William Cody Lightfoot v. State, 07-17-00226-CR

On Oct. 20, 2016, DPS trooper stopped William Cody Lightfoot for driving 102 mph; a warrant for his arrest was discovered, he was arrested, handcuffed, and placed by the patrol car.
While awaiting third parties to retrieve the vehicle, the trooper asked for consent to search; Lightfoot initially said he "would prefer you not," then admitted a firearm was in the car and shortly thereafter consented to a search.
A .45 caliber pistol was found under the front passenger seat; Lightfoot was transported to jail and told the trooper he carried the gun for protection.
Lightfoot was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; he stipulated to a prior felony conviction and recent release from confinement.
At a suppression hearing the court reviewed testimony and dashcam video and found the consent to search voluntary and the post-arrest statement spontaneous (not custodial interrogation);
Following a jury trial Lightfoot was convicted, sentenced (8 years and $10,000 fine), and appealed raising three issues: voluntariness of consent, Miranda exclusion of post-arrest statement, and sufficiency of evidence linking him to the gun.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Voluntariness of consent to search vehicle	Consent was voluntary despite arrest and handcuffs; trooper acted cordially and noncoercively	Consent was involuntary because Lightfoot was arrested, handcuffed, repeatedly asked, and felt he had no choice	Court found consent voluntary (clear and convincing evidence)
Admissibility of post-arrest statement (Miranda)	Statement was spontaneous and not the product of custodial interrogation; admissible	Statement inadmissible because made while in custody without Miranda warnings	Court held statement was spontaneous, not custodial interrogation, admissible
Sufficiency of evidence of possession	State argued affirmative links: Lightfoot admitted a gun was in the car, said he carried it for protection, later identified gun model and said he had it a long time	Lightfoot argued lack of affirmative links: not owner of vehicle, gun under passenger seat, no hiding or flight	Court held evidence sufficient for knowing possession; conviction affirmed

Meekins v. State, 340 S.W.3d 454 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (standard for proving voluntary consent)
United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411 (U.S. 1976) (consent and voluntariness analysis)
Johnson v. State, 68 S.W.3d 644 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (consent voluntary even when in custody)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1966) (custodial interrogation and warnings requirement)
Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291 (U.S. 1980) (definition of interrogation for Miranda purposes)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1979) (standard for sufficiency of evidence review)
Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (deference to jury on credibility and sufficiency analysis)