FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
PAUL J. WATTS JEFFREY A. MODISETT
PETE S. RAVENTOS Attorney General of Indiana
Watts Law Office, P.C.
Spencer, Indiana GEOFF DAVIS
ARTHUR THADDEUS PERRY
Deputy Attorneys General
Indianapolis, Indiana
GARY MICHAEL NEWBY, )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 88A04-9711-CR-483
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
Calloway, during which he discovered approximately two ounces of cocaine, but no
weapons. Wilkerson advised Calloway of his Miranda rights and told him that it would be
in his best interest if he consented to a search of the vehicle, which belonged to his wife.
Calloway eventually signed a consent to search the car, after which Wilkerson asked him if
the officers would find any contraband in the vehicle. To avoid having the vehicle damaged
during the search, Calloway told Wilkerson that there were drugs in the console. The search
of the vehicle revealed the presence of an additional two ounces of cocaine and one-half
ounce of marijuana.
Calloway was then asked by Sergeant Wilkerson for the name of the individual from
whom he had purchased the drugs; however, Calloway was initially reluctant to answer.
Wilkerson proceeded to question Calloway about his family, informed him of the possible
penalty for his drug offense if prosecuted and asked him to cooperate by identifying his
source. Calloway eventually agreed to cooperate with the officers and to serve as an
informant. Calloway then identified his drug supplier as Newby. He further stated, that on
the following day, he planned to deliver $3,000.00 to Newby for the cocaine the officers had
discovered in his vehicle and that he also expected to purchase five pounds of marijuana
from him. In addition, Calloway described Newby's residence and told the officers that he
had seen automatic weapons there in the past.
After receiving this information, Sergeant Wilkerson arranged to have Calloway
deliver the $3,000.00 to Newby on May 6, 1997. That morning, Calloway made a telephone
call to Newby, which was monitored and recorded. There was no mention of either drugs
or money on the audible portions of the tape recording. Later that day, Indiana State Trooper
Radford Guinn drove to Newby's residence to verify Calloway's description of and
directions to Newby's home. Trooper Guinn then signed an affidavit for a search warrant
of Newby's residence.
Next,
Trooper Guinn arranged to meet Judge Frank Newkirk, Jr., so that he could
review the affidavit for the search warrant. Judge Newkirk signed the warrant but indicated
verbally that the warrant should not be executed until after the $3,000.00 had been delivered.
Meanwhile, officers searched Calloway, wired him with a tape recording device and gave
him $3,000.00 with recorded serial numbers.
Calloway then proceeded to Newby's residence. After discovering that Newby was
not there, he reported back to the officers. Calloway returned a second time and was inside
Newby's house for approximately forty-five minutes. He then left without the $3,000.00.
Calloway did not purchase any drugs.
At some point, Sergeant Wilkerson, who was standing by with the search crew,
received word that the money had been delivered. On Wilkerson's command, the search
crew of Indiana State Police officers and ATF agents entered Newby's residence and
executed the warrant. Pursuant to the search, the officers and agents recovered fully-
automatic machine guns, a semi-automatic firearm, approximately one hundred pounds of
what appeared to be marijuana, cocaine and various drug paraphernalia.
The officers
discovered cash hidden in different areas of the residence
and also recovered cash from
Newby's person, some of which matched the marked bills the officers had provided
Calloway. The officers then arrested Newby, and he gave a statement to the police.See footnote 2
2
The
State charged Newby with nineteen counts of various drug and weapons offenses.
set forth in the affidavit . . . there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime
will be found in a particular place.'"
Jaggers v. State, 687 N.E.2d 180, 181 (Ind. 1997)
(quoting Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 2332, 76 L. Ed. 2d 527, 548
(1983)). When reviewing a magistrate's decision to issue a warrant, the reviewing court
applies a deferential standard. Lloyd v. State, 677 N.E.2d 71, 73 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997), trans.
denied. We will affirm the magistrate's decision to issue the warrant if the magistrate had
a "substantial basis" for concluding that probable cause to search existed. Id. "Substantial
basis" requires us to focus on whether the reasonable inferences drawn from the totality of
the evidence support the probable cause determination. Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 181-82.
The United States Supreme Court has held that uncorroborated hearsay from a source
whose credibility is itself unknown, standing alone, cannot support a finding of probable
cause to issue a search warrant. Gates, 462 U.S. at 227, 103 S. Ct. at 2326, 76 L. Ed. 2d at
542. The federal test for ensuring the reliability of a hearsay statement in a probable cause
determination allows the use of hearsay only if the totality of the circumstances corroborates
the hearsay.
