Taylor v. Com., No. 2003-SC-0850-DG.

CourtKentucky Supreme Court
Writing for the CourtWintersheimer
Citation182 S.W.3d 521
PartiesTimothy Marteves TAYLOR, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.
Docket NumberNo. 2003-SC-0850-DG.
Decision Date19 January 2006
182 S.W.3d 521
Timothy Marteves TAYLOR, Appellant,
v.
COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.
No. 2003-SC-0850-DG.
Supreme Court of Kentucky.
January 19, 2006.

Page 522

V. Gene Lewter, Fayette County Legal Aid Inc., Lexington, Counsel for Appellant.

Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General, David A. Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Appellate Division, Frankfort, Counsel for Appellee.

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice.


This appeal is from an opinion of the Court of Appeals which affirmed a judgment based on a conditional guilty plea entered by Taylor to one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession of marijuana. He was sentenced to five years for the trafficking charge and twelve months for the possession offense, the sentences to run concurrently for a total of five years in prison.

The question presented is whether the circuit judge erred by denying the motion by Taylor to suppress his statements to the police and the evidence found on his person.

Police received information from a confidential source that Taylor was in possession of crack cocaine. The informant, who had proven reliable on prior occasions, gave the police a detailed description of Taylor's physical appearance, clothing and whereabouts. The officers went to the location in search of the person who had cocaine. They saw Taylor and observed that he matched the physical description of the suspect. As the officers approached him, Taylor moved in the opposite direction, occasionally making furtive glances at the officers. Eventually, the officers confronted Taylor next to a wall and handcuffed him.

The officers were in an area known for drug trafficking activity and they were cognizant of the fact from prior experiences that there were multiple escape routes. One of the police officers testified that Taylor was restrained because they feared he was a flight risk. After handcuffing Taylor, the officers advised him that he was not under arrest and that they had been told he possessed drugs. At that point, Taylor voluntarily admitted to the officers that he had cocaine and marijuana in his pockets. From the time he was handcuffed until the time he made the statement, approximately ten to fifteen seconds elapsed. The police then arrested Taylor, searched him and found the drugs on his person. He was read his Miranda rights after being formally arrested and he refused to answer any questions.

The grand jury indicted Taylor on one count of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possession of marijuana. Taylor moved to suppress his statements and the evidence. The circuit judge conducted a suppression hearing and overruled the motion. He found that the police had sufficient basis for initiating the

Page 523

contact with Taylor and securing him for his protection as well as their own, and that the officers were not interrogating Taylor. Following the denial of his suppression motion, Taylor entered a conditional guilty plea to the charges and was sentenced to a total of five years. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment and this...

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10 practice notes
  • Noe v. Commonwealth, 2017-SC-000326-MR
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (Kentucky)
    • November 1, 2018
    ...wearing. This further justified Officer Gray placing Noe, a suspect in a violent felony, in handcuffs.Page 16 See Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521, 524 (Ky. 2006) (use of handcuffs during a Terry stop is proper when circumstances warrant such precaution). With respect to whether the l......
  • Smith v. Com., No. 2008-SC-000060-DG.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (Kentucky)
    • June 17, 2010
    ...because it directly contradicted her trial defense that she was unaware the drugs were in her pocket. Relying on Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky.2006), the Commonwealth argues that the handcuffing of Smith did not constitute custody for Miranda purposes and thus her statement was......
  • Smith v. Commonwealth, No. 2006-CA-002120-MR (Ky. App. 12/21/2007), No. 2006-CA-002120-MR.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Kentucky
    • December 21, 2007
    ...on two grounds. First, Smith was not in custody at the time she made the statement in the bedroom, citing Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky. 2006), and second, the statements made in the living room were not in response to any police inquiry designed to elicit an incriminating resp......
  • Easter v. Hendrix, Case No. 3:17-cv-00031-GFVT
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Eastern District of Kentucky
    • October 23, 2018
    ...during an investigative Terry stop does not always mean one is the official custody of law enforcement. See Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky. 2006). In the case at hand. Officer Hendrix and Sasser were dispatched to Mr. Easter's residence in response to a phone call made by his mo......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
10 cases
  • Noe v. Commonwealth, 2017-SC-000326-MR
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (Kentucky)
    • November 1, 2018
    ...wearing. This further justified Officer Gray placing Noe, a suspect in a violent felony, in handcuffs.Page 16 See Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521, 524 (Ky. 2006) (use of handcuffs during a Terry stop is proper when circumstances warrant such precaution). With respect to whether the l......
  • Smith v. Com., No. 2008-SC-000060-DG.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (Kentucky)
    • June 17, 2010
    ...because it directly contradicted her trial defense that she was unaware the drugs were in her pocket. Relying on Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky.2006), the Commonwealth argues that the handcuffing of Smith did not constitute custody for Miranda purposes and thus her statement was......
  • Smith v. Commonwealth, No. 2006-CA-002120-MR (Ky. App. 12/21/2007), No. 2006-CA-002120-MR.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Kentucky
    • December 21, 2007
    ...on two grounds. First, Smith was not in custody at the time she made the statement in the bedroom, citing Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky. 2006), and second, the statements made in the living room were not in response to any police inquiry designed to elicit an incriminating resp......
  • Easter v. Hendrix, Case No. 3:17-cv-00031-GFVT
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Eastern District of Kentucky
    • October 23, 2018
    ...during an investigative Terry stop does not always mean one is the official custody of law enforcement. See Taylor v. Commonwealth, 182 S.W.3d 521 (Ky. 2006). In the case at hand. Officer Hendrix and Sasser were dispatched to Mr. Easter's residence in response to a phone call made by his mo......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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