Ramirez v. State
| Docket Number: | 2003-KA-01558-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-28-2004 Opinion Author: Bridges, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute - Suppression of evidence - Probable cause - Reasonableness of detention Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Lee, P.J., Myers, Chandler, Griffis and Barnes, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Ishee, J. Concurs in Result Only: Irving, J. Procedural History: Jury Trial Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-13-2002 Appealed from: Scott County Circuit Court Judge: Marcus D. Gordon Disposition: POSSESSION OF MORE THAN ONE KILOGRAM OF MARIJUANA WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE - SENTENCED TO SERVE A TERM OF 22 YEARS IN THE CUSTODY OF MDOC. District Attorney: Ken Turner Case Number: 2002-CR-0022-SC |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Sixto Jose Ramirez |
EDMUND J. PHILLIPS |
||
| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JEAN SMITH VAUGHAN |
|
|
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
|
| Topic: | Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute - Suppression of evidence - Probable cause - Reasonableness of detention |
| Summary of the Facts: | Sixto Ramirez was convicted of possession of more than one kilogram of marijuana with intent to distribute and sentenced to twenty-two years. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A parcel being sent to the home of Sixto Ramirez and Margarita Arguelles was intercepted by postal inspector Robert Kay. The parcel aroused Kay’s suspicions initially because of the size of the box, the heavy taping around the box, and the way the names were written on the parcel. Kay learned that there was a similar parcel already in Forest waiting to be delivered. A drug dog “alerted” to the parcels. Eight days from initial retention of the packages, a search warrant for the parcel was requested and granted. Upon opening the parcels the inspectors found approximately 8,500 grams of marijuana. Ramirez argues that the postal inspector’s retention of the parcels for some length of time before requesting a search warrant was an unreasonable seizure of his property. The primary piece of evidence used by the State to reach probable cause was an affidavit by inspector Kay which Ramirez objected to on the ground that it contained hearsay. Evidence presented to the magistrate in the affidavit along with proof of the drug dog’s “alerting” to the package was sufficient probable cause. The reasonableness of the detention of personal property by the United States Postal Service depends on the facts and circumstances in each particular case. While the detention of the second package for eight days without a search warrant might probably violate the reasonableness test for detention of mailed parcels, this issue was not objected to at the trial level. In addition, even if Ramirez was convicted of possession only of the marijuana found in the first package and not convicted of the cumulative weight of both packages, he would still be required to serve a sentence of six to twenty-four years. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