Lloyd, 677 N.E.2d at 74 (citing Gates,
462 U.S. at 230-31, 103 S. Ct. at 2328-
29, 76 L. Ed. 2d at 543-44). The reliability of hearsay can be established in a number of
ways, including where: (1) the informant has given correct information in the past, (2)
independent police investigation corroborates the informant's statements, (3) some basis for
the informant's knowledge is demonstrated, or (4) the informant predicts conduct or
activities by the suspect that are not ordinarily easily predicted. Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 182.
Further, Indiana Code § 35-33-5-2(b) provides:
(1) contain reliable information establishing the credibility of the source and
of each of the declarants of the hearsay and establishing that there is a factual
basis for the information furnished; or
(2) contain information that establishes that the totality of the circumstances
corroborates the hearsay.
In this case, Trooper Guinn's affidavit was based on "hearsay within hearsay," i.e.,
the officer seeking the warrant was reporting what Calloway had allegedly told Sergeant
Wilkerson.
See Ind. Evidence Rule 801(c) ("'Hearsay' is a statement, other than one made
by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered into evidence to prove the
truth of the matter asserted.").
Specifically, Trooper Guinn's affidavit stated in part:
2. That in the course of his duties as such your affiant received information
from Sgt. Myron Wilkerson of the Indiana State Police that a confidential
informant had stated to Wilkerson that he had observed and obtained cocaine
from Gary Newby at his residence within the past 72 hours. Wilkerson also
advised your affiant that the confidential informant had observed fully
automatic weapons at the Newby residence within the past 72 hours and had
received marijuana from Newby within the past 72 hours.
3. Wilkerson further advised your affiant that he believed the confidential
informant to be a credible and reliable witness because the informant had
advised him where drugs were located, and that drugs had been located in that
location, that the confidential informant had described to Wilkerson the Newby
residence, the location of the residence and the vehicles located at the
residence. The description, location of the Newby residence and description
of the vehicles given by the confidential informant [were] corroborated by
your affiant on May 6, 1997.
4. That your affiant anticipates that on May 6, 1997, officers of the Indiana State Police narcotics unit with the confidential informant will make a controlled delivery of $3,000 cash to Gary Newby for the payment of a previous narcotics purchase of approximately two ounces of cocaine which the confidential informant stated occurred on May 5, 1997. Two ounces of
cocaine were located in the confidential informant's possession on May 5,
1997.
9. That Sgt. Myron Wilkerson has in the past furnished information to your
affiant that has proven reliable and credible and led to the arrest and conviction
of several individuals and to the seizure of controlled substances and evidence
of crimes.
(emphasis added).
believing it to be true." Jervis v. State, 679 N.E.2d 875, 878 (Ind. 1997) (citing Ind.
Evidence Rule 804(b)).
In this case, paragraph three specifically addressed Calloway's credibility. In
particular, the affidavit stated that Sergeant Wilkerson believed Calloway to be credible and
reliable because he had advised Wilkerson where drugs were located and drugs had been
located there. However, the issuing magistrate could not have reasonably inferred from that
statement, as alleged in the affidavit, that Calloway had implicated himself in criminal
activity.
Further, when Calloway gave this information, Sergeant Wilkerson had already
discovered drugs on Calloway, and Calloway had consented to a search of his wife's vehicle.
The discovery of additional drugs was both imminent and inevitable.
Calloway merely told
the officers where the drugs would be found to avoid having the vehicle damaged during the
search. This statement made by Calloway is not a statement against penal interest.
At oral argument, the State asserted that the affidavit contained other statements
against penal interest sufficient to establish Calloway's credibility. Specifically, the affidavit
stated that Calloway admitted to Sergeant Wilkerson that: (1) he had obtained cocaine and
marijuana from Newby within the past 72 hours, (2) he was to deliver $3,000.00 as payment
for the cocaine the police recovered from him and (3) he expected to purchase five pounds
of marijuana from Newby on the following day.
In United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S. Ct. 2075, 29 L. Ed. 2d 723 (1971), the
United States Supreme Court addressed whether statements against penal interest can be used
to establish the credibility of a confidential informant for purposes of establishing probable
cause. In that case, a federal tax investigator's search warrant affidavit stated: (1) the
defendant had a reputation known by the affiant as being involved in the trafficking of
"nontaxpaid distilled spirits;" (2) the affiant had received numerous tips from various
individuals regarding this activity; (3) the affiant had discovered a "stash of illicit whiskey"
in an abandoned house over which the defendant had control; and (4) a "prudent"
confidential informant had told the affiant that he had purchased whiskey from the defendant
for over a period of two years and had made a purchase from the defendant in the defendant's
home within the past two weeks. Harris, 403 U.S. at 575, 91 S. Ct. at 2078, 29 L. Ed. 2d at
729. In holding that there was a substantial basis for believing that the informant's tip was
truthful, the plurality concluded, in part, that admissions of crimes "carry their own indicia
of credibility" that are sufficient to support a finding of probable cause for the issuance of
a search warrant.See footnote 6
6
Id. at 583, 91 S. Ct. at 2082, 29 L. Ed. 2d at 734.
