Gamble v. State
Gamble v. State
Opinion
George Tony Gamble was indicted and convicted for the unlawful possession of phenmetrazine. He was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment as a habitual offender. All five issues raised on appeal are without merit.
On September 17, 1982, Adamsville police officer Tom Moon responded to a call from the dispatcher about three subjects "using needles up there in front of J's Drive-In." Upon arrival, he noticed the defendant and another man sitting in a car. The defendant was sitting in the right front seat and his door was open. In one hand, the defendant was holding a "little old silver pot-like thing with a little bitty handle on it" which contained "something white". In the other hand, the defendant was holding a cigarette lighter. Officer Moon observed a package of syringes on the front seat. He observed Mrs. Gamble walking toward the car with a jug of water which she poured in the radiator.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies arrived. From outside the car they observed the defendant in the car with the small cup with "a white, dried substance in it." They observed syringes, a cigarette lighter, a knife and a spoon. One of the syringes had been used. In plain view on the front seat was a prescription container of Preludin issued to Mrs. Gamble. The two men were removed from the car, searched and arrested. After the search, the deputies discovered that the car was registered to the defendant and that there were outstanding warrants on the defendant and his wife.
At the time of the arrest, the deputies had probable cause to believe that the defendant was guilty of the illegal use and possession of a controlled substance.
The fact that the car was stopped and assumedly "broken down" did not require the police to obtain a search warrant. The police may search even an immobilized car if exigent circumstances existing at the time of its immobilization would have justified its immediate search. Chambers v. *Page 40 Maroney,
"Generally, it does not constitute a `search' merely to observe what is in plain view."
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"Similarly, a vehicle's exterior and much of its interior are within the plain view of the casual or purposeful onlooker, and thus are not protected by the Fourth Amendment from searching eyes. So, where officers approaching an automobile to make arrests observe items in plain view in the passenger compartment of the automobile, no search has occurred, and thus there has been no violation of Fourth Amendment rights." 68 Am.Jur.2d Searches and Seizures § 23 (1973).
This contention must be rejected as completely absurd. Here, there was evidence that the defendant was not only in possession of his wife's prescription drugs but was actually using them. One who illegally possesses or uses a controlled substance may not claim an immunity in the rightful possession of another.
The defendant's wife testified that these drugs had been prescribed for her to help her with her weight and that she had been using them for the past three or four years. She stated that the instructions called for one tablet after breakfast but that she injected one or two a day after melting them. Mrs. Gamble also testified that her husband did not use the drugs and was opposed to her using them. Mrs. Gamble admitted a prior felony conviction for violating the Controlled Substances Act.
The trial judge charged the jury, in effect, that it was illegal to obtain drugs by fraud and he also instructed the jury that the defendant was charged with possession and not with obtaining the drugs. Although this comment should not have been made, it does not constitute a comment on the evidence.
Each case of allegedly improper remarks by a trial judge must be judged on its own peculiar facts. Oglen v. State,
The defendant received a fair trial. The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
All Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- George T. Gamble v. State.
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published