State v. Reynolds

• Decision Date: 14 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 34399.,34399.
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Eric A. REYNOLDS, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

197 P.3d 327

146 Idaho 466

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Eric A. REYNOLDS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 34399.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

July 14, 2008.

Review Denied October 15, 2008.

Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender; Elizabeth A. Allred, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Thomas Tharp, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

LANSING, Judge.

Eric A. Reynolds appeals from his judgment of conviction on various drug-related charges. He argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence found during a warrantless search of his home. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

At approximately 10 p.m., three police officers were dispatched to the home of Eric and Melissa Reynolds to investigate a telephoned report from Melissa's mother that Reynolds was holding Melissa against her will. The officers arrived simultaneously and saw Reynolds standing just outside of the front door, which was ajar. Two of the officers approached Reynolds and began to question him about the reported altercation. In the meantime, a third officer, Officer Harmon, entered the home through the partially-opened front door. He did not hear any noises coming from the house, nor did he first knock, announce his presence, or call for Melissa.

Upon entering, Officer Harmon saw Melissa standing in the living room about ten feet from the door. She was visibly upset. She said that Reynolds had pushed her onto the couch and also restrained her when she was trying to leave the bedroom. A few minutes after entering, Officer Harmon smelled an odor that he believed to be marijuana. He questioned Melissa about the scent, and she said that there was marijuana in another room. Officer Harmon then motioned the two other officers, Farina and Hicks, into the house. Officer Farina asked Melissa if there were any weapons or other people in the home. She said there were no other people in the house, and directed Officer Farina down a hallway to an office which contained a handgun as well as a large plywood box or closet that was approximately four feet long, four feet wide, and six feet tall. Officer Farina then requested and received Melissa's consent to search the home. She told the officer that the large plywood box, which was locked, belonged to Reynolds. Melissa told the officer that she did not have the key to unlock the closet and that it was probably on Reynolds' key ring. Nonetheless, the two began to search the office for a key that would open the closet. Melissa pointed to a key ring hanging on the wall and instructed Officer Farina to try the key. It opened the plywood box, and the officer saw within marijuana plants and grow lamps. At some point—whether before or after opening the box is unclear—Officer Farina also observed in another room marijuana hanging from the ceiling to dry.

Reynolds was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, Idaho Code § 37-2732(a); possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces, I.C. § 37-2732(e); domestic battery, I.C. § 18-918(3)(b); and possession of drug paraphernalia, I.C. § 37-2734A. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence found in the house, arguing that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the officers entered the home and that Melissa did not have authority to consent to a search of his locked plywood box. The district court denied the motion, finding that exigent circumstances justified the officers' entry into the home and that Melissa had at least apparent authority to consent to a search of the box. Reynolds conditionally pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces and domestic battery in exchange for the State's agreement to dismiss the remaining charges and to recommend concurrent sentences. Reynolds now appeals the denial of his suppression motion.

II. DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

In reviewing a decision to grant or deny a motion to suppress evidence, this Court defers to the trial court's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. State v. Hawkins, 131 Idaho 396, 400, 958 P.2d 22, 26 (Ct.App.1998). The determination whether a search is reasonable, and therefore complies with the Fourth Amendment, is a question of law, however, over which we exercise free review. State v. Bunting, 142 Idaho 908, 912, 136 P.3d 379, 383 (Ct.App.2006).

B. The Entry Was Illegal

Reynolds argues that the evidence discovered during the search of his home must be suppressed because the police illegally entered the house without a warrant or other lawful justification in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." The "physical entry of the home is the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed." United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297, 313, 92 S.Ct. 2125, 2134, 32 L.Ed.2d 752, 764 (1972). See also Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 589-90, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1381-82, 63 L.Ed.2d 639, 652-53 (1980); State v. Johnson, 110 Idaho 516, 523, 716 P.2d 1288, 1295 (1986); State v. Robinson, 144 Idaho 496, 498-99, 163 P.3d 1208, 1210-11 (Ct.App. 2007). Such entries and other searches conducted without a warrant are presumed to be unreasonable, United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 960, 104 S.Ct. 3430, 3445, 82 L.Ed.2d 677, 722 (1984); State v. Martinez, 129 Idaho 426, 431, 925 P.2d 1125, 1130 (Ct. App.1996), but there are a few carefully delineated exceptions to this presumption. Leon, 468 U.S. at 960-61, 104 S.Ct. at 3445-46, 82 L.Ed.2d at 722-23; State v. Brauch, 133 Idaho 215, 218, 984 P.2d 703, 706 (1999). The State bears the burden to show that a warrantless search fell within one of these well-recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement or was otherwise reasonable under the circumstances. Martinez, 129 Idaho at 431, 925 P.2d at 1130.