However, in his dissent, Justice Harlan expressed concerns about the plurality's
rationale that an informant's declaration against interest "tends to indicate" that the substance
of the informant's statements is accurate. Id., 403 U.S. at 595, 91 S. Ct. at 2087, 29 L. Ed.
2d at 740 (Harlan, J., dissenting). In part, Justice Harlan wrote:
But where the declarant is also a police informant it seems at least plausible
to assume, without further enlightenment either as to the Government's
general practice or as to the particular facts of this case, that the declarant-
confidant at least believed he would receive absolution from prosecution for
his confessed crime in return for his statement. Thus, some showing that the
informant did not possess illusions of immunity might well be essential.
476, 376 N.E.2d 1117, 1119 (1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 1080 (1978)
; Nash v. State, 433
N.E.2d 807, 809-10 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982). In those cases, there was independent
corroboration of facts relayed by the informant. For example,
in
Houser, 678 N.E.2d at 100,
the police officers who sought the search warrant conducted an independent investigation of
the crime scene and observed facts relayed to them by the informant that could be known
only to someone involved in the crime.
In Ross, 268 Ind. at 476, 376 N.E.2d at 1119
, our
supreme court determined that the informant's statements to police about how her children's
father had beaten the children to death and then buried them in the back yard combined with
police corroboration of facts relayed by the informant, including the birthdates of the
children, were sufficient to establish the informant's credibility.
Finally, in Nash, 433
N.E.2d at 810
,
a juvenile informant admitted he had committed a burglary which implicated
the defendant and the facts surrounding the burglary were independently corroborated by the
victim.
In this case, Sergeant Wilkerson received information about Newby from Calloway,
an individual whom he had not met until May 5, 1997. Neither Sergeant Wilkerson nor
Trooper Guinn corroborated facts relayed to them by Calloway that connected Newby to
illegal activity.See footnote 7
7
See Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 184 (uncorroborated hearsay statements not
sufficient to establish anonymous informant's credibility).
Unlike the cases discussed above,
the affidavit contained no other facts corroborating Calloway's statements which, standing
alone, were insufficient to convert a stranger into a credible informant. See Gates, 462 U.S.
at 227, 103 S. Ct. at 2326, 76 L. Ed. 2d at 542 (uncorroborated hearsay from a source whose
credibility is unknown in itself cannot support a finding of probable cause to issue a warrant).
Still, the State maintains that Calloway's credibility was established by his description
of Newby's residence, its location and the vehicles he had observed there and that Guinn
later corroborated that information. We disagree. The confirmation of "easily obtained facts
and conditions existing at the time of the tip" is insufficient to establish an informant's
credibility. Gates, 462 U.S. at 245, 103 S. Ct. at 2335, 76 L. Ed. 2d at 552;
Bradley v. State,
609 N.E.2d 420, 423 (Ind. 1993)
. Here, the facts describing Newby's residence were easily
observable and within the public domain. See Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 184 (anonymous
informant's credibility not established when police officers corroborated location of
defendant's residence and marijuana patches growing nearby). Anyone who knew where
Newby lived could have reported these facts to the police. Moreover, Calloway's description
of Newby's home did not indicate illegal activity. Thus, we conclude that Calloway's
credibility was not established by Guinn's verification of the description and location of
Newby's residence.
The State also contends that the totality of the circumstances corroborated the hearsay
statements. For example, the State asserts that Calloway's ability to give a specific
description of the guns he observed in Newby's possession demonstrates his credibility.
While a claim of firsthand observation may ordinarily boost the credibility of the assertion,
Calloway's statement of firsthand knowledge could just as easily have been fabricated to
make his other claims appear more credible. See Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 184. Absent
corroboration
, Calloway's claims regarding the presence of guns, no matter how specific,
amount to little more than an anonymous tip. Cf. Edwards v. State, 682 N.E.2d 800, 804-805
(Ind. Ct. App. 1997) (warrant properly issued where police conducted independent
surveillance in order to corroborate informant's tip that defendant was trafficking drugs from
his home), trans. denied.
