Carlisle v. Commonwealth, 2018-SC-000680-MR

• Decision Date: 28 May 2020
• Docket Number: 2018-SC-000680-MR
• Citation: 601 S.W.3d 168
• Parties: Rodney CARLISLE, Jr., Appellant v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

601 S.W.3d 168

Rodney CARLISLE, Jr., Appellant

v.COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee

2018-SC-000680-MR

Supreme Court of Kentucky.

MAY 28, 2020

COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT: Roy Alyette Durham II, Assistant Public Advocate.

COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE: Daniel Jay Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky, James Daryl Havey, Assistant Attorney General.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE KELLER

Rodney Carlisle, Jr., appeals as a matter of right from a circuit court judgment convicting him of three counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance for which he was sentenced to a total of twenty years’ imprisonment. Carlisle argues the trial court should have suppressed evidence that was found on his person during a warrantless search because it was the result of illegal searches and seizures. Finding no error in the trial court's refusal to suppress this evidence, we affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Initial Traffic Stop

In September 2017, at approximately 3:10 PM,¹ Officer Brian Powers of the Covington Police Department stopped a truck for improper equipment, namely, tinted taillights and a loud exhaust. The truck was driven by Christopher Hughes; Carlisle was the only passenger. Two other officers, Sergeant S. Mangus and Officer Kyle Shepard, arrived on the scene to assist Officer Powers.

The traffic stop was captured on Officer Powers's body cam. The video shows that Officer Powers first approached the driver's side window and explained why he had stopped the truck. He then asked where Hughes and Carlisle were coming from, where Hughes lived (Newport), where the two were headed, where exactly Hughes was staying in Newport, and why they were so far from Newport. Hughes explained that he was living with someone in Newport but was helping someone move nearby, and he was headed to Sunoco for gas. Officer Powers then collected Hughes's license and, while Hughes searched for proof of insurance, also collected Carlisle's identification card. He also asked Hughes if he had ever been arrested, and Hughes responded yes, for possession of drug paraphernalia in 2001.

Officer Powers returned to his cruiser, immediately commenting "shady" to his own passenger. (It is unclear who this passenger is or why he was riding along.) He noted that the computer was running slowly. He also commented that he would "see if they got any prior charges." As he attempted to run Hughes's license number, he commented to his passenger, "We'll see if we can search the car, I don't know if he's gonna allow us to." He had trouble running Hughes's license number because the license was damaged and some of the numbers were illegible, so he contacted dispatch for assistance. Dispatch eventually responded that Hughes's license was suspended.

Officer Powers returned to the driver's side window of the truck. He immediately returned the IDs and proof of insurance to Hughes. After handing back the IDs, Officer Powers explained that Hughes's license was suspended and that the license itself was so damaged that he would need to get a new one. At approximately 3:23:49, Officer Powers stated to Hughes, "So you can't leave, I'm not gonna cite you for it, but you can't leave. You gotta park your vehicle." Hughes responded, "Can I park it right here at Sunoco?" To this question, Officer Powers responded, "Yeah, that's fine, just park it out of the way, okay. Is there anything illegal in the vehicle at all?" This last question was asked at approximately 3:23:55. Hughes responded in the negative. Officer Powers asked, "No weapons, drugs, nothing like that?" Hughes responded that the only thing he had was a pocket knife. At 3:23:58, Officer Powers asked Hughes, "Mind if I take a look?" Hughes responded "no" at approximately 3:23:59, thereby consenting to a search of the truck.

B. The Frisk and Detention of Carlisle

Hughes immediately exited the vehicle and was quickly frisked by Officer Powers. Officer Powers then directed Hughes to move toward the back of the truck where his supervisor was standing, "just wherever you want to stand with him." Carlisle was also instructed to exit the vehicle, at which point he was thoroughly frisked by Officer Shepard. The officer found a pocket knife, which he handed to Officer Powers. The officer also asked Carlisle how much cash he had on him. When the frisk was complete, Officer Powers directed Carlisle to "walk back over with my supervisor," at which point Carlisle walked over to one of the police cruisers parked behind the truck. The body cam shows that another officer pointed to the cruiser, at which point Carlisle sat down on the front of the cruiser. It is not clear if Carlisle was told that he had to sit there or only that he could sit there.

