Opinion ID: 1512200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Motion to Suppress the Marijuana

Text: Fuente's first point is that the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress the marijuana because it was discovered pursuant to an illegal search. We will affirm if the evidence is sufficient to sustain the trial court's finding. State v. Blankenship, 830 S.W.2d 1, 14 (Mo. banc 1992). Deference is given to the trial court's superior opportunity to assess the credibility of the witness and weigh the evidence. State v. Feltrop, 803 S.W.2d 1, 12 (Mo. banc 1991). Where a trooper has a legitimate reason for stopping a vehicle and detects the odor of marijuana, the trooper has probable cause to search the vehicle. State v. Villa-Perez, 835 S.W.2d 897, 902 (Mo. banc 1992). Here, the trial court found that Trooper Munden stopped Fuente's vehicle for a legitimate reasonfailure to signal and speeding. The court also found that Officer Munden smelled marijuana when Fuente rolled down the window of the Blazer. The trial court and the court of appeals, therefore, determined that Munden had probable cause to search the vehicle. Fuente argues that because Trooper Munden did not search the vehicle immediately after she first approached it, doubt is cast upon her testimony that she smelled marijuana when Fuente rolled down the window. Although this argument is certainly credible and proper at the trial court level, it is misdirected to this Court because we are required to defer to the trial court's findings that Munden smelled marijuana when she first approached the vehicle. We noted in State v. Beck, 687 S.W.2d 155, 157-8 (Mo. banc 1985), that in reviewing the trial court's disposition of defendant's motion to suppress, this Court necessarily must defer to the trial court's superior opportunity to determine the credibility of witnesses and the weight of the evidence. Needless to say, this rule is a basic tenet of appellate reviewand one deserving of strict compliance. (Citation and footnote omitted.) At the moment the trooper smelled the marijuana she had probable cause to search the vehicle. The fact that she went through several procedures before conducting the search favors the defendant but does not require the trial court to reject the trooper's testimony. [U]pon review of a trial court's order, the facts, and reasonable inferences arising therefrom, are to be stated favorably to the order challenged on appeal. State v. Blair, 691 S.W.2d 259, 260 (Mo. banc 1985). [T]he reviewing court is free to disregard contrary evidence and inferences, and is to affirm the trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress if the evidence is sufficient to sustain its finding. Id. Since the trial court found that Trooper Munden smelled marijuana when she first approached the Blazer, she had probable cause to search the vehicle and, therefore, the marijuana was discovered pursuant to a valid search. The evidence is sufficient to support the trial court's finding that the search was proper and that Fuente's motion to suppress the marijuana should have been overruled. This point is denied. Once it is determined that the 45 pounds of marijuana the troopers discovered was admissible, there is ample evidence to support the trial court's judgment. Fuente was charged with possessing or having in his control more than 35 grams of marijuana, a class C felony. § 195.202, RSMo Supp.1992. To sustain a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the State must prove (1) conscious and intentional possession of the substance, either actual or constructive, and (2) awareness of the presence and nature of this substance. State v. Purlee, 839 S.W.2d 584, 587 (Mo. banc 1992). Both possession and knowledge may be proved by circumstantial evidence. Id. Here, there is overwhelming evidence to support Fuente's conviction. Forty-five pounds of marijuana were found in the Blazer Fuente was driving. The Blazer was titled in his mother's name, which creates a clear implication that Fuente, not Kerrigan, was in control of the vehicle. Fuente's conscious possession and awareness of the marijuana was further established by the testimony of Officer Munden. She testified that she was blasted in the face with a very strong smell of marijuana. The court is entitled to infer that Fuente was aware of the presence of the marijuana inside the Blazer because of its unmistakably strong odor, which blasted Trooper Munden when the rear window was opened. Id. at 588. This evidence alone is sufficient to support the trial court's determination that Fuente knowingly and intelligently possessed 45 pounds of marijuana and knew the nature of the substance. Fuente argues that his knowledge of the presence and nature of the marijuana can only be established by the inculpatory testimony of co-defendant Kerrigan, which this Court cannot consider in light of Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 128, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 1624, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). Fuente first argues this point in his brief to this Court in response to the State's contention in its motion for transfer that we should consider the statements of Kerrigan in determining Fuente's guilt. Fuente incorrectly attempts to use Bruton and its progeny well beyond their precedential value. Bruton does not involve the admissibility of a co-defendant's out-of-court statement testified to by the declarant at trial. Rather, Bruton involves whether in a joint jury trial, where the co-defendant is unavailable for cross-examination, the State may admit the statement of a co-defendant implicating both defendants by using an instruction limiting such evidence to the case against the declarant. Id. The Supreme Court held that the use of such a statement violates the non-declarant defendant's sixth amendment right to confrontation. Id. This is because a lay jury is deemed to be unable to ignore or set aside such inculpatory evidence based merely upon a limiting instruction. Bruton has no application where the court is the trier of fact because a trial judge is not subject to the same inability. People v. Williams, 246 Ill. App.3d 1025, 186 Ill.Dec. 848, 617 N.E.2d 87, 93 (1993); People v. Moore, 128 Ill.App.3d 505, 83 Ill.Dec. 864, 470 N.E.2d 1284, 1290-91 (1984). Judges and lawyers commonly engage in such mental gymnastics with sufficient accuracy to protect the defendant's constitutional rights. Thus, Bruton has no application to a judge-tried case. Id. However, the underlying evidentiary principle in Bruton , i.e., that the out-of-court incriminating statement of a co-defendant is only admissible against the declarant, is equally applicable in both a jury-tried and a non-jury-tried case. Although such evidence qualifies as an admission against the declarant, it is inadmissible hearsay as to everyone else. This principle would render the troopers' testimony regarding Kerrigan's statements inadmissible against Fuente if there had been an appropriate objection. However, in the present case there was no objection by defendant Fuente to the testimony of the troopers relating to Kerrigan's statements at the scene. Moreover, Kerrigan's testimony regarding his own inculpatory statements was admitted by stipulation and without objection. Kerrigan also testified directly concerning the same matters covered by his inculpatory out-of-court statements. The latter is not hearsay, and neither violates Bruton ; both legitimize the other evidence of the statements Kerrigan made to Troopers Munden and Spurgeon at the scene of the arrest on 1-70. The defendant's claims under Bruton are without merit.