Latron Dupree Brown v. Commonwealth of Virginia
68 Va. App. 58
| Va. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Over a 90-day investigation in 2013, a CI made multiple controlled buys of cocaine from Brown; detectives observed Brown coming to and leaving a particular apartment that he listed as his residence.
- Brown was arrested on Dec. 19, 2013; detectives Lucas and McKay performed a brief protective sweep of the apartment after his arrest (found no people or evidence) while Detective Seitz completed an affidavit and obtained a search warrant.
- The subsequent warrant search yielded 34 knotted baggies of cocaine, drug-cutting paraphernalia, a firearm, and Brown’s documents.
- Brown moved to suppress evidence, arguing the protective sweep was illegal and tainted the warrant; the circuit court declined to rule on sweep legality but held any invalid sweep did not taint the warrant and denied suppression.
- Brown had cycled through four court‑appointed attorneys, asserted conflicts with counsel, and sought appointment of a fifth attorney shortly before trial; the court refused, found Brown had effectively waived further appointment by his conduct, appointed standby counsel, and accepted conditional Alford pleas reserving only the suppression issue for appeal.
- Brown appealed the denial of suppression (preserved), and also challenged the court’s refusal to appoint a fifth attorney (not reserved in his plea).
Issues
| Issue | Brown's Argument | Commonwealth's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the warrant search must be suppressed as fruit of an illegal protective sweep | The protective sweep lacked reasonable suspicion, and the affidavit was tainted by sweep-related information (the residence being "secured") | The affidavit’s probable‑cause facts derived from independent three‑month surveillance and arrest; no evidence from the sweep was used | Affirmed: sweep (even if improper) did not taint the warrant; affidavit independently supported probable cause |
| Whether Brown was entitled to appointment of a fifth court‑appointed attorney | Brown: prior counsel conflicts left him without effective assistance; he did not waive his Sixth Amendment right | Commonwealth/court: Brown repeatedly sought new counsel; court found pattern of misconduct and effective waiver; plea did not reserve this issue | Not reviewed on appeal: Brown waived appellate review by not reserving this claim in his conditional plea |
Key Cases Cited
- McGhee v. Commonwealth, 280 Va. 620 (2010) (standard of review on suppression rulings)
- Ohree v. Commonwealth, 26 Va. App. 299 (1998) (appellate review limited to rulings actually made below)
- Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258 (1973) (guilty plea waives nonjurisdictional preplea claims)
- Alford v. North Carolina, 400 U.S. 25 (1970) (framework for conditional/Alford guilty pleas)
- Terry v. Commonwealth, 30 Va. App. 192 (1999) (discussing conditional pleas and reservation of pretrial claims)