Watkins v. State
| Decision Date | 06 January 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 82A01–1510–CR–1624.,82A01–1510–CR–1624. |
| Citation | 67 N.E.3d 1092 |
| Parties | Mario Deon WATKINS, Appellant–Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Plaintiff. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Matthew J. McGovern, Anderson, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Monika Prekopa Talbot, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
[1] Mario Deon Watkins appeals his convictions for two counts of possession of a controlled substance as class A misdemeanors, possession of cocaine as a level 6 felony, possession of marijuana as a class B misdemeanor, and maintaining a common nuisance as a level 6 felony. Watkins raises two issues, one of which we find dispositive and which we revise and restate as whether the court abused its discretion or erred in admitting evidence discovered as a result of a search. We reverse.
[2] At some point, a confidential informant told Evansville Police Detective Chris Goergen that he had observed cocaine, marijuana, and a firearm at a residence in Evansville. In the late afternoon or early evening on December 16, 2014, Detective Goergen spoke with the informant who had seen the firearm in the residence earlier that day. The informant confirmed through a photo that Watkins was the individual he saw inside the residence with narcotics and a gun.
[3] On December 17, 2014, Detective Goergen completed an affidavit for a search warrant, which alleged that cocaine and other evidence was being concealed in or about the premises and curtilage located at 314 W. Illinois Street in Evansville. The affidavit alleged:
Confidential Exhibits at 28–29. The affidavit also alleged:
Id. at 33. The trial court granted a search warrant.
[4] Detective Goergen relayed the address, the names of the persons who were possibly inside the building, and that there was a firearm and cocaine seen inside at some point the day before to the assisting investigators and the Evansville SWAT team. In the briefing, the SWAT team were informed that there was a woman and three men inside and a firearm. Evansville Police Detective Michael Gray, a member of the SWAT team, decided with other members of the team how to execute the entry into the house based on information that a gun was seen in the house within the last twenty-four hours, that there were narcotics in the house, and the criminal history of the possible suspects.
[5] On December 17, 2014, Detective Goergen surveilled the house for "an hour, an hour and a half ... give or take, 15, 30 minutes or so," prior to executing the warrant. Transcript at 34. Another detective surveilling the property informed Detective Goergen that he had seen someone matching Watkins's description exit the house and go out to the back of the house with trash cans and then re-enter.
[6] The SWAT team rode in a Lenco Bearcat that followed a patrol vehicle to the residence. At least a dozen officers were involved. Upon arrival and prior to entry, three officers and a police vehicle approached the rear of the residence and at least nine officers, most armed with assault weapons, approached the front of the residence. At 10:30 a.m., the police knocked on the residence and one of the officers announced, "Police–Search Warrant–Police–Search Warrant," and another officer announced over a loudspeaker State's Exhibit 1 at 3:55–4:00. One second later, the SWAT team knocked down the door with a battering ram. State's Exhibit 1 at 4.01.
[7] Evansville Police Officer Jacob Taylor, a member of the SWAT team, had a GoPro camera attached to his helmet and recorded the entry. He was responsible for deploying a "flash bang," which is a diversionary device that emits a bright flash and a loud bang. Transcript at 66. He testified that he conducted a quick peek inside, which was the standard procedure, and saw a couch, a TV, and some other things that were "kind of past the couch and then just next to the couch was the floor and there wasn't anything in the floor," and he did not see any children. Id. at 67. Detective Gray testified that he paused at the front door, "actually kind of worked the angle, as [he] was standing covering the front door [he] could see down the right wall on the right side of the room but [he] couldn't see what was to the left" and did not know who was in the room. Id. at 55. One of the officers announced: "Flash bang, flash bang, flash bang."1 State's Exhibit 1 at 4:00–4:05. Officer Taylor set or "basically dropped" or tossed the flash bang,2 which has a time delay of one and one-half seconds and is designed to interrupt a person's ability to observe, decide, and act, "right there at the front door, the bottom left hand corner just inside the residence." Transcript at 56, 83. The device activated six inches inside the door and emitted a "pretty loud" noise and a flash of light. Id. at 59. After the flash bang grenade was deployed, Detective Gray entered the residence and picked up a nine-month old baby crying on top of blankets in a playpen just inside and "very close to the door." Id. at 332. The room also contained a baby's car seat and a toddler's activity center in the line of sight of the front door. One of the officers moved the car seat with his foot to proceed further into the residence. Officer Taylor took the baby out of the house, handed the baby to a woman dressed in street clothes, and then returned to the house. Meanwhile, other officers smashed in the kitchen window and threw another flash bang grenade inside that filled the room with smoke and set off the smoke detectors.
[8] Detective Gray encountered Watkins laying on a bed in a room towards the middle of the house. Watkins offered no resistance, and Detective Gray and Officer Kennedy detained him until the SWAT team completed clearing the house. Two other men and a woman were discovered in the back of the house. The police also broke open a locked door leading to the laundry room.
[9] Before receiving his Miranda warnings and while the police were bringing him out and sitting him on the curb outside, Watkins stated that everything in the house belonged to him and that "they have nothing to do with it." Id. at 313. Detective Gray read Watkins his Miranda rights, and Watkins said that he understood his rights. Detective Goergen asked him if he had been advised of his Miranda warnings, and he again stated that everything in the house was his, that he could show him where everything was, and that he could give him information on other drug dealers in return for not taking him to jail or charging him. The police discovered narcotics and marijuana, a digital scale, a cut corner baggie, cocaine, and a .40 caliber handgun.
[10] On December 19, 2014, the State charged Watkins with Count I, dealing in a schedule II controlled substance as a level 2 felony; Count II, dealing in cocaine as a level 3 felony; Count III, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a level 4 felony; Count IV, dealing in a schedule IV controlled substance as a level 4 felony; Count V, dealing in marijuana as a level 6 felony; Count VI, maintaining a common nuisance as a level 6 felony; and Count VII, neglect of a dependent as a level 6 felony. On August 25, 2015, the State filed an amended Count II alleging that the offense was committed in the presence of a minor.
[11] Watkins filed a motion to suppress on March 6, 2015, and an amended motion on April 13, 2015. He alleged that the seizure of the items was without lawful authority because the search was conducted pursuant to an invalid warrant, the manner of the search and execution of the warrant violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article...
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