The State argues here that the officers' warrantless entry into Reynolds' home was permissible under the exigent circumstances exception, which allows for warrantless searches by state agents when there is compelling need for official action and no time to secure a warrant. Michigan v. Tyler, 436 U.S. 499, 509, 98 S.Ct. 1942, 1949, 56 L.Ed.2d 486, 498 (1978); State v. Barrett, 138 Idaho 290, 293, 62 P.3d 214, 217 (Ct.App. 2003); State v. Sailas, 129 Idaho 432, 434, 925 P.2d 1131, 1133 (Ct.App.1996). The test for application of this warrant exception is whether the facts known to the agent at the time of entry, together with reasonable inferences, would warrant a reasonable belief that an exigency justified the intrusion. Barrett, 138 Idaho at 293, 62 P.3d at 217. A law enforcement officer's reasonable belief of danger to the police or to other persons inside or outside the dwelling is one type of exigency that may justify a warrantless entry. Minnesota v. Olson, 495 U.S. 91, 100, 110 S.Ct. 1684, 1690, 109 L.Ed.2d 85, 95 (1990); Bunting, 142 Idaho at 912-13, 136 P.3d at 383-84. Thus, the necessity to protect or preserve life or avoid serious injury will legitimize an otherwise illegal intrusion. An example of such an exigency is found in Sailas, 129 Idaho 432, 925 P.2d 1131, where an officer responded to a report of a domestic disturbance. As the officer approached the apartment, she could hear yelling and screaming. The officer knocked on the door. The victim, who had blood on her nose and hands, answered the door and said that she did not need the assistance of the police. The defendant continued shouting at the victim throughout this conversation, and the officer could also see a child in the house. The officer then entered the apartment, and the defendant later contended that the entry was unlawful. We held that exigent circumstances justified the entry because the volatile circumstances suggested that there was a risk of further injury to the victim or injury to the child if the police waited to secure a warrant before entering the defendant's apartment.

Another illustrative case is State v. Pearson-Anderson, 136 Idaho 847, 41 P.3d 275 (Ct.App.2001), which began when a 911 emergency operator received a hang-up call. The operator traced the call to the home where Pearson-Anderson resided with her boyfriend. When the operator telephoned that residence, someone picked up the telephone and then immediately hung up. The 911 operator alerted police who went to the home to investigate. When they arrived, they heard yelling and saw Pearson-Anderson and her boyfriend lying on the floor across the threshold, struggling with one another. The officers separated the two and questioned them. Pearson-Anderson said that she had made the 911 call because the boyfriend was preventing her from leaving the home, and he hung up the telephone before she could speak. She said that the boyfriend also hung up the telephone when the 911 operator called back. When asked about the reason for the fight, Pearson-Anderson said it arose because the boyfriend had given a key to the home to another woman who had been in the home earlier but was not currently there. One of the officers then went into the home to determine whether there were any third persons in need of help. That officer found evidence of methamphetamine manufacturing, for which Pearson-Anderson was ultimately arrested. We held that the officers' warrantless entry of the home was justified by the 911 hang-up call and rejected Pearson-Anderson's assertion that any concerns arising from that call were laid to rest by her explanation of the events. We noted that Pearson-Anderson's own explanation referred to a third person (the other woman) who had been in the home and whose actions were reportedly the cause of the fight, raising the possibility of third-party involvement. We also said that where a 911 hang-up call had been received, responding...