The State appeals from the trial court’s order granting William Parrish, Jr.’s motion to suppress contraband evidence seized from his locked gun cabinet during the warrantless search of his residence. The State contends that the search was legal because Parrish’s wife gave consent. Because the evidence established that Parrish’s wife lacked authority to consent to the locked gun cabinet where the contraband evidence was found, we affirm the trial court’s decision. In reviewing a trial court’s grant of a motion to suppress, we construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the findings and judgment of the trial court, and will accept the trial court’s decisions regarding questions of fact and credibility unless clearly erroneous. We review de novo the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts. Citations omitted. State v. McCarthy , 288 Ga. App. 426 654 SE2d 239 2007. The officer who conducted the warrantless search was the only witness to testify at the motion to suppress hearing, and the relevant facts established by his testimony are not in dispute. The officer testified that on the evening of October 24, 2008, he was conducting an investigation of an unrelated matter and went to Parrish’s residence in hopes of interviewing him. When the officer arrived at the residence, he learned that Parrish was not at home. The officer spoke to Parrish’s wife, who told him that Parrish had gone out of town to find work. While the officer and Parrish’s wife were talking, Parrish called the residence and spoke to the officer. Parrish told the officer that he was out of town, but was coming back home and would meet with the officer upon his arrival. The officer did not request Parrish’s consent to search the residence during the course of their conversation. Instead, the officer requested and obtained consent to search from Parrish’s wife.
Parrish’s wife told the officer that Parrish had a locked gun cabinet where he stored firearms. Although the gun cabinet was located in the master bedroom that she shared with Parrish, Parrish’s wife told the officer that Parrish was the only person who had access to the locked gun cabinet; he was the only person who had a key. According to the officer, Parrish’s wife did not give any indication that she had ever gone into the cabinet. The officer nevertheless gained entry into the gun cabinet with assistance from Parrish’s wife, who helped him “jimmy” or break the lock. When the officer opened the gun cabinet, he found a .22 caliber rifle, an empty holster, and .380 caliber ammunition.
