State v. Baldwin

THE STATE OF TEXAS v. JOHN WESLEY BALDWIN, Appellee

No. PD-0027-21

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

May 11, 2022

ON THE STATE'S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS HARRIS COUNTY.

McClure, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Hervey, Richardson, Newell, and Walker, JJ., joined. Keller P.J., filed a dissenting opinion in which Yeary, Keel, and Slaughter, JJ., joined. Yeary, J., filed a dissenting opinion.

OPINION

McClure, J.

During a capital murder investigation, investigators obtained a search warrant for Appellee John Wesley Baldwin's phone pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 18.0215(c)(5)(B). In a motion to suppress, Appellee objected to the search warrant's supporting affidavit, which contained generic statements about the use of cell phones. The trial court and the court of appeals both concluded that the affidavit did not contain sufficient facts to establish a fair probability that a search of the cell phone found in Appellee's vehicle would likely produce evidence in the investigation of the murder. We granted review to answer this question: under what circumstances may boilerplate language about cell phones be considered in a probable cause analysis? We hold that boilerplate language may be used in an affidavit for the search of a cell phone, but to support probable cause, the language must be coupled with other facts and reasonable inferences that establish a nexus between the device and the offense. Because the affidavit in the instant case failed to do so, we discern no abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court and no error on the part of the court of appeals. Background

On September 18, 2016, Adrianus Michael Kusuma was shot and killed during a robbery at his residence. The homeowner's brother, Sebastianus Kusuma, witnessed the murder and said the perpetrators were two black men who fled in a white, four-door sedan. Investigators learned that, shortly after the murder, one of the Kusuma's neighbors saw a white, four-door sedan exit the neighborhood at a very high rate of speed.

Investigators obtained security footage from a nearby residence showing a white sedan suspiciously circling the neighborhood, not only on the day of the capital murder, but on the day before as well. On four separate occasions, the sedan entered a cul-de-sac, drove to the front of the residence where the murder occurred, and then turned around.

One neighbor came forward and informed investigators that a white sedan had passed by his residence three times shortly before the murder. The neighbor added that the sedan was driven by a large black male.

Another neighbor came forward and said that she had seen a white, four-door sedan "casing" the neighborhood on the day before the offense. This neighbor said there were two occupants in the sedan, and both were black men. This neighbor took a picture of the sedan, capturing the license plate.

Investigators determined that the sedan in the photo was registered to Appellee's stepfather, who claimed he sold the sedan to Appellee. Appellee's stepfather told investigators that Appellee was living at his girlfriend's apartment.

Investigators located the sedan at the apartment and followed Appellee as he left in the sedan. A marked unit eventually pulled Baldwin over for unsafely crossing two lanes of traffic in a single maneuver and for driving over the "gore zone," which is the triangular portion of a highway exit. Baldwin was arrested for those traffic violations, as well as for driving with an expired license and for failing to show identification on demand.

Appellee made a lengthy statement to the police. He consented to a search of the sedan, and a cell phone was found inside. Appellee refused to consent to a search of the phone, so investigators obtained a search warrant. The following affidavit was submitted in support of the search warrant:

On September 18, 2016, at 2120 hours, your Affiant was assigned to investigate the robbery and murder of Adrianus Michael Kusuma, an Asian male, date of birth September 27 1982, having occurred at his home located at 21522 Canvasback Glen in unincorporated Harris County, Texas. Upon arrival at the scene, Affiant spoke with Sebastianus Kusuma, the brother of the complainant, who was home at the time of the robbery and murder, a person Affiant found credible and reliable. Sebastianus Kusuma advised he was upstairs in his room when he heard a loud banging noise emanating from downstairs. Sebastianus Kusuma went downstairs to investigate and was confronted by a masked black male, armed with a handgun, at the base of the stairs. The masked gunman demanded money and began to assault Sebastianus Kusuma with his fists and the handgun in the dining room of the home. While he was fighting with this male, Sebastianus Kusuma stated he heard a gunshot coming from the kitchen area of the home and turned to see a second black male, also masked, running from the back of the house toward the dining room. The two gunmen grabbed a box of receipts and money from the Kusumas' family run business and fled the residence through the front door. Sebastianus Kusuma followed the two males from the home and witnessed them getting into a white, 4-door sedan and flee [sic] the scene. Sebastianus Kusuma returned to the home to search for his brother and found him lying on the kitchen floor near the back door. Adrianus Michael Kusuma had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was unconscious and unresponsive. The rear door of the residence was open and the door frame shattered from having been kicked in by the suspects.

