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Vassar v. State10/29/2004
cle's top was "open," and items from inside the vehicle, as well as "pieces of the vehicle," were "scattered" within a fifty to seven-hundred-fifty foot radius of where the vehicle came to rest. Trooper Guenther noticed "some bags [that] appeared to be involved in the crash had been placed in somewhat of a pile which wasn't standard with the rest of the debris that was scattered about the... crash scene." Civilian passersby likely had placed the luggage in that position sometime after the rollover. Trooper Guenther had no reason to believe that the luggage did not come from the appellant's vehicle or that the luggage belonged to anyone other than the appellant.
Trooper Guenther opened one of these bags and discovered the "hardware" or equipment for a clandestine methamphetamine lab. A Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agent responded to the scene to investigate and process the suspected methamphetamine lab. At the scene, the DCI agent observed a black folder containing what appeared to be an "elaborate" recipe for manufacturing methamphetamine (including a price list for items and where the items could be purchased), a quantity of suspected ephedrine, blenders, Pyrex bowls, a "heating type source," tubing, hot plates, tube cutters, and filters. These items were, in the DCI agent's experience, "common items that we find at methamphetamine labs." The equipment, according to the DCI agent, would probably produce a "use" amount of methamphetamine under the circumstances, but the equipment itself could be used "over and over."
After discovering the clandestine lab equipment, Trooper Guenther went to the hospital to verify the appellant's condition, continue the investigation, and arrest the appellant for "driving under the influence of a controlled substance and also with possession of clandestine lab material." During a search of the appellant's belongings at the hospital, Trooper Guenther found a list of chemicals commonly used in manufacturing methamphetamine written on a matchbook.
The appellant was charged with possessing laboratory equipment or supplies with intent to engage in a clandestine laboratory operation in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-71059(a)(ii) and (b) (LexisNexis 2003), a felony. In June 2002, the appellant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized from his automobile and his belongings (at the hospital), which motion the district court denied. In denying the motion, the district court made the following findings relevant to the issues on appeal:
1. The district court did not attach any particular significance to the evidence that the appellant "was involved in a one-car accident on dry pavement during sunny weather" or that the appellant appeared agitated at the scene.
2. The district court found that while investigating the accident patrolman Guenther observed a small wooden box inside the jeep behind the front seats. A likeness of a leaf is imposed on the lid of the box. Patrolman Guenther immediately recognized the leaf as a marihuana leaf and concluded that the wooden box was a "stash box." (According to patrolman Guenther, a "stash box" is a container used to store controlled substances and related paraphernalia.) He seized it and discovered that it smelled like marihuana. He also noticed a substance in the box that he recognized as marihuana residue.
3. The district court found that the wooden box's "incriminating character was immediately apparent" to the officer, as based upon both his previous experience with stash boxes and the unique style of the wooden box in question, patrolman Guenther concluded that it was a "stash box." Since a "stash box" is a product used for illegally storing co
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