Williamson v. State

• Decision Date: 01 July 2004
• Docket Number: No. 2003-IA-01456-SCT.,2003-IA-01456-SCT.
• Citation: 876 So.2d 353
• Parties: Gregory Scott WILLIAMSON v. STATE of Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

876 So.2d 353

Gregory Scott WILLIAMSON v. STATE of Mississippi.

No. 2003-IA-01456-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

July 1, 2004.

J. Stewart Parrish, Meridian, Attorney for Appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Wayne Snuggs, Attorney for Appellee.

EN BANC.

ON PETITION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL

DICKINSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Pursuant to M.R.A.P.5, we grant Gregory Scott Williamson's petition to bring this interlocutory appeal, and we consider the merits of that appeal. This is an interlocutory appeal of a trial judge's order denying the defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of an anonymous tip. Because we find the actions of the law enforcement officials were lawful and reasonable, we affirm and remand.

BACKGROUND FACTS

¶ 2. At 9:36 a.m., on August 27, 2002, Agent Overstreet of the South Mississippi Drug Task Force heard over his police radio from the dispatcher for the Police Department of the City of Waynesboro, the following information: (1) two white males had come into Campbell's Big Star and purchased "large quantities" of Pseudoephedrine (also known as Sudafed); (2) these two individuals had also attempted to purchase Sudafed from the Family Dollar Store; (3) The two white males left Campbell's Big Star in a white van with license number 4BA 347, and headed west on Highway 84, also known as Azalea Drive.

¶ 3. Overstreet understood that the information obtained from the dispatcher was provided to the police department from the two retail stores, but the identity of the callers was unknown.

¶ 4. In response to the information, Overstreet proceed to Azalea Drive, where he spotted a white van in the parking lot of Fred's Dollar Store (also known to sell Sudafed). After verifying that the white van had two white males inside, and the tag number matched the number provided to the police, Overstreet called for back-up. When it arrived, he pulled up behind the van, got out of his vehicle and walked up to the van.

¶ 5. Overstreet requested the driver (Gregory Scott Williamson) to produce his driver's license, and informed the suspects that two Waynesboro stores had informed the police that two white males had purchased, or attempted to purchase, pseudoephedrine. When asked why they were purchasing Sudafed in Waynesboro when they lived in Petal, the suspects provided "evasive" responses.

¶ 6. Overstreet then asked the occupants of the van, including Williamson, to exit the van and, upon further questioning, concluded that the occupants were continuing to provide evasive answers. He then requested consent to search the van, informing Williamson that if permission was not granted, a search warrant would be obtained. Williamson consented.

¶ 7. Upon searching the van, Overstreet discovered several boxes of Sudafed and a fuel additive alcohol (gas treatment). Both these chemicals constitute "precursors" used in the illegal manufacture of controlled substances. See Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-313(1)(a)(i). Additionally, Overstreet discovered receipts from several Waynesboro stores for Sudafed purchases. The receipt from Campbell's Big Star was time-stamped at 9:16 a.m.

ANALYSIS

¶ 8. Williamson does not challenge the search of the van. The issue he presents us is "whether an anonymous tip which gives a vehicle description, direction of travel, and tag number, provides a sufficient basis for police officers who have independently observed no indication of ongoing or imminent criminal activity to make a stop...."

¶ 9. Facing a similar set of facts and speaking through Presiding Judge (now Chief Judge) King, the Court of Appeals provided an excellent analysis in Shannon v. State, 739 So.2d 468 (Miss.Ct.App.1999). Rejecting a motion to suppress evidence obtained by a police officer who questioned the defendant without probable cause for an arrest, id. at 471, Judge King quoted with approval the following language:

Police activity in preventing crime, detecting violations, making identifications, and in apprehending criminals may be divided into three types of action: (1) Voluntary conversation: An officer may approach a person for the purpose of engaging in a voluntary conversation no matter what facts are known to the officer since it involves no force and no detention of the person interviewed; (2) Investigative stop and temporary detention: To stop and temporarily detain is not an arrest, and the cases hold that given reasonable circumstances an officer may stop and detain a person to resolve an ambiguous situation without having sufficient knowledge to justify an arrest; (3) Arrest: An arrest may be made only when the officer has probable cause.

