7/8/11 Appellate court reverses judge's ruling

  • By Nick Sabo
  • July 8, 2011
  • 267
                        
A Holmes County Municipal Court judge’s ruling on the validity of a search warrant was reversed by the Ohio Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeals. The ruling, received July 6 in municipal court, states that Municipal Court Judge Jane Irving did not apply proper judgement when ruling on a May 18, 2010 motion to suppress hearing. The hearing was held in the cases of Brooklyn A. Bryant, 21, and Bryan D. Dronebarger, 24, both of 7124 Township Road 323, Millersburg, and argued that a no-knock search warrant executed by Medway Drug Enforcement agents and Holmes County Sheriff’s deputies was not based on sound evidence. Bryant and Dronebarger were represented by attorneys Jeff Kellogg and Andrew Hyde. Kellogg went on to file the appeal after Irving ruled in favor of Medway. The search warrant was executed Nov. 3 at the Township Road 323 residence, where Bryant and Dronebarger, who are siblings, were residing. Law enforcement believed they would find a marijuana grow operation there. No grow operation was found, and Bryant and Dronebarger were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after smoking devices were found in the house. In the hearing, Hyde and Kellogg presented evidence across the board that challenged the facts on which the search warrant was based. The warrant stated that Deputy Tim Stryker, on a prior visit to the residence during a domestic dispute, noted that all basement windows were covered. The search warrant further claimed Stryker was not permitted to enter the residence. Stryker testified at the motion hearing that he only reported one basement window covered. He said he was let in to the residence, but not to the basement where Dronebarger was believed to be. The search warrant’s contention that a grow operation was in process was also based on electric usage records that showed the Township Road 323 residence had higher than normal electrical usage. At the suppression hearing, however, a representative of Holmes/Wayne Electric said the usage was average for their customers. The records used in comparison included a freezer barn and an Amish household. The appellate court’s motion essentially agrees with Kellogg and Hyde’s assertions. It Writes that Irving, acting as primary fact finder, agreed with the facts as presented by Medway, even though “these findings are not supported by the evidence presented at the suppression hearing”. In ruling to reverse judgement, the appellate court writes that “if the false statements noted above are excised from the affidavit, the remaining content is insufficient to establish probable cause”. The reversal places the issue back into the Holmes County Prosecuting Attorney’s hands. Bryant and Dronebarger pleaded no contest to the paraphernalia charges Aug. 24, 2010. Kellogg said he hopes the prosecution will vacate the charges. On a larger scale, Kellogg said he hopes the appellate court’s ruling will result in greater scrutiny of facts used to establish search warrants. “It was a reckless affidavit,” Kellogg said. “I understand they need to do their job, but going into someone’s house with a search warrant is a big deal. I believe that Medway pays attention to these kind of issues and will address them.” The case is set for pretrials in municipal court on July 26 for Bryant and July 19 for Dronebarger.


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