U.S. v. Weston
| Citation | 443 F.3d 661 |
| Decision Date | 29 March 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-1291.,No. 04-3325.,04-3325.,05-1291. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Lonnie WESTON, Appellant. United States of America, Appellee, v. Sherry Woodard, Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
John Foster Appelquist, argued, Springfield, MO, for Appellant Weston.
Charles M. Kester, argued, Fayetteville, AR, for Appellant Woodard.
Randall D. Eggert, Asst. U.S. Attorney, argued, Springfield, MO, for appellee.
Before SMITH, HEANEY, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
Lonnie Weston and Sherry Woodard appeal their convictions for the manufacture, possession, and distribution of methamphetamine. Weston challenges the legality under the Fourth Amendment of two searches of his home. In addition, Weston requests that the district court's alternative sentence be imposed in light of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). Woodard argues that insufficient evidence supported her conviction. In the alternative, Woodard asserts that the district court erred by not applying the statutory safety valve set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). We remand Weston for resentencing in consideration of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and we affirm the remainder of the district court's judgments.
Law enforcement officers, including Jeff Sutherland, went to Lonnie Weston's residence to investigate reports that stolen vehicles were located there. Weston lived in a mobile home located on a state highway in rural McDonald County, Missouri. Although his property is accessible by the highway, Weston's mobile home cannot be seen from the highway. Weston's property is fenced and a gate blocks the driveway entrance near the highway. The officers admitted that it was possible that the gate was closed, but it is undisputed that the gate was not locked.
Beyond the gate, the driveway winds approximately 200 yards to a split-rail fence located between the end of the driveway and the mobile home. The mobile home is positioned perpendicular to the fence. Thus, one standing at the fence faces an end of the trailer, and the front door and articles near it are not visible from this vantage.
The officers entered the driveway, proceeded to and parked at the split-rail fence. The officers observed many junk vehicles, but they saw no vehicles matching descriptions of those reported to be stolen. Nonetheless, the officers exited their vehicle and proceeded beyond the split-rail fence to the front door of the mobile home. The officers intended to announce their presence and ask Weston about the stolen vehicles.
As the officers approached the front door, they observed propane tanks next to the door and other tanks leaned against the split-rail fence. The officers noticed a blue discoloration on the valves of the tanks, which indicated that they had contained anhydrous ammonia, an ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. One of the tanks had been spray-painted blue in an apparent attempt to conceal the discoloration. The discovery of the tanks was consistent with Sutherland's knowledge of reports that methamphetamine had been manufactured at Weston's home. The officers testified that if methamphetamine had been recently manufactured there would have been a chemical odor but that they smelled no such odor on this day. The officers left the premises to obtain a state search warrant.
Upon searching the premises pursuant to the warrant, officers encountered several persons at the residence with personal use amounts of methamphetamine. Officers also seized physical evidence consistent with the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, including a methamphetamine cookbook and syringes. The evidence seized pursuant to execution of this warrant was admitted against Weston in the proceedings below.
Almost two years later, Officer Sutherland returned to Weston's property to serve a felony warrant on Jody Weston, Lonnie's son, who Sutherland had information might be found at Lonnie's residence. As Sutherland approached the front door, he heard female voices talking inside the residence. Sutherland knocked on the door, announced his presence, and noticed that the conversation inside abruptly halted. He continued to knock, and several minutes later, Desa White, Jody's mother and Lonnie's ex-wife, answered the door. Sutherland asked if Jody was there, and White twice told him no. Sutherland then received consent from White to enter the premises to search for Jody. It is unclear whether Sutherland asked to go inside or if White offered. Sutherland did not ask White if she lived there or if she had the authority to consent to a search of the premises.
In searching the premises for Jody, Sutherland observed several items related to the manufacture of methamphetamine. Sutherland then left the residence and applied for a search warrant based upon what he had seen. After obtaining the warrant, officers returned to the residence and performed a more thorough search, discovering even more items indicative of the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine. The items seized pursuant to execution of this warrant were also admitted into evidence against Weston.
Woodard, Weston's half-sister, lives in a mobile home on the same property as Weston,1 located near the Sims General Store. Woodard owns and operates the store. Notwithstanding its rural location and lack of gasoline pumps, the Sims General Store sold a large quantity of pseudoephedrine pills. Charles Laffoon, the sales agent for Handi-Rak (the company supplying the store s pseudoephedrine), testified that he believed that someone was using the pseudoephedrine to manufacture methamphetamine due to the large amounts purchased. According to Laffoon, Woodard requested the maximum amount of pseudoephedrine that Laffoon could sell each week. Over approximately five months, Woodard ordered 41,904 60-milligram pseudoephedrine pills from Handi-Rak.
Woodard told Laffoon the large quantities of pseudoephedrine were for her personal weight loss; however, co-defendant Craig Guinn testified that Woodard was actually reselling large amounts of the pseudoephedrine to Weston at a premium price. Specifically, Guinn testified that on three separate occasions, he accompanied others2 who obtained cases of pseudoephedrine pills from the Sims General Store. On each occasion, more than an entire case of pills was purchased. On the two occasions when Guinn personally entered the store, Woodard directed the purchasers of the pills to the back storage room where the pills were kept. Guinn further testified that Weston paid Woodard twice the normal price for the pills. On each of these three occasions, Guinn was present while Weston used the pseudoephedrine to manufacture methamphetamine.
Before trial, Weston moved to suppress the evidence seized during the two searches of his home. The district court denied both motions. With respect to the first entry, the court ruled that the officers did not invade Weston's reasonable expectation of privacy by walking to the front door of the residence to advise Weston of their presence and purpose. Once at that lawful vantage, the officers observed in plain view the incriminating bluish discoloration of the propane tanks' valves. As a result, the court concluded that their observations could be used to establish probable cause and did not trigger the exclusionary rule. With respect to the second entry, the district court held that it was reasonable for the officers to believe that White had apparent authority to consent to the search of Weston's home to look for Jody Weston and that the ensuing search did not exceed the scope of her consent. Consequently, the court held that Sutherland's observations could be used to establish probable cause for the subsequent search warrant.
A jury found Weston guilty of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and 846, as well as possession with intent to distribute the same, in violation of §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A). The district court sentenced Weston to 360 months' imprisonment on both counts, to run concurrently in September 2004. This was the minimum sentence permitted by the then mandatory United States Sentencing Guidelines due to his status as a career offender. The district court also issued an alternative sentence of 240 months, the statutory minimum, in the event that Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), was extended to the Guidelines.
The same jury found Woodard guilty of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and 846, and conspiracy to distribute pseudoephedrine having reasonable cause to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(c)(2), and 846. Woodard's offense level of 34, combined with a criminal history category of I, resulted in a Guidelines sentencing range of 151 to 188 months. After deciding that Woodard did not qualify for the statutory safety valve set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), the district court considered the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and determined that the statutory minimum, 120 months' imprisonment, was reasonable.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. IV. The Fourth Amendment's protection extends to the curtilage surrounding a home. United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294, 301, 107 S.Ct. 1134, 94 L.Ed.2d 326 (1987). The government concedes that the officers entered the curtilage of Weston's home. The issue, then, is whether the officers' entry...
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