Utah Bar Journal

In State v. Sims, 808 P.2d 141, 142 n.1 (Utah App. 1991), Judge Pam Greenwood of the Utah Court of Appeals observed:

Sergeant Mangelson's efforts to thwart illegal drug trafficking are well known in Utah's appellate courts... Besides the present case, at least one other case involving an automobile search by Sergeant Mangelson is pending in this court. . . As a central player in at least five published search and seizure scenarios to date, the redoubtable trooper's notoriety is approaching that of Max 25, a narcotics detection dog whose nose for crime has figured in at least seven published federal cases in the District of Columbia Circuit. [Citations omitted.]

From my review of Utah cases, both state and federal, I have found more than 30 published cases in which Sergeant Mangelson was involved to some extent. A full list of those cases is set forth at the end of this article. When State v. Sims first came out, Sergeant Mangelson took on a new nickname in Juab County, that of "Max 25." It just happened that his call number with the Highway Patrol at the time was 25. Judge Greenwood's comparison of him to a drug-sniffing dog is appropriate from my experience. Sergeant Mangelson has almost a sixth sense with respect to his ability to detect criminal activity. His observational skills are exceptional, which enable him to investigate circumstances that other officers might not detect.

Sergeant Mangelson has been involved in the seizure of thousands of pounds of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs. His arrests have led to the forfeiture of hundreds of motor vehicles to the State of Utah because of their use in the transportation of controlled substances. He has also been involved in the seizure of many hundreds of thousands of dollars that were the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking. Those monies and vehicles were also forfeited to the State of Utah to help assist local and state police and prosecution agencies in enforcing the controlled substance laws.

Sergeant Mangelson has been known to be critical of the judiciary both at the trial and appellate level. In my discussions with him, this can be somewhat explained by his perception that the courts have not been willing to protect his personal and physical safety. In the case of State v. Castonguay, 663 P.2d 1323 (Utah 1983), the Utah Supreme Court overturned a conviction for the attempted murder of Sergeant Mangelson, finding there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction even though Sergeant Mangelson testified he had observed the defendant raise the rifle to his shoulder and fire a shot at him across Main Street in downtown Nephi. That was after the defendant had shot toward Mangelson and another officer, and Mangelson had demanded that the defendant drop his weapon, just prior to the final shot across Main Street.

In recent years, a trial court also failed to bind a defendant over for trial on a charge of aggravated assault when the defendant had physically struggled with Mangelson and attempted to take his weapon from its holster. That resulted in Mangelson and police agencies lobbying for the passage in the 1999 Legislature of Utah Code ¤ 76-5-102.8, which made it a first-degree felony to attempt to take or remove a firearm from a peace officer. Governor Michael Leavitt invited Sergeant Mangelson to the signing of the bill. The bill's strong penalty will hopefully deter individuals from attempting to harm law enforcement officers.

Another area where Sergeant Mangelson has developed an amazing expertise is in the detection of secret compartments in vehicles used to conceal drugs, money, or other contraband. He has found these items concealed in spare tires, air cleaners, fake car batteries, second gas tanks, hollowed out timber, and many specially-designed compartments where the original vehicle was modified to conceal the compartment.

In State v. Poole, 871 P.2d 531(Utah 1994), the Utah Supreme Court overturned the trial court's granting of a motion to suppress, finding that Sergeant Mangelson had probable cause to continue the search after consent to search had been withdrawn by its occupants. The search resulted in the seizure of more than 100 pounds of marijuana. Justice Howe in that case listed six factors to establish probable cause for the search, one being that Sergeant Mangelson could articulate that the truck had a significant and unusual alteration in its bed, which was in plain view and concealed a secret compartment. Another factor was that the compartment was found by Sergeant Mangelson, an officer who then had 24 years of experience in the field and had seen other false beds that contained contraband. This was also the case where the Supreme Court found I-15 to be a known drug-trafficking route.