Singletary v. State, 318 So.2d 873, 876 (Miss.1975). In Shannon the Court of Appeals then stated:

Police officers have the authority to detain a person without actually arresting him for investigatory purposes. Haddox v. State, 636 So.2d 1229, 1234 (Miss.1994). "[G]iven reasonable circumstances an officer may stop and detain a person to resolve an ambiguous situation without having sufficient knowledge to justify an arrest." Estes v. State, 533 So.2d 437, 441 (Miss.1988) (quoting Griffin v. State, 339 So.2d 550, 553 (Miss.1976)). A reasonable suspicion is all that is required to effectuate a `stop and frisk'. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).

Shannon, 739 So.2d at 471.

¶ 10. The United States Supreme Court has held that "there are situations in which an anonymous tip, suitably corroborated, exhibits `sufficient indicia of reliability to provide reasonable suspicion to make the investigatory stop.'" Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, 270, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254 (2000) (quoting Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 329, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 110 L.Ed.2d 301 (1990)).

¶ 11. This Court has also held that "[r]easonable cause for an investigatory stop may be based on an officer's personal observation or on an informant's tip if it bears indicia of reliability." Floyd v. City of Crystal Springs, 749 So.2d 110, 118 (Miss.1999). "Reasonable suspicion is dependent upon the content of the information possessed by the detaining officer as well as its degree of reliability." Id. "Both factors — quantity and quality — are considered in the `totality of the circumstances'." Id.

¶ 12. Also, in Floyd v. State, 500 So.2d 989 (Miss.1986), this Court stated that:

[a]n investigatory stop may be made even where officials have no probable cause to make an arrest as long as they have "reasonable suspicion, grounded in specific and articulable facts, that a person they encounter was involved in or is wanted in connection with a completed felony ... or `some objective manifestation that the person stopped is, or is about to be engaged in criminal activity.'"

Id. at 992 (quoting McCray v. State, 486 So.2d 1247, 1249-50 (Miss.1986)).

¶ 13. The information provided to Overstreet included the color of the van, the number and race of occupants, the license plate number and the direction of travel, including the name of the street. All of these details were verified by Overstreet prior to the investigatory questioning.

¶ 14. Overstreet testified that retail stores frequently call the police department when customers purchase, or attempt to purchase, large quantities of Sudafed.

¶ 15. At the suppression hearing, the trial judge observed that

[a] retail establishment has a vested interest in being truthful in their dealings with authorities as they are an integral part of the community. There was a description of the van, with the occupants, with a specific tag number headed West on Azaelea Drive. Agent Overstreet had sufficient information in the form of this tip to have a reasonable suspicion that the Defendants had committed a crime.

We find no error in that decision.

CONCLUSION

¶ 16. The trial court in the case sub judice found that the stop was based upon reliable information and was reasonable. We agree. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress evidence, and we remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

¶ 17. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.

SMITH, C.J., WALLER AND COBB, P.JJ., EASLEY, CARLSON AND RANDOLPH, JJ., CONCUR. GRAVES, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION. DIAZ, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.

GRAVES, Justice, Dissenting.

¶ 18. This is an interlocutory appeal of the Wayne County Circuit Court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to an illegal stop. The majority of this Court ignores clearly established precedent and carves out new standards in what appears to be an attempt to address the social problem created by the manufacture and use of illegal drugs. The majority apparently intends to silently overrule a long line of cases from both this Court and the United States Supreme Court and to encourage government intrusion into the lives of private citizens without probable cause. While I agree that there is a serious social problem, I respectfully submit that violating constitutional rights to achieve a desired result is not the appropriate course of action. Because I disagree and find that the illegally obtained evidence should be suppressed, I must respectfully dissent.

¶ 19. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 3, Section 23 of the Mississippi Constitution express a person's right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures, including investigatory stops of a vehicle. Investigatory stops are permitted if the officer has a reasonable suspicion, grounded in specific and articulable facts, that the suspect was involved in or is wanted in connection with a felony. See United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981)

; Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Floyd v. City of Crystal Springs, 749 So.2d 110 (Miss.1999); Floyd v. State, 500 So.2d 989 (Miss.1986). See also United States v. Morales, 191 F.3d 602 (5th Cir.1999); McCray...