The State further argues that Trooper Guinn's statement that the street value of
cocaine is $1,500.00 per ounce corroborated Calloway's claim that he owed Newby
$3,000.00 for the two ounces of cocaine recovered from his vehicle. The fact that Calloway
knew the street value of cocaine did not connect Newby either to the cocaine discovered in
Calloway's vehicle or to the alleged $3,000.00 debt. Finally, the State contends that the
affidavit foretold an event that did take place, the delivery of the $3,000.00. However, no
unlawful transaction occurred. There was no quid pro quo for the cash. The unilateral
delivery of cash, without more, does not support an inference that Newby was engaging in
criminal conduct.
Cash is not contraband unless it can be connected with some illegal
activity.See footnote 8
8
While the delivery of $3,000.00 in cash may raise a suspicion, it does not approach
probable cause.
In any event, as we discussed earlier, the occurrence of a condition
precedent alone cannot form a sufficient basis for probable cause.
In sum, the affidavit for the search warrant did not contain facts sufficient to establish
Calloway's credibility. Nor did the officers corroborate any information relayed to them by
Calloway that connected Newby with alleged unlawful activity. Considering the totality of
the circumstances, we conclude that the determination of probable cause in this case lacked
a substantial basis and that the search of Newby's residence was unlawful.See footnote 9
9
(citations omitted). In addition, Indiana's statutory good faith exception has been recognized
repeatedly by the courts of this state. See, e.g., Lloyd v. State, 677 N.E.2d 71, 74 (Ind. Ct.
App. 1997), trans. denied; State v. Johnson, 669 N.E.2d 411, 412 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996), trans.
denied; Cutter v. State, 646 N.E.2d 704, 714 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995), trans. denied. Because
Newby has provided us with no basis for holding that Indiana's statutory good faith
exception violates Article I, § 11 of the Indiana Constitution, we conclude that the exception
passes state constitutional muster.
misled by information in the affidavit that the affiant either knew was false or would have
known was false except for his reckless disregard for the truth, or (2) the warrant was based
on an affidavit so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render belief in its existence
unreasonable. Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 184 (citing Leon, 468 U.S at 923, 104 S. Ct. at 3421,
82 L. Ed. 2d at 699); Johnson, 669 N.E.2d at 412.
Here, information contained in Trooper Guinn's affidavit was misleading. As we
have previously noted, paragraph three implies that Sergeant Wilkerson had used Calloway
as an informant in the past when, in fact, he had not. Calloway was a stranger. While
detained, he merely gave consent to search his wife's vehicle and then indicated where drugs
were hidden to avoid possible damage to it. This mischaracterization of Calloway as a
credible and reliable informant was critical in that it was the only representation in the
affidavit that went directly to Calloway's credibility.
Nor did the affidavit fully disclose the context in which Calloway gave the statements
to the police. Specifically, the issuing magistrate did not know from the facts contained in
the affidavit that Calloway provided such information only after having been apprehended,
searched and questioned by the police. Neither did the affidavit inform the magistrate that
Wilkerson had warned Calloway that if he did not cooperate by naming his source, he would
be prosecuted for drug violations. These circumstances, which disclosed Calloway's
motivation for naming his source, were critical to an independent magistrate's probable cause
determination.
cause to obtain it."). Moreover, the same officers that provided and presented the misleading
information in the affidavit actively participated in the subsequent search of Newby's
residence. We conclude that the search was not executed in objective good faith reliance on
the warrant.
In the administration of justice, it is imperative that judicial officers have complete
information when deciding whether there is probable cause to issue a search warrant. This
is particularly true when the decision is based upon hearsay testimony and the totality of the
circumstances. See Ind. Code § 35-33-5-2(b). "Totality of the circumstances" means just
that, not information that has been selected with the goal of making the judicial finding of
probable cause more likely. Nor does "totality of the circumstances" allow the omission of
relevant information that could affect an independent judicial determination.
As our supreme
court in Jaggers stated:
In applying Leon, our cases have stressed the importance of accurately
presenting all relevant information to the magistrate. Only then can the
magistrate make the neutral and detached determination the Fourth
Amendment requires of whether probable cause exists.
Jaggers, 687 N.E.2d at 185 (citations omitted) (emphasis added).
Here, law enforcement authorities recovered a motherlode of contraband from
Newby's residence. Unfortunately, the evidence was seized pursuant to an unlawful warrant
and is inadmissible. That is the price we must pay to assure that millions of law abiding
Indiana residents remain secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. As Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes wrote in 1927, "I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than
that the Government should play an ignoble part." Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438,
470, 48 S. Ct. 564, 575, 72 L. Ed. 944, 953 (1927) (Holmes, J., dissenting). We are,
therefore, constrained to hold that all evidence obtained as a result of the illegal search is
inadmissible at trial, including the cash, drug paraphernalia, drugs and weapons.See footnote 11
11
Converted by Andrew Scriven