In State v. Contrel, 886 P.2d 107 (Utah App. 1994), the Court of Appeals upheld the stop and search of a pickup truck by Sergeant Mangelson in which he found over 100 pounds of marijuana. The only basis Mangelson had to establish reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle was that he was able to articulate a series of observations he made of the vehicle that were identical to a truck he stopped several months prior wherein he found a secret compartment behind the rear bumper containing a large amount of cocaine. In the Contrel case, once the vehicle was stopped, Mangelson received consent to search the vehicle from the driver and took off the bumper as he had in the earlier case and found an identical compartment containing 100 pounds of marijuana.

After the United States Supreme Court case of Delaware v. Prose, 440 U. S. 648, (1979), which implied that roadblock stops by police agencies for the purpose of checking driver's licenses and vehicle registrations might be constitutionally permitted under certain circumstances, Sergeant Mangelson and other police agencies in Juab County used roadblocks to help enforce the laws of the State of Utah during the late 1980s. In a series of cases in the early 1990s, Utah appellate courts found these roadblocks to be unconstitutional. State v. Sims, 808 P.2d 141 (Utah App. 1992); 881 P.2d 840 (Utah 1994); State v. Kitchen, 808 P.2d 1127 (Utah App. 1991); and State v. Park, 810 P.2d 456 (Utah App. 1991). The holdings in these cases led the Legislature to adopt the Administrative Traffic Checkpoint Act, Utah Code ¤¤ 77-23-101 through 77-23-105, which set up a formal planning and approval process for administrative checkpoints. Sergeant Mangelson and other police agencies have used administrative checkpoints to enforce certain targeted laws of the State since the adoption of that act.

Mangelson also had an involvement in several cases that helped define and interpret Utah's Illegal Drug Stamp Tax Act and the forfeiture provisions under Utah's Controlled Substance Act. In Sims v. Utah State Tax Commission, 841 P.2d 6 (Utah 1992), the Utah Supreme Court held that unconstitutionally seized evidence could not be used under the Illegal Drug Stamp Tax Act even though it is a civil proceeding because it is quasi-criminal in nature and the exclusionary rule would provide a deterrent to unconstitutional seizures. The case of State v. House and 1.37 acres, 886 P.2d 534 (Utah 1994) began with a seizure by Mangelson of 15 pounds of marijuana on the Interstate, leading to a controlled delivery of the property that became the subject of a forfeiture action. The Supreme Court found in that case that although the facts met the requirements of Utah Code ¤58-37-13(1) for forfeiture, the forfeiture of the property was excessive when there was not sufficient evidence to establish that the property was the instrumentality of a crime.

Another aspect of Sergeant Mangelson's law enforcement career has been to instruct and train other police officers in the techniques he has used in drug detection as well as other areas of law enforcement where he had developed an expertise. These instructions almost always included a section covering the current case law, so the officers would know the standards to which the courts would hold them and so evidence from their searches and arrests would not be subject to suppression. He has not only instructed and trained officers in Utah, but across the Western United States. He has trained police officers in the State of Minnesota annually for many years. He has also given presentations at the annual meetings of the Utah State Bar and at the Annual Judicial Conference.

There has been some controversy over the years whether Sergeant Mangelson and other officers inappropriately profiled ethnic minorities in traffic stops. To assist in resolving the controversy, Sergeant Mangelson was one of the first police officers in the state to install a video camera and recording system in his patrol car to provide an accurate record of what transpired in each traffic stop.

There are many Paul Mangelson stories, some of which have become legend in Central Utah. One involves a criminal preliminary hearing in which Sergeant Mangelson was testifying. The defense attorney kept asking Sergeant Mangelson the same question over and over again, even after objections. Finally, Sergeant Mangelson looked the attorney straight in the eye and asked if he was calling him a liar. The attorney thought for a minute and said, "I guess I am." At that point, Sargent Mangelson stood straight up and said, "The last person who called me a liar found his back side against the floor in a very short period of time." At that point, the Judge called a timely recess and cooler heads prevailed.