C. The Search of the Truck

As Officer Powers began his search of the truck, he commented to one of the other officers that the passenger (Carlisle) was a convicted felon with a prior gun charge, and both men had prior drug charges. Officer Powers then focused his attention on a black drawstring backpack located in the passenger seat, resting against the middle console, while another officer began searching the driver's side. Officer Powers initially pulled two packages of unused syringes from the bag. At this point, he commented to the other officer that "it was under him so...." The other officer asked if he was referencing the passenger, to which Officer Powers responded, "Yeah." As he continued to search the bag, Officer Powers also found several cell phones. When the other officer mentioned that he would start looking through the seat cushions, Officer Powers commented, "It's gonna be on him." The other officer asked if the men had been searched yet, and Officer Powers responded that he had only patted them down, but "I think we got enough now to search." He also commented that "[Officer] Shepard patted this guy down, he's got a ton of money in his pocket."

Ultimately, the other officer found a digital scale in the driver's side door, and Officer Powers pulled from the bag an iPad, several cell phones, and a canister of butane, in addition to the syringes and various personal items like cologne, Tylenol, and an energy drink. In reference to the butane, Officer Powers commented, "Probably shooting meth." The other officer also asked what the butane was for, to which Officer Powers responded, "I've only ever seen that with meth."

Officer Powers then pulled the passenger seat up and picked up a plastic cellophane wrapper from the floorboard. Though it is not clear from his body cam footage, Officer Powers testified at the suppression hearing that there was a white residue on the wrapper. In the video, he stated that there was "at one point something in" the wrapper. In reference to the residue, he also stated, "I don't think there's gonna be enough to do anything with." He also stated, "If anything, it's gonna be on him, I'll check him."

D. The Search of Carlisle's Person

Officer Powers then called dispatch to run the iPad's serial number to check if it was stolen. After doing that, he walked over to Carlisle. Officer Shepard, who had been standing with the men, handcuffed Carlisle, explaining that Carlisle had been acting "super nervous" and was "tensing up," so the officer did not "want to take any chances."

Officer Powers then searched Carlisle's person. He first checked the left pocket of his jeans and discovered a large amount of cash. He then asked Carlisle when he had last taken meth and whether he had any meth on him. Carlisle responded in the negative. Officer Powers then moved to Carlisle's right side and pulled from his waistband a small piece of plastic, apparently the top of a plastic baggie. Officer Powers finished searching Carlisle's pockets and found "suspected marijuana." He then attempted to find the rest of the plastic baggie and ultimately had Carlisle step of out his shoes and out of his jeans. Carlisle wore shorts underneath his jeans. The rest of the plastic baggie, which contained a suspected narcotic, was found after Carlisle stepped out of his jeans. Carlisle was read his Miranda rights, and the officers then continued to search him, shaking out his shorts and checking his socks and shoes.

After Carlisle was placed in the back of the police cruiser, the officers quickly searched Hughes and, finding nothing, allowed him to leave. Carlisle was ultimately transported to booking, at which point the body cam footage ended.

E. Motion to Suppress

Carlisle moved to suppress all evidence from the traffic stop, and a hearing was held in which only Officer Powers testified. The body cam footage was also submitted as an exhibit. The trial court ultimately denied the motion. The case proceeded to trial, and a jury found Carlisle guilty of three counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. Carlisle was sentenced to a total of twenty years of imprisonment, and this appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Carlisle argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because (1) Officer Powers illegally extended the traffic stop beyond its original purpose; (2) the continued detention of Carlisle after the traffic stop concluded constitutes an illegal seizure; and (3) the officers did not have probable cause to search Carlisle's person. We address each argument in turn.

A. Prolonged Stop

Carlisle first argues that Officer Powers illegally extended the duration of the traffic stop beyond its original lawful purpose, thereby illegally seizing Carlisle. In his brief to this Court, Carlisle focuses on the questions that Officer Powers asked when he first approached the truck (e.g., where do you live, where are you going) and his search of their criminal histories.

On this issue, the parties both cite to Rodriguez v. United States , 575 U.S. 348, 135 S.Ct. 1609, 191 L.Ed.2d 492 (2015). In that case, Rodriguez's car swerved onto the shoulder of the road, in violation of a law prohibiting driving on the shoulder. An officer stopped the car and ultimately wrote a written warning...