IN
THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
OF
THE STATE OF
APPELLATE
DIVISION
KATHLEEN WILLIAMS,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF
Appellee. Lower No: 037300MMAWS
________________________/
Appeal from
County Judge Marc Salton
Antonio R. Arnao, Esquire
for Appellant
Michael J. Harris, Esquire, A.S.A.
for Appellee
ORDER AND OPINION
This matter came
before the court on appellant Kathleen Williams appeal from a judgment and sentence entered by the Pasco
County Court. Appellant was charged with
possession of paraphernalia. The
evidence against the defendant consisted of marijuana pipes which were seized
by the arresting officer. The defendant
filed a pretrial motion to suppress the evidence, claiming that the pipes were
obtained by an illegal search and seizure. Appellant claims that the trial court abused its
discretion in failing to grant her motion to suppress evidence. This court has jurisdiction.
At the hearing, Deputy
Daniel Housel testified that he has worked as a Pasco County Deputy Sheriff for
four years. On October 24, 2003, he responded to a battery complaint at 3904
Darlington, in
We walked into the room and she started gathering her belongings. And as she was doing that, I observed some pipes. I didn’t say anything to her about it. I wanted to see what she would –her reaction was, but she went about her business like normal.
And then when she left, she was carrying her stuff out, I stood by there, my partner stood by with Bradley outside to keep them separated. When she came back into the room, I asked her, I said, ‘what’s the deal with the pipes.’ Of course, she said, ‘oh, I don’t know anything about the pipes, they’re not mine.’
So I checked them out and looked them over and, you know, they smelled consistent with marijuana. I got some of the residue out of the pipes and tested it and it tested positive for THC. And I believed that they were used for smoking marijuana.
The deputy testified that there were things on of the floor of the room but that it was not disgusting or filthy. Housel explained that when he first noticed the pipes he was about four feet away. He described the pipes as ‘smoking pipes, metallic kind of, you know, ceramic, whatever. They were different colors.” He testified that up until he saw the pipes, he was not searching for any type of evidence. “I was there simply to stand by to make sure that nothing happened between her and Bradley. I was not there to investigate narcotics violation or anything like that.” Housel stated that he did not move anything to see the pipes, stating “[s]he moved it and I saw it.” He explained that after he noticed them she walked out of the room. When she returned he asked her about them and she said she did not know what they were and further stated “[h]e must have planted them. They’re not mine. I don’t know what they are.” The deputy explained that based on his experience they looked like drug pipes. He stated “I’ve been dealing with this stuff and I’ve come across a lot of drug pipes and smoking pipes and tobacco pipes.” Once he walked up to them he put it close to his face to smell the smell of marijuana on the pipe before he could determine what they were. He stated that he was absolutely confident the smell that he observed was marijuana. The deputy testified that the defendant never asked him to leave. He stated, “In fact, I stood by, I got the pipes and collected them, and the I stood by until she got the rest of her stuff, because I still needed to stay there until she got the rest of her stuff because there was still a problem. So she got the rest of her stuff out of the house and then I gave her the notice to appear, then she went on her way.” He stated that he did not detain the defendant before he smelled the odor on the pipes.
The defendant testified that on October 24, 2003, she was next door at a friend’s house and when she looked out the window she saw a police car in the driveway. She stated that she ran next door and “they were in my room. And they were telling me, what are these, what are these. I’m like, I don’t know, they’re not mine.” She testified that she remembered seeing deputy Housel, stating, “[h]e was very, very nice. He stayed there with me until I got the stuff out of the house. They told me I had to move. And I had Michael Boyden’s truck. I put everything I owned into the truck” and went to Bradley’s mother’s house.
The defendant testified that Deputy Housel was in her room when she came in but then stated “[i]t might have been Deputy Housel, it might have been the other deputy, but there were police officers in my room, because when I left, the room was dead bolted.” She was asked “[d]id you give anybody permission to go into your room?” and she replied “[o]nly after the room was already opened and I said, yes, the police can come in. And they came in and there was these pot pipes on the dresser. They were not mine.” The defendant then explained that the room was immaculate when she left it, but when she came back “it was flipped upside down.” She testified that the room was not the way she left. The defendant was asked “[a]nd did anyone tell you that you had ten minutes to leave”” and she replied “[y]es they did. The officers told me I had—because Bradley said I wasn’t paying him rent. Everyone was fighting. And I can’t recall the whole situation. It was a couple of years ago.. . .” She was not sure which deputy told her to leave, “[i]t might have been one or other other, but I was thankful that they was there because Bradley was being a lunatic” She was then asked “[n]ow when the deputy helped you, was he actually inside your bedroom?” and she responded “[t]o be quite truthful with you, I don’t even know. I remember just trying to take everything I owned and just putting it in the back of the pickup truck. . . .”.
Both sides rested
and presented argument. The court found
Deputy Housel’s testimony to be credible and denied the appellant’s Motion to
Suppress. The trial court has "the superior vantage point to see and hear the
witnesses and judge their credibility." Guzman v. State, 721 So.2d
1155, 1159 (
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the judgment and sentence be AFFIRMED.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at New Port Richey,
________________________
Primary Appellate Judge
_____________________
Daniel D. Diskey
Circuit Judge
______________________
Circuit Judge
Copies furnished to:
Honorable Marc Salton
Antonio R. Arnao, Esq.
Michael J. Harris, Esq., A.S.A.