Another story involves a pickup truck that was seized at the time of arrest by Sergeant Mangelson after he found 10 pounds of marijuana in the interior of the vehicle. The driver ultimately pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge and the truck was forfeited to the State of Utah. Some time later, I received a call from an FBI agent in San Francisco who said he had just been contacted by one of his informants who stated he has been approached to steal a certain pickup truck from the impound yard of the Juab County Sheriff's Office in Nephi, Utah. By the time of the call, the truck was being used as an undercover vehicle in Utah County. After the call, Sergeant Mangelson and I drove to Spanish Fork and had the truck brought to the Spanish Fork City Shops. We then spent an hour trying to locate the secret compartment and its contents that would make this truck so valuable. Sergeant Mangelson finally figured out there was an unaccounted for space between the bed of the truck and the frame. It required that the whole bed of the truck be removed. Once removed, numerous securely packaged bricks of marijuana in excess of 100 pounds were found. Sergeant Mangelson couldn't believe that he had failed to discover it at the time of the initial arrest.

I for one will miss Paul Mangelson's presence at mile post 221 on I-15, just south of Nephi, where I imagine most residents of Utah have driven past him at some point in their travels. He has had a great impact upon law enforcement and the criminal justice system in the State of Utah. The war on drugs has not been won in the State of Utah, but Sergeant Mangelson has been a major player in trying to disrupt the distribution systems of the many criminals who involve themselves in drug trafficking. I, along with many other members of the Utah Bar, wish Sergeant Mangelson well in his retirement. Maybe now he will have more time to spend with his wife, children, and grandchildren (of which he and I share two). Maybe he will be able to use his keen sense of observation to improve his golf game.

Mangelson-Involved Cases

Utah Appeals Court Cases
1. State v. Aguilar, 758 P.2d 457 (Utah App. 1988)
2. State v. Baird, 763 P.2d 1214 (Utah App. 1988)
3. State v. Arroyo, 770 P.2d 153 (Utah App. 1989)
4. State v. Park, 810 P.2d 456 (Utah App. 1991)
5. State v. Kitchen, 808 P.2d 1127 (Utah App. 1991)
6. State v. Sims, 808 P.2d 141 (Utah App. 1991)
7. State v. Sepulveda, 842 P.2d 913 (Utah App. 1992)
8. State v. Mirquet, 844 P.2d 995 (Utah App. 1992)
9. State v. Lopez, 831 P.2d 1040 (Utah App. 1992)
10. State v. Contrel, 886 P.2d 107 (Utah App. 1994)
11. State v. Delaney, 869 P.2d 4 (Utah App. 1994)
12. State v. Beddoes, 890 P.2d 1 (Utah App. 1995)
13. State v. Spurgeon, 904 P.2d 220 (Utah App. 1995)
14. State v. Wright, 977 P.2d 505 (Utah App. 1999)
15. State v. Granau, 31 P.3d 601 (Utah App. 2001)

Utah Supreme Court Cases
1. State v. Castonguay, 663 P.2d 1323 (Utah 1983)
2. State v. Earl, 716 P.2d 803 (Utah 1986)
3. State v. Arroyo, 796 P.2d 684 (Utah 1990)
4. Sims v. Utah State Tax Commission,
841 P.2d 6 (Utah 1992)
5. State v. a House & 1.37 acres of Real Property,
886 P.2d 534 (Utah 1994)
6. State v. Poole, 871 P.2d 531 (Utah 1994)
7. State v. Marquet, 844 P.2d 995 (Utah 1996)

Federal District Court Cases
1. U.S. v. Castillo, 864 F. Supp. 1090 (D. Utah 1994)
2. U.S. v. Rivas-Lopez, 988 F. Supp. 1424 (D. Utah 1997)
3. U.S. v. Farias, 43 F. Supp.2d 1276 (D. Utah 1999)
4. U.S. v. Wisniewski, 358 F. Supp. 2d 1074 (D. Utah 2005)

10th Circuit Appeals Court Cases
1. U.S. v. Corral, 899 F.2d 991 (10th Cir. 1990)
2. U.S. v. Lyons, 7 F.3d 973 (10th Cir. 1993)
3. U.S. v. Nicholson, 17 F.3d 1294 (10th Cir. 1994)
4. U.S. v Fernandez, 18 F.3d 874 (10th Cir. 1994)
5. U.S. v. Castillo, 76 F.3d 1114 (10th Cir. 1996)
6. U.S. v. Wald, 216 F.3d 1222 (10th Cir. 2000)
7. U.S. v. Nava Ramirez, 210 F.3d 1128 (10th Cir. 2000)