The neighborhood where this murder occurred consists only of a circling boulevard with multiple small cul-de-sac streets that extend from the main boulevard. Vehicles may only access the neighborhood from one street that leads east off Gosling Road.

During the course of conducting the scene investigation, affiant learned that a neighbor, who lives near the entry street to the subdivision, was outdoors at approximately 8:45 PM when he observed a white, 4-door sedan exiting the neighborhood at a very high rate of speed. Within minutes of this vehicle exiting the neighborhood, this citizen observed emergency vehicles entering the neighborhood and thought the white vehicle may be connected to the response of emergency vehicles into the neighborhood.

Further, while conducting this investigation, Affiant was advised by Sergeant Mark Reynolds, a certified peace officer reputably employed by the Harris County Sheriffs Office and also assigned to the Homicide Division and assisting in this investigation, that he was approached by a citizen who advised a white, 4-door Lexus vehicle, bearing Texas license plate # GTK-6426, was observed driving through the neighborhood, and specifically, past the residence at 21522 Canvasback Glen, on multiple occasions on Saturday, September 17, 2016. The citizen found the repeated circling of the neighborhood and the complainant's home so suspicious that she photographed the vehicle on her smartphone and captured the license plate.

Based on the suspicious circumstances presented by this vehicle one day before the murder, this citizen feared the occupants, two black males, were possibly responsible for the robbery and murder.

Affiant and other investigators from the Homicide Division canvassed the neighborhood for residences that may have security cameras. Three (3) residences were located that had recording surveillance systems operating. Video from these surveillance systems were reviewed and one system captured video images of a white, 4-door vehicle, similar in appearance to the white Lexus registered under license plate GTK-6426, circling the neighborhood on Saturday, September 17, 2016 and Sunday, September 18, 2017 [sic]. Specifically, the video system located at 21622 Redcrested Glen captured images of the vehicle at 2:03 PM on Saturday, September 18, 2016, and the same vehicle on Sunday, September 19, 2016 at 8: 15 PM, 8:16 PM and 8:23 PM.^[1] On each instance, the vehicle entered the cul-de-sac and drove to the circle in front of 21622 Redcrested Glen and turned around, leaving the view of the camera. On the 8:23 PM event, the vehicle paused momentarily before leaving the view of the camera. The residence at 21622 Redcrested Glen is only 5 residences to the north of the location where Sebastianus Kusuma observed the suspects in the robbery enter the white vehicle and flee the scene.

Affiant also interviewed a citizen at 21423 Mandarin Glen who advised that on Sunday, September 18, 2016, at a time estimated by him to be right at duck [sic], observed a white, Lexus GS300 vehicle, driven by a large black male lapped his residence three (3) times. Shortly after this vehicle passed by his residence the last time, the citizen stated he heard the sirens of emergency vehicles and came outside to see what was happening. The address of 21423 Mandarin Glen is approximately 2.5 blocks from the residence where the robbery and murder occurred.

On September 22, 2016, the vehicle bearing Texas license plate GTK-6426 was stopped by patrol deputies for traffic violations and was being operated by John Wesley Baldwin III, a black male, date of birth June 15, 1988. Baldwin gave consent to search the vehicle and a Samsung Galaxy5, within a red and black case was recovered. Baldwin stated that the phone carried the number 832-541-2500.

Based on your Affiant's training and experience, Affiant knows that phones and "smartphones" such as the one listed herein, are capable of receiving, sending, or storing electronic data and that evidence of their identity and others may be contained within those cellular "smart" phones. Affiant also knows it is possible to capture

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