03-22-02

Dumb Crooks

Suspended Driver Drives Away from Court

Despite being warned by a judge not to drive himself home, Brent Beaudry did just that. It turns out the judge wasn't bluffing.

At a hearing on a charge of driving with a suspended driver’s license, Beaudry had assured the Davis County Justice Court judge that he had a ride home.

Judge Gerald Jensen warned him that a bailiff would make sure he did not drive away, and Beaudry assured the judge everything would be fine.

The bailiff then watched as Beaudry jumped into his pickup truck and drove off.

In the few blocks he traveled before Bailiff Jeff Corbin pulled him over, he failed to signal twice and didn't make a complete stop at a stop sign, Corbin testified Wednesday during a hearing on new traffic charges.

"Mr. Beaudry was polite and cooperative, though," Corbin said.

The defendant was so helpful during a police stop on Jan. 29 that he purportedly told officers he had a weapon in the glove compartment and plastic bags of methamphetamine and heroin pipes in the truck.

"He even pointed out which pipe was his favorite one," said Corbin.

Beaudry, 44, of Green River, Wyo., was bound over on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia -- and driving on a suspended license.

Dare To Be Stupid

Sheriff Ron Nicholds wants to seize a customized D.A.R.E. motorcycle, saying the man who won it in a raffle rode the bike emblazoned with anti-drug messages to make a drug deal.

''We tried to advertise the D.A.R.E. program and 'Say no,' '' said Sheriff Nichols. ''Unfortunately, this gentleman didn't take heed to what it said on the side of the bike.''

Nichols said Pearl Blazer, 54, of Frankfort won the $50,000 Harley-Davidson in a sheriff's office raffle in 1999 to raise money for the office's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

Blazer was indicted Feb. 22 and charged with one count of drug trafficking. He is accused of selling an ounce of marijuana to an undercover deputy on July 9.

Egg Balancing on the Equinox
by David Emery

March 20th is the first day of spring, or, as astronomers would have it, the vernal equinox. "Equinox" means, literally, "equal night." As the tilt of the earth's axis changes throughout the year, there are two points in time when day and night are of equal length: the spring and autumnal equinoxes. (More precisely, day and night are of equal length for the few days before and after each equinox, but non-scientists needn't sweat the details.) This phenomenon has been recognized for thousands of years and given rise to a considerable body of springtime folklore.

The season has also been conceived throughout human history as a time of organic and spiritual rebirth, following the "dying of the year" in winter. The ancient Germanic festival of Ostara (in honor of the goddess Eostra) celebrated the cyclical return of light and life with fertility rituals and symbols, some of which still survive in the modern observance of Easter.

The egg is the most literal and obvious of all fertility symbols, and ancient eggish customs survive not only in the form of Easter eggs, but also in the quaint superstitious belief, usually attributed to the Chinese, that you can balance an egg on end during the equinox. Apparently it derives from the notion that because of the sun's equidistant position between the poles on the first day of spring, special gravitational forces come into play.

(Hint: it can be done — but it takes patience, eggs of just the right shape, a pinch of salt if all else fails... and, quite frankly, it doesn't matter what day of the year it is.)

The Bad Astronomy home page rightly condemns all this as unscientific hooey, but don't let that stop you from gathering friends and family around to try it out yourself.

At the risk of being boiled and dyed for heresy, I daresay there is more to life than science.

Legal Issues

A credible confidential informant reported to a narcotics officer that a man named “John” had offered to sell him methamphetamine. The informant described the man’s appearance and told the officer that the man was staying in room 340 of a local hotel.

The manager of the hotel confirmed that the name of the occupant of room 340 was “Jonathan;” that he had stayed in the room for three days and paid cash for each day; that he had been making a lot of phone calls; that he had a large number of visitors; and that a blond woman who was “really out of it” was staying in the room with the suspect.

Three officers moved into room 344 to set up surveillance. While they were there, the informant called and told the narcotics officer that the suspect was about to leave the hotel. When the man stepped into the hallway from room 340, the officers identified themselves, and the suspect began running. He stopped when confronted by an officer with a drawn weapon.

The defendant was arrested and taken to the officers’ room. He told them his girlfriend was sleeping in room 340, and that he had a pipe for smoking marijuana in the room, but had consumed all of his supply.

An officer asked the defendant to sign a written consent to search the room. According to the defendant, the officer threatened to arrest his girlfriend if he didn’t consent. He also claimed that the officers intimidated him with their guns, and that he was handcuffed and frightened and refused to sign the consent form.

