State v. Tench, 25618.

• Citation: 353 S.C. 531,579 S.E.2d 314
• Decision Date: 07 April 2003
• Docket Number: No. 25618.,25618.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina
• Parties: The STATE, Respondent, v. Christopher Dale TENCH, Appellant.

353 S.C. 531

579 S.E.2d 314

The STATE, Respondent, v. Christopher Dale TENCH, Appellant.

No. 25618.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Heard March 4, 2003.

Decided April 7, 2003.

Deputy Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, Assistant Appellate Defender Eleanor Duffy Cleary, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, all of Columbia, and Solicitor Druanne Dykes White, of Anderson, for Respondent.

Justice WALLER.

Christopher Dale Tench was convicted of murder, first degree burglary, and attempted armed robbery. He was sentenced to death for murder, life imprisonment for burglary, and ten years for attempted armed robbery. We affirm.

FACTS

In the early morning hours of January 12, 1999, police were called to a home in Anderson, SC, where they found Appellant, Christopher Dale Tench, bleeding from the torso, left hand, and both legs, the apparent victim of a shooting. Tench told police he had been shot by three men at Broadway Lake; however, he could not describe either his assailants or the exact location of the shooting. In the hopes of obtaining further information leading to the individuals who shot Tench, police sought a search warrant for his vehicle. The affidavit supporting the warrant sought "blood, fibers, weapons, projectiles, casings or papers or receipts which would indicate the manner, method, motive, cause or perpetrators involved in the shooting ..."

The search warrant was executed at approximately 2:00 p.m. on January 12, 1999, by Investigator Clamp, one of the officers who had been called to Tench's home in the early morning hours. As Clamp was executing the warrant, he was advised by another officer that police were investigating the murder of a man named James Michael McBride, who had been found shot to death at his home the same morning. Clamp was advised that some peanut shells had been found outside McBride's residence. Accordingly, Clamp began looking for any evidence which might link the two crimes together. Clamp seized the following items from Tench's vehicle:

1 Pillow, Sample of Dirt, Peanuts, Light Switch, 1 Dime, Box of Ammo. (partial box)Reloads, assorted cans and bottles, assorted papers, 1 pair of black gloves, paint scraping, 8 trace evidence lifts, 2 blood swabs, yellow handled pliers, green colored ball cap, small black flashlight, insurance papers, 3 sheets of latent fingerprint lifts and inked impressions of the tires. Also collected was small blood stained portion of the driver's seat, 1 small blue ball bat, 1 set of booster cables.

Three days later, while in the hospital being treated for his injuries, Tench confessed to shooting McBride. However, Tench claimed he had intended only to burglarize the home but was confronted by McBride when he entered the home. According to Tench, McBride started shooting at him; Tench pleaded with McBride to be allowed to leave but McBride kept shooting. Tench shot him, killing him.

Tench was subsequently indicted for murder, first-degree burglary, and armed robbery; the state sought the death penalty for murder. At trial, Tench moved to suppress all evidence seized during the search of his car on the basis that the affidavit and search warrant did not set forth sufficient probable cause for police to search for evidence linking him to McBride's murder. The court denied the motion to suppress. The jury convicted Tench on all counts and recommended a sentence of death. The trial court sentenced him to death for murder, life imprisonment for burglary, and ten years for attempted armed robbery.

ISSUE

Did the court err in denying the motion to suppress the evidence seized in the search of Tench's automobile?

DISCUSSION

Tench asserts the search warrant was unsupported by probable cause that evidence of any crime could be found in his car; accordingly, he contends the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the evidence seized therein. We disagree.

A search warrant may issue only upon a finding of probable cause. State v. Weston, 329 S.C. 287, 494 S.E.2d 801 (1997). The magistrate's task in determining whether to issue a search warrant is to make a practical, common sense decision concerning whether, under the totality of the circumstances set forth in the affidavit, there is a fair probability that evidence of a crime will be found in the particular place to be searched. Id.; State v. Philpot, 317 S.C. 458, 454 S.E.2d 905 (Ct.App.1995). A reviewing court should give great deference to a magistrate's determination of probable cause. State v. Crane, 296 S.C. 336, 372 S.E.2d 587 (1988).

The affidavit prepared by Investigator Major provides:

That on or about 12:39 a.m. on January 12, 1999, deputies from the Anderson County Sheriffs Office responded to shooting call at 150 Cedar Road in Anderson, S.C. On their arrival, they found Christopher Dale Tench sitting in a chair at the kitchen table bleeding from his torso, his left hand and both legs, an apparent victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Tench was able to inform the officers that he was shot near Broadway Lake. He could not, however, describe his assailant(s) nor provide a specific location of the incident. His mother, who was at the house, stated that Tench arrived home driving his white with a burgundy half top 1977 Cadillac 2-Door Coupe de Ville. He exited the vehicle wounded and bleeding. There is smeared blood on the outside handle of the driver's door. The driver's seat is blood soaked and blood can been [sic] seen on the instrument panel and steering wheel. An Anderson County deputy sheriff located and recovered an apparent projectile from the outside of the trousers worn by Tench. It is the Affiant's belief that based on these facts, items will be on or within the vehicle which will indicate the manner, method, motive, cause, or perpetrators involved in the shooting of Christopher Dale Tench.

We find the affidavit sufficiently establishes probable cause. The affidavit specifically notes that police recovered an "apparent projectile from the outside of Tench's trousers." Police were aware that Tench had driven the car home from the scene of the shooting and there was blood both in and on the car. Given that a projectile was recovered from Tench's trousers, we find police had a...