Gonzales v. State
| Docket Number: | 2006-KA-01191-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-30-2007 Opinion Author: DICKINSON, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute - Unreasonable search and seizure - Section 27-19-23 Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Diaz, P.JJ., Easley, Carlson, Randolph and Lamar, JJ. Dissenting Author : Graves, J., Without Separate Written Opinion Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-22-2006 Appealed from: DeSoto County Circuit Court Judge: Robert P. Chamberlin Disposition: Convictions of possession of a controlled substance, to-wit: Marijuana, five (5) kilograms or more and sentence of fifteen (15) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon release, each appellant is placed under fifteen (15) years of post-release supervision, with conditions. Said sentence shall run consecutive to any and all sentences previously imposed. Credit given for time served. AS TO JUAN GONZALES-TORRES: Conviction of possession of a controlled substance, to-wit: Marijuana, five (5) kilograms or more and sentence of fifteen (15) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon release, the appellant is placed under fifteen (15) years of post-release supervision, with conditions. Said sentence shall run consecutive to any and all sentences previously imposed. District Attorney: John W. Champion Case Number: CR2006-613CD |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | HECTOR HERNANDEZ GONZALES AND JUAN GONZALEZ-TORRES |
DAVID G. HILL,
D. GILL BAKER |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL |
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| Topic: | Possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute - Unreasonable search and seizure - Section 27-19-23 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Hector Gonzales was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and sentenced to fifteen years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A law enforcement officer stopped a vehicle which did not appear to have a tag. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, the officer found sixty pounds of marijuana inside. Although the vehicle had no regular tag, it had a temporary tag taped to the back window in the lower-left corner. Gonzales argues that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, rendering the search improper and the evidence obtained inadmissible. To determine whether the search and seizure were unreasonable, the court considers whether the officer’s action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place. The law enforcement officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion. In this case, the trooper repeatedly stated that she pulled over the defendants’ vehicle because it appeared not to have a tag. The State argues that, even if the vehicle had a valid tag, it was not conspicuously displayed, as required by the statute. Thus, the State argues, the trooper was within her authority to pull the vehicle over to check for a tag, and to check the expiration of the tag (if found) or to see if it was valid. Section 27-19-23 provides that vehicles operated on Mississippi’s highways must have tags “conspicuously displayed on the vehicle being operated in such a manner that it may be easily read.” In light of this clear statutory language, it is not enough that the vehicle actually had a tag. If the tag was not “conspicuously displayed” and “easily read,” the trooper was fully justified in making the stop. Evidence was produced that the vehicle’s windows were tinted, making the tag difficult to see or read. Indeed, even though a valid tag was taped inside the back window of the vehicle, the trooper issued a traffic citation for violation of the statute. From the evidence in the record, the trial court did not commit clear error in finding reasonable suspicion to make the stop. Gonzales also argues that the court erred in failing to suppress all statements made prior to his being Mirandized in Spanish. Because this argument was not raised before the trial court, it is not properly before the Court. |
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