State v. BoldenState v. Bolden
l2On February 14, 2006, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of information charging defendant, Stafford Bolden, with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of
Thereafter, on October 23, 2006, defendant withdrew his not guilty plea and pled guilty as charged pursuant to
State v. Crosby,
The State filed a multiple offender bill of information pursuant to
FACTS
On January 31, 2006, Agent Bryan Poison, defendant’s parole officer, went to defendant’s girlfriend’s apartment located at 161 Fredricks to conduct a residence check. The agent knocked on the door, and Brandon Atkins, an individual who was also staying at the apartment, answered it. After the agent identified himself, Atkins called to defendant who was in another room. Defendant came from the back bedroom and greeted the agent.
Defendant and Agent Poison conversed in the front room. Defendant then said he had to go brush his teeth, which Agent Poison thought was odd. Agent Poison followed defendant down the hallway. At that time he looked “catty-corner” and saw a gun in plain sight on the bedroom dresser. Because defendant had violated his parole by having a gun in the residence, Agent Poison placed defendant in handcuffs and called for his partner, Agent Guidry, to come inside the residence. Agent Guidry watched defendant while Agent Poison conducted a search of the residence. During that search, Agent Poison found 117 grams of cocaine, $1,709.00, a scale, and defendant’s identification with a razor blade and a crack cocaine rock on top of it. The agent also found, underneath the gun, the paper that he had recently given defendant showing his arrear-ages with parole.
After considering Agent Poison’s testimony as well as arguments of counsel, the trial judge denied the motion to suppress finding that the agent had the right to Renter the apartment, and further, that once the agent observed a gun in plain view in the bedroom of the residence, he had the right to conduct a search.
ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NUMBER ONE
On appeal, defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I, § 5 of the Louisiana Constitution protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrantless searches and seizures are unreasonable per se unless justified by a specific exception to the warrant requirement.
State v. Manson,
An individual on parole or probation does not have the same freedom from governmental intrusion into his affairs as does the average citizen. A probationer must necessarily have a reduced expectation of privacy, which allows for reasonable warrantless searches of his person and residence by his probation officer, even though less than probable cause may be shown. This reduced expectation of privacy derives from the probationer’s conviction and his agreement to allow a probation officer to investigate his activities in order to confirm that he is abiding by the provisions of his probation.
State v. Saulsby,
A probation officer may not use his authority as a subterfuge to help another police agency that desires to conduct a search, but lacks probable cause.
State v. Malone,
In challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion, defendant argues that the evidence should have been suppressed because the search was conducted in his girlfriend’s residence and not the residence he listed on his parole plan, and his reduced expectation of privacy did not extend to his girlfriend’s residence.
In the present case, the record indicates that defendant was residing at his girlfriend’s apartment. The parole officer testified that defendant was never at his mother’s residence on Cabildo when he went to visit him, even though that address was listed as defendant’s residence on his parole plan. Defendant told his parole officer on January 19, 2006 and again on January 26, 2006, that he was living with his girlfriend at the King Fre-dricks Apartments and that the officer could visit him there. When Officer Poison went to conduct a residence check on January 31, 2006, defendant was at the Fredricks Street address; in fact, when he was advised that the officer was there, defendant came from a back bedroom, greeted the officer, and invited him in. Additionally, the parole officer found some
Even though defendant did not give the officer written notification of his change of residence, he verbally notified the officer on two occasions that he was living at his girlfriend’s residence. Because defendant resided in his girlfriend’s apartment, his parole officer had the right to enter the residence and speak to him due to defendant’s reduced expectation of privacy as a parolee. The evidence shows that the parole officer did not make a forced entry, and defendant greeted him in an apparently friendly manner. As the parole officer was walking toward the bathroom, he observed a gun on the nightstand in a bedroom. Under the plain view doctrine, if police officers are lawfully in a position from which they view an object that has an incriminating nature which is immediately apparent, and if the officers have a lawful right of access to the object, they may seize it without a warrant.
State v. Manson,
On appeal, defendant also argues that the evidence should have been suppressed because the State failed to prove that he had agreed to a search of his residence as a condition of parole.
At the suppression hearing, Agent Poison testified that, as part of his work as a parole officer, he is allowed to go into parolees’ homes without an invitation. He further testified that being allowed to go inside a parolee’s residence is one of |7the standard conditions of parole. In the instant case, the State did not provide documentation at the hearing that defendant had agreed to a search of his residence as a condition of parole. However, Agent Poison’s testimony that he was allowed to go into parolees’ homes and that that was a standard condition of parole was not refuted. As the State noted in its brief, this is consistent with
Defendant also argues on appeal that the evidence should have been suppressed because the warrantless search was unreasonable and a pretext for an unconstitutional search.
In the instant case, there was no evidence of an ongoing investigation of defendant. Also, the search of the residence was apparently conducted by a parole officer only. Therefore, we conclude that the search of defendant’s residence was not a subterfuge for a criminal investigation.
In light of the foregoing discussion, we find no error in the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress. Accordingly, the arguments raised by defendant in this assigned error are without merit.
ERROR PATENT DISCUSSION
The record was reviewed for errors patent, according to LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 920;
State v. Oliveaux,
For the reasons set forth herein, defendant’s convictions and sentences are hereby affirmed.
CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCES AFFIRMED.
Notes
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