The three officers testified that the defendant tried to make a deal with them to keep his girlfriend from being arrested. When they refused to promise him anything, the defendant agreed to show them where the drugs were hidden, as evidence that only he knew about the drugs.

After entering the room, the defendant’s girlfriend was awakened with great difficulty, and she feel asleep again as soon as the suspect told her that police officers were with him, but it would be alright. The defendant showed the officers the pipe, and then directed them to places in the room where methamphetamine was hidden. The room also contained a digital scale that appeared to have drug residue on it.

The officers denied making any “deal” with the defendant in exchange for his consent, or threatening him with a firearm as he alleged. Based on the affidavits of the officers and the defendant, the trial court denied the suppression motion. The defendant pled guilty but appealed the denial of his motion.

Holding: A search based on voluntary consent is not unreasonable. Voluntariness is determined from the totality of circumstances, and the trial court determined the credibility of the testimony given by witnesses regarding whether consent was voluntary.

At the time the defendant gave consent, it is undisputed that he was under arrest. Arrest does not, by itself, render consent involuntary.

The presence of several armed officers at the time consent is obtained is a factor to be considered in determining voluntariness. “The display of weapons is a coercive factor that sharply reduces the likelihood of freely given consent.”

In this case, the officer disputed the defendant’s claim that he had been intimidated by their weapons. One officer drew his weapon to prevent the defendant from escaping, but he never pointed it at the defendant. Clearly, the officer was entitled to effect the arrest by the use of a reasonable show of force, including the display of a weapon.

It was unclear from the evidence exactly how or why the defendant felt intimidated by the weapons. Neither the State nor the defendant explained why there was intimidation or not. In the absence of further evidence on the point, the appeals court must defer to the finding of the trial court that the consent was not obtained by intimidation or threat.

No one disputed that the defendant was handcuffed when he consented, and given that he had tried to escape, it was not surprising that he remained in restraints. That fact, however, weighed against his consent being voluntary. On the other hand, the officers advised him of his rights when they arrested him.

The defendant also contended that use of the hotel room as a “base for police operations” was intimidating, but he offered no explanation for why the room would be inherently coercive.

It also was not coercive that the officers had the key to room 340 when they requested consent to search. Contrary to the defendant’s claim, he did not initially refuse to give consent, and the trial court refused to believe that he had been “ordered” by the officers to show them where the drugs were located.

The trial court also rejected the argument that the consent was coerced by a “deal” not to arrest the defendant’s girlfriend.

While the consent was verbal, and not written, and the defendant was not warned that he had the right to refuse to consent, neither of those facts renders the consent involuntary. Verbal consent is fully effective, and no warning is required.

Given the totality of circumstances and the findings of the trial court, the defendant’s consent was voluntary. It was not the product of coercion or intimidation. The defendant showed he knew he could refuse to consent when he attempted to make a deal before agreeing to the entry. The trial court’s denial of the suppression motion was supported by the evidence. Manzi v. State, 56 S.W.3d 710 (Tex. App. – Houston 2001).

From the Chaplain

HELP!!

A young boy was doing his best to lift a rock that was too large for someone his size. He grunted and puffed as he tried various methods for lifting the rock. But, in spite of all his efforts, the rock wouldn’t budge. His father walked by and, after watching his son’s struggle, asked if he was having trouble. The boy answered, “Yes, I’ve tried everything, and it won’t move.” The father replied, “Are you sure you have tried every possibility that is at your disposal?” The boy looked up with frustration and exhaustion filling his face and grunted out a “Yes!” With kindness, the father bent over and softly said, “No, my son, you haven’t. You haven’t asked for my help.”

How often are we like the little boy, struggling with our problems but unable to solve them—because we have not asked for OUR Father’s help.”

Twin Towers of Light

Wish I'd Said That

The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well. - H.T. Leslie

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright

The trouble with life in the fast lane is you get to the other end in an awful hurry. - John Jensen

One of the greatest labor saving inventions of today is tomorrow. - Vincent T. Foss

Great moments in science: Einstein discovers that time is money. - Gary Larson

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little influence over society. - Mark Twain.

Money doesn’t always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than people with nine million dollars. - Hobart Brown

I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up. - Tom Lehrer

As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists. - Joan Gussow

The shortest distance between two points in always under construction. - Noelie Alito

Maniac