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Court upholds ruling on warrantless entry; drug charges expected to be dropped Friday, Oct 21, 2005 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Sebastian County circuit judge's decision that barred evidence seized during a warrantless search of a house where a suspected methamphetamine lab was found. The high court decision appears to mean that drug charges against Phillip Nichols, his wife Trudy Nichols, and Dale Scamardo will soon be dropped, their attorney H. Ray Hodnett said. "The lower court found the evidence should have been suppressed and the Supreme Court agreed," Hodnett said. "Their case is over." "Obviously this is good news for my clients," Hodnett said. A telephone message with the Sebastian County prosecutor's office Thursday was not returned. The Supreme Court in its ruling said Circuit Court Judge Norman Wilkinson was correct when he ruled that the evidence collected from a house should be suppressed. The state appealed Wilkinson's decision to the Supreme Court and the justices dismissed that appeal Thursday. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Tom Glaze, the justices said the court will not accept any appeal by the state where the trial court "has acted within its discretion after making an evidentiary decision based on the particular facts of the case or even a mixed question of law and fact." The justices said Wilkinson made his decision based on evidence presented by the Greenwood Police Officer Will Dawson, who investigated the case. "This court has never wavered in its long-standing rule that it is the providence of the trial court, not this court, to determine the credibility of the witnesses," Glaze wrote. Dawson testified during a hearing that he received a tip that a woman had purchased iodine at a local feed store. Iodine is one of the chemicals commonly used to make methamphetamine. The officer was able to get a license plate number and description of the woman's vehicle and later found where she lived. He testified he called for backup and went to the house. When he got there to the house, Dawson said he smelled a chemical odor in the air. He then went to the front door, looked through a window saw three people at the kitchen table. Several items used to make the methamphetamine were on the table, he said, while other items used to make the illegal drug also were on the front porch of the house. As he stood on the porch watching the three in the house, Dawson said he started knocking and shouting "Police!" Inside the house, the police officer said he saw the two men and the woman picking up items off the table and scurrying around the kitchen. The officer also said the three "weren't paying any mind" to him at the front door and he had "no doubt" they were trying to destroy evidence. Based on the activity inside and the chemical odor, plus his concern for public safety, Dawson said he kicked in the front door. He and other officers who had arrived on the scene then entered the house, secured the evidence and took the three into custody. The police later obtained a warrant to search the house. The circuit judge said Dawson could have waited until he obtained a warrant before going to the house. The officer admitted that he did not have probable cause to believe there was a crime being committed until after he saw the items on the table inside the residence. |
