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State v. Parchman2/12/2003
I. Factual Background
John C. Dunlap was stopped by officers with the Union City Police Department for driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia. In order to avoid being charged with these offenses, Dunlap agreed to "cooperate" with Lieutenant Rick Kelly and Officer Jeff Jackson in "undercover drug deals" targeting the appellant. On September 14, 2000, Dunlap met with the officers who placed a wireless transmitting device on Dunlap and provided him with five twenty-dollar bills that had been photocopied to record their serial numbers. After searching Dunlap and his vehicle to ensure that he had no drugs or money of his own, the officers instructed Dunlap to drive to the appellant's residence at 212 North Dobbins and attempt to purchase crack cocaine. The officers followed Dunlap to the appellant's house and monitored the transaction on a "receiver unit."
The drug transaction was completed with little conversation. As Dunlap entered the house, the appellant told Dunlap he would have to be searched and the officers heard "someone patting [Dunlap] down." The officers then heard Rhonda Swift, who was present during the transaction, ask Dunlap for a "hit," but Dunlap responded that he was leaving for Memphis. After Dunlap exited the house, he informed the officers, "I've got the two rocks. They're in my mouth, and I'm headed back." The officers followed Dunlap back to the original meeting place where they searched Dunlap and his vehicle a second time, recovering two bags containing what appeared to be crack cocaine. The officers then provided Dunlap with additional money to attempt a second purchase, but when Dunlap returned to the appellant's home the appellant was no longer there.
The following day, the officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the appellant's house. The officers were searching for drugs, drug paraphernalia, evidence of drug trafficking, and the twenty-dollar bills Dunlap had used to purchase the crack cocaine. Although the officers did not find any drugs in the appellant's house, they did find a "scanner" and rolling papers. The officers also seized approximately one thousand dollars ($1,000). Of that one thousand dollars ($1,000), nine hundred dollars ($900) was found in the pocket of a coat hanging in the appellant's bedroom. The five twenty-dollar bills with the recorded serial numbers were a part of the nine hundred dollars ($900) recovered from the coat. The appellant was indicted for the sale of .5 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine within one thousand feet (1,000') of an elementary school. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-417(a)(3), (c)(1), -432(b) (Supp. 2002).
At trial, Lieutenant Kelly testified that he had known the appellant and Rhonda Swift for several years and he recognized both of their voices as he monitored the drug transaction. Lieutenant Kelly stated that after Dunlap "turned over two bags . . . that contained crack cocaine," the drugs were sealed in a plastic evidence bag and delivered to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) crime laboratory for analysis. At trial, the parties stipulated to the results of the analysis which verified that the "rocks" were .7 grams of crack cocaine. Lieutenant Kelly further testified that the appellant's house was located two blocks southeast of Central Elementary School, and although the officers were unable to measure the distance directly, they used the Pythagorean Theorem to determine that the school was 990 feet from the appellant's front porch. The State also presented the testimony of Paul Buckner, a licensed land surveyor with Buckner Engineering and Surveying Company, who used the "random-point traverse method" to determine that the appella
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