Opinion ID: 1306155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: errors assigned by defendants barnett:

Text: Defendants Barnett assign as error the denial of their motions to suppress as evidence items seized as a result of a search of the premises of Margaret Ware. These assignments have no merit. Judge Johnson found as facts that: On 13 August 1980 Officer Guerette received information indicating that defendants Barnett had participated in the robbery in question; upon checking the warrant desk at the Charlotte Police Department, he discovered outstanding arrest warrants charging defendants Barnett with rape; on the morning of 14 August he and several other officers went to three addresses on Katonah Avenue looking for defendants Barnett in order to serve the rape warrants on them; upon arriving at 323 Katonah Avenue, the officers knocked and announced their presence; defendant Lester Barnett came to the door, looked out the window, and then retreated to a rear bedroom; shortly thereafter they were admitted into the living room by Margaret Ware; the officers asked for defendants Barnett; defendant Ricky Barnett was seated on a sofa in the living room but denied that he was Ricky Barnett; one of the officers knew the person on the sofa as Ricky Barnett and arrested him pursuant to the rape warrant; defendant Ricky Barnett was also informed that he was a suspect in the robbery-murder at the Nations Ford Road convenience store; the officers were then told that defendant Lester Barnett was in the rear bedroom; Officer Frye went to the bedroom, arrested defendant Lester Barnett pursuant to the rape warrant and informed him that he was a suspect in the robbery-murder; defendant Lester Barnett was moved to the living room; the officers inquired about the ownership of the house; Margaret Ware stated she was renting the house from David Willis, she lived there with her daughter and although the Barnetts stayed there on occasion, they paid no rent; Ms. Ware then consented, both verbally and in writing, for the officers to search the premises; the officers found a .32 caliber pistol under the bed in the room in which defendant Lester Barnett was arrested and a .22 caliber pistol and a sawed-off shotgun under the cushion of a chair in the living room; they also found the other items sought to be suppressed; and the search of the premises did not disclose any clothing or personal effects belonging to either defendant. Pursuant to these findings, Judge Johnson concluded defendants Barnett had no standing to contest the search of Margaret Ware's house, to which she had consented; and in any event the search and seizure were incident to a lawful arrest of these defendants. The findings of fact above summarized are fully supported by the evidence presented at the voir dire hearing on defendants' motions to suppress, particularly the testimony of Officers Guerette and Frye and Margaret Ware. Thus, the findings are binding on this Court. State v. Herndon, supra, 292 N.C. 424, 233 S.E.2d 557. The question remaining is whether Judge Johnson's findings support his conclusion that the evidence was admissible. We hold they do. Assuming arguendo that defendants Barnett have standing to protest the search of the residence at 323 Katonah Avenue, a point we do not decide, the question becomes whether the search was permissible on either the ground that Ms. Ware had consented to it or that it was incident to a lawful arrest. In United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 94 S.Ct. 988, 39 L.Ed.2d 242 (1974), the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle that when the prosecution seeks to justify a warrantless search by proof of voluntary consent, it is not limited to proof that consent was given by defendant, but may show that permission to search was obtained from a third party who possessed common authority over or other sufficient relationship to the premises or effects sought to be inspected. Id. at 171-72, 94 S.Ct. at 993-994 (footnote omitted). In Matlock the defendant was arrested in the yard of a home in which he lived. The home was leased by a Mr. and Mrs. Marshall. It was occupied by Mrs. Marshall, several of her children including the defendant's girlfriend, Mrs. Gayle Graff, the defendant, and Gayle's three-year-old son. After arresting the defendant, several officers went to the house and requested permission to search the house for money and a gun. Mrs. Graff voluntarily consented to the search of the house, including the bedroom she shared with the defendant. The money sought was found in a diaper bag in the only closet in the bedroom. The significant question in Matlock was whether there was sufficient evidence of Mrs. Graff's common authority over the bedroom to render permissible the search based on her consent. The Court concluded, id. at 177-78, 94 S.Ct. at 996: It appears to us, given the admissibility of Mrs. Graff's and [defendant's] out-of-court statements, that the Government sustained its burden of proving by the preponderance of the evidence that Mrs. Graff's voluntary consent to search the east bedroom was legally sufficient to warrant admitting into evidence the $4,995 found in the diaper bag. But we prefer that the District Court first reconsider the sufficiency of the evidence in the light of this decision and opinion. (Footnote omitted.) In the instant case the trial court found as a fact that before searching the house the officers asked who owned the house. In response: Margaret Ware stated that she was renting it from David Willis. That although the Barnetts stayed there on occasion, they didn't contribute to the rent. That she lived there with her daughter and she (Margaret) paid all the rent. Margaret Ware then consented verbally and in writing for the officer to search the premises. The trial court also found as follows: Although Margaret Ware stated that the Barnetts stayed there occasionally and sometimes slept in the living room and the front and back bedrooms, a search of the premises did not reveal any clothing or personal effects of either defendant. The only articles of clothing and personal effects discovered were those of a female. These facts are more than sufficient to support the trial court's conclusion of law that the search could be sustained on the basis of Ms. Ware's voluntary consent because she possessed common authority, at least, over the premises. Because the search is sustainable on this ground, we do not consider the question whether it also could be justified on the ground it was incident to a lawful arrest.
Defendants Barnett assign as error the denial of their motions to suppress the testimony of Albert Frazier relating to statements allegedly made to him by them while in custody. There is no merit in these assignments. The record reveals that while defendants Barnett were in a magistrate's office being booked and committed, Albert Frazier, a cousin of the victim, Wallace, was also in the office being booked on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon. Defendants Barnett were standing by the wall on the opposite side of the room from the magistrate. Police Officer Smith told Frazier to stand by the wall but not to talk with the Barnetts. As Frazier was standing there, he engaged defendants Barnett in conversation. In the conversation defendants Barnett made incriminating statements relating to the robbery and murder of Wallace. Judge Johnson denied the Barnett defendants' motions to suppress Frazier's testimony and he testified at trial as a witness for the state. While defendants Barnett concede that there is no direct evidence that Frazier was a paid police informant, or agent, at the time, they argue that he was placed beside them in the magistrate's office in order to obtain evidence against them. Relying on Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964), defendants argue that Frazier's presence constituted a custodial interrogation in violation of their constitutional rights. In Massiah, the defendant was indicted for violating the federal narcotics laws. He retained a lawyer, pled not guilty, and was released on bail. Thereafter, a man named Colson was indicted for offenses related to the same matter for which Massiah was indicted. Colson was also released on bail. Several days later, and without Massiah's knowledge, Colson decided to cooperate with the government agents investigating the narcotics activities in which Massiah, Colson and others allegedly had been engaged. Colson permitted a government agent to install a radio transmitter in his automobile. Thereafter, Colson and Massiah engaged him in conversation while in Massiah's car about the matters with which they were charged. Massiah made some incriminating statements that were heard over the radio by a government agent. The agent related the statements as evidence against Massiah at his trial. Massiah was convicted and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari and awarded Massiah a new trial. The Court held that under the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the defendant's right to assistance of counsel, his incriminating statements, elicited by government agents after he had been indicted and in the absence of counsel, were not admissible at trial. The case at hand is clearly distinguishable from Massiah. In that case Colson was without doubt a government agent and the decision of the Court emphasizes that fact. In the case at hand there was no evidence that the police requested Frazier to engage in conversation with defendants Barnett; in fact, Officer Smith instructed Frazier not to talk to the Barnetts and rebuked him when he saw Frazier was talking with them. It was several days later that police learned from Frazier's relatives what defendants Barnett had said to Frazier. The assignments of error are overruled.