DES MOINES – A North Iowa man caught with drugs who pled guilty and was sentenced to prison has lost his appeal.
Patrick Letscher appealed his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea for possession of methamphetamine, third offense. Letscher argued trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress evidence following the search of his person. The Iowa court of appeals affirmed his conviction and preserved his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.
On December 7, 2012, Sherriff’s Deputy Andrew Klein stopped Letscher’s vehicle due to one of the headlights being out. A search of his person revealed marijuana in Letscher’s jacket pocket. Letscher was arrested and transported to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office where he was again searched. Methamphetamine was found in his sock.
On January 15, 2013, the State charged Letscher with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, third offense. Letscher failed to attend a pretrial conference, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Letscher’s counsel withdrew, citing Letscher’s failure to appear as well as the fact she had had no contact with him in the past thirty days. Letscher was arrested on August 26, 2013, and the next day pled guilty to one count of possession of methamphetamine, third offense. He was sentenced to a term of incarceration not to exceed five years on November 19, 2013. Letscher appeals, asserting trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress the results of the search of his person, claiming a lack of voluntary consent.
Count two, the possession of a controlled substance, third offense, (marijuana), was dismissed as part of the guilty plea entered on the methamphetamine charge.
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