The State v. Sanders
| Decision Date | 07 April 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 4527.,4527. |
| Citation | 388 S.C. 292,696 S.E.2d 592 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent,v.James E. SANDERS, Appellant. |
Melissa Jane Reed Kimbrough, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Henry D. McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Kevin Scott Brackett, of York, for Respondent.
James E. Sanders was convicted of the murder of the child of co-defendant Billy Wayne Cope (Child Cope),1 two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and criminal conspiracy and was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus thirty years. He appeals. We affirm.
On January 12, 2002, police responded to a burglary at a house on White Street in Rock Hill. After taking fingerprints, the officer was called to a house down the street where a man of a similar description was attacking Victim 4. 2 On January 12, 2002, at about midnight, Victim 4 was in her room watching a movie when she heard a knock at her door. When Victim 4 opened the door, Sanders pushed the door in and shoved her into the bathroom. The fight continued in the kitchen where Sanders kicked and pushed Victim 4. Sanders also held Victim 4 in a choke hold and tried to get on top of her several times. While Victim 4 was on the floor, Sanders ran into her room and grabbed her purse. As he was trying to leave, Victim 4 grabbed a pan from the stove and hit Sanders with it. He dropped the purse and Victim 4 grabbed her Mace. She tried to spray him, but missed. She then saw a small screwdriver on the floor and swung it at him, hitting him at least once in the shoulder.
Victim 4 had a blood stain on her shirt, which the police took as evidence. When officers searched for the suspect, they spotted Sanders crouched between two buildings around the corner from Victim 4's house. Sanders' clothes and hair matched the description both victims had given and he was bleeding. Police were able to match Sanders' prints with the fingerprints taken at the White Street house. Sanders submitted to a blood test on January 14, 2002.
In September 2002, SLED tested bodily fluids it recovered during its investigation of the murder of Child Cope and found Sanders' DNA matched semen and saliva found on the victim's body. As a result of this discovery, Sanders was indicted on the charge of murdering Child Cope as well as two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and criminal conspiracy. Eventually, Sanders and Cope were tried together on all charges arising from the sexual assault on and murder of Child Cope.3
On June 18, 2004, Sanders filed a motion to suppress the DNA evidence extracted from him in January 2002 because it was unlawfully obtained. Conceding the blood drawn in January 2002 was invalidly obtained, the State moved on August 3, 2004, to have more blood drawn from Sanders.4 Sanders argued the second blood draw was fruit of the poisonous tree of the first draw. Judge Alford determined all the Snyder 5 factors were present: (1) probable cause existed to believe Sanders committed the crime of first degree burglary; (2) there was a clear indication that relevant material evidence would be found; (3) the method used to secure Sanders' blood sample was safe and reliable; and (4) the crime of first degree burglary is serious and the evidence to be collected from Sanders would be important to the investigation. On August 4, 2004, Judge Alford ordered Sanders to submit to a second blood test. Sanders' blood was drawn again on August 5, 2004. The trial court in this case denied Sanders' motion to suppress the DNA evidence based on Judge Alford's analysis under Snyder.
The jury convicted Sanders. This appeal follows.
Sanders argues the trial court erred in admitting the DNA evidence because the first blood draw was invalid and the evidence from the subsequent blood draw, after the August 2004 hearing in the Victim 4 case, should therefore have been suppressed. We disagree.
In State v. Brockman, 339 S.C. 57, 528 S.E.2d 661 (2000), our supreme court articulated the standard of review to apply to a trial court's determination that a search did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The Brockman court rejected the de novo standard set forth in Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996), for reviewing determinations of reasonable suspicion and probable cause in the context of warrantless searches and seizures and reviewed the “trial court's ruling like any other factual finding.” Brockman, 339 S.C. at 66, 528 S.E.2d at 666. Therefore, an appellate court may reverse a trial court's ruling only upon a showing of clear error and must affirm if there is any evidence to support the ruling. See State v. Williams, 351 S.C. 591, 597, 571 S.E.2d 703, 706 (Ct.App.2002).
The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. Amend. IV. A court order that allows the government to procure evidence from a person's body constitutes a search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 767-70, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966). “[T]he Fourth Amendment's proper function is to constrain, not against all intrusions as such, but against intrusions which are not justified in the circumstances, or which are made in an improper manner.” Id. at 768, 86 S.Ct. 1826. “In other words, the questions we must decide ... are whether the police were justified in requiring petitioner to submit to the blood test, and whether the means and procedures employed in taking his blood respected relevant Fourth Amendment standards of reasonableness.” Id.
In In re Snyder, our supreme court set forth the considerations for a warrant or order compelling a bodily intrusion. 308 S.C. 192, 195, 417 S.E.2d 572, 574 (1992). The elements to determine whether probable cause exists to permit the acquisition of such evidence are: (1) probable cause to believe the suspect has committed the crime; (2) a clear indication that relevant material evidence will be found; and (3) the method used to secure the evidence is safe and reliable. Id. The court also approved consideration of the seriousness of the crime and the importance of the evidence to the investigation. Id. The trial court, in issuing such an order, must “balance the necessity for acquiring involuntary nontestimonial identification evidence against constitutional safeguards prohibiting unreasonable bodily intrusions, searches, and seizures.” Id.
We find no error in the trial court's review of probable cause under the Snyder factors in the Victim 4 case. Victim 4's shirt contained blood from the attack, Sanders was found nearby, his appearance matched Victim 4's description, and Sanders was injured when found.
Sanders also argues the trial court erred in permitting the DNA obtained in the Victim 4 case to be used in this case. We disagree.
A blood sample validly obtained in connection with one crime may be used in a subsequent unrelated case. See State v. McCord, 349 S.C. 477, 484, 562 S.E.2d 689, 693 (Ct.App.2002) (); see also Washington v. State, 653 So.2d 362, 364 (Fla.1994) (); Bickley v. State, 227 Ga.App. 413, 489 S.E.2d 167, 169 (1997) (); Patterson v. State, 744 N.E.2d 945, 947 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (); Wilson v. State, 132 Md.App. 510, 752 A.2d 1250, 1272 (2000) ().
We find no error in using the results from the validly obtained blood evidence in the Victim 4 case as evidence in this case.
Sanders argues the trial court erred in failing to direct a verdict on the conspiracy charge based on the lack of evidence supporting an agreement between Sanders and Cope. We disagree.
“In reviewing the denial of a motion for a directed verdict, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the State, and if there is any direct evidence or any substantial circumstantial evidence reasonably tending to prove the guilt of the accused, an appellate court must find that the case was properly submitted to the jury.” Kelsey, 331 S.C. at 62, 502 S.E.2d at 69 (1998). “In ruling on a motion for a directed verdict, the trial court is concerned with the existence of evidence, not its weight.” Id. In addressing the standard of review where the State relies exclusively on circumstantial evidence and a motion for directed verdict is made, our supreme court has stated:
[T]he circuit court is concerned with the existence or nonexistence of evidence, not with its weight. The circuit court should not refuse to grant the directed verdict motion when the evidence merely raises a suspicion that the accused is guilty. “Suspicion” implies a belief or opinion as to guilt based upon facts or circumstances which do not amount to proof. However, a trial judge is not required to find that the evidence infers guilt to the exclusion of any other reasonable hypothesis.
State v. Cherry, 361 S.C. 588, 594, 606 S.E.2d 475, 478 (2004) () (internal citations omitted).
Criminal conspiracy is defined as “a combination between two or more persons for the purpose of accomplishing an unlawful object or a...
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