidence, the trial justice evaluated each element contained in the apartment search warrant in determining the constitutionality of the issuance of the search warrant. The trial justice concluded that there had been no probable cause to support the contention that cocaine would have been found on the premises. The trial justice also concluded that the warrant had not been sufficiently particularized with respect to the seizure of defendant's business and personal papers. Thus, the trial justice granted the motion to suppress all evidence seized pursuant to those portions of the warrant. The trial justice, however, denied the motion as to the remaining evidence, and concluded that there had been probable cause to search for marijuana and that the remaining evidence had been properly seized under the plain-view doctrine. We concur with the trial justice's conclusions.
On appeal defendant alleged that the affidavit in support of the apartment search warrant lacked sufficient facts to establish probable cause that marijuana and drug paraphernalia would be found in his apartment. We disagree.
It is axiomatic that the quantum of proof necessary to establish probable cause is significantly different from the degree needed to establish guilt. Ricci, 472 A.2d at 296. The probable-cause standard requires "only the probability, and not a prima facie showing, of criminal activity." State v. Baldoni, 609 A.2d 219, 220 (R.I.1992); State v. Doukales, 111 R.I. 443, 449, 303 A.2d 769, 773 (1973). This standard, however, does require a showing of more than a mere suspicion that criminal activity is taking place. Marderosian v. United States, 337 F.2d 759, 760 (1st Cir.1964), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 971, 85 S.Ct. 1328, 14 L.Ed.2d 268 (1965). The issuing magistrate, in applying the totality-of-the-circumstances test, "must make a practical, commonsense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit" in question, "there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L.Ed.2d 527, 548 (1983). Accord State v. Pacheco, 481 A.2d 1009, 1020 (R.I.1984); Ricci, 472 A.2d at 295. Although the existence of probable cause must be found within the "four corners" of an affidavit submitted in support of the issuance of a warrant, State v. Joseph, 114 R.I. 596, 603, 337 A.2d 523, 527 (1975), a judicial officer may draw reasonable inferences from the affidavit in order to reach a determination of probable cause, State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380, 1383 (R.I.1980).
In reviewing the propriety of a search warrant, the reviewing court's duty " 'is simply to ensure that the magistrate had a "substantial basis for * * * conclud...
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