James v. State
Citation | 197 So.3d 532 |
Decision Date | 18 December 2015 |
Docket Number | CR–14–1132. |
Parties | Bryant Terrell JAMES v. STATE of Alabama. |
Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
George Nicholas Wallace, Montgomery, for appellant.
Luther Strange, atty. gen., and Michael G. Dean, asst. atty. gen., for appellee.
Bryant Terrell James appeals his guilty-plea conviction for possession of a controlled substance, see § 13A–12–212(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975, and his sentence of 18 months to be served in a community-corrections program. Before pleading guilty, James preserved and reserved his right to appeal the Montgomery Circuit Court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence discovered and seized as the result of a warrantless detention.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on December 21, 2012, Detective Steven Harrison, who at the time was a patrolman with the Montgomery Police Department, received a dispatch indicating that the Montgomery Police Department had received an anonymous tip about prostitutes and armed individuals at a truck stop. Detective Harrison described the anonymous tip as follows:
(R. 5.) Detective Harrison testified that the truck stop was in a high-crime area and that prostitution was a common occurrence at that location.
Detective Harrison drove to the truck stop and located the Impala. As the anonymous tip had indicated, two males were sitting in the Impala. Other than locating the Impala with two black men inside, Detective Harrison did not observe anything to verify the other information provided by the anonymous tipster. After backup had arrived, Detective Harrison approached the Impala and ordered the occupants out of the vehicle. According to Detective Harrison, he ordered the occupants out of the vehicle to allow him to conduct a wingspan search because he had been advised that the occupants were armed. When James exited the vehicle, Detective Harrison saw a small plastic baggy lying in a pocket of the front passenger door. The baggy contained narcotics.
On appeal, James argues that the circuit court erroneously denied his motion to suppress the evidence seized from the Impala. According to James, the facts conveyed in the anonymous tip were not verified by Detective Harrison's own observations, were not reliable, and were not sufficient to supply probable cause or reasonable suspicion to order him out of the vehicle. Therefore, Detective Harrison violated James's right under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States when he ordered James out of the vehicle. James further argues that, because the bag of narcotics would not have been discovered without removing him from the vehicle, the discovery of the narcotics was the fruit of the illegal detention. This Court agrees.
Initially, this Court notes:
“ ”
C.B.D. v. State, 90 So.3d 227, 237 (Ala.Crim.App.2011) (quoting State v. Hargett, 935 So.2d 1200, 1203–04 (Ala.Crim.App.2005) ). The relevant facts in the record are uncontested; therefore, the standard of review is de novo. Worthy v. State, 91 So.3d 762, 765 (Ala.Crim.App.2011) (citing State v. Hill, 690 So.2d 1201, 1203 (Ala.1996) ).
The Alabama Supreme Court has explained that the “test for determining whether a person detained has been ‘seized’ for Fourth Amendment purposes, [is whether] a reasonable person in his position would have believed that he was not free to leave.” Coleman v. City of Dothan, 598 So.2d 873, 876 (Ala.1992). Further, warrantless searches or seizures are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment unless the State establishes that the seizure falls within a recognized exception. Ex parte Hilley, 484 So.2d 485, 488 (Ala.1985). Exceptions to the warrant requirement include: 1) objects in plain view; 2) consensual searches; 3) a search incident to a lawful arrest; 4) hot pursuit or emergency situations; 5) a search conducted with probable cause coupled with exigent circumstances; and 6) an investigatory detention and search for weapons pursuant to Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Ex parte Tucker, 667 So.2d 1339, 1343 (Ala.1995). Another recognized exception to the warrant requirement is the “automobile exception,” which allows law enforcement to search an automobile based on probable cause alone. State v. Black, 987 So.2d 1177, 1180 (Ala.Crim.App.2006) (quoting Pennsylvania v. Labron, 518 U.S. 938, 940, 116 S.Ct. 2485, 135 L.Ed.2d 1031 (1996) ).
Muse v. State, 42 So.3d 789, 791 (Ala.Crim.App.2009) (quoting Ex parte Carpenter, 592 So.2d 627, 629 (Ala.1991) ); see also Gaskin v. State, 565 So.2d 675, 677 (Ala.Crim.App.1990) ().
“ ”
Muse, 42 So.3d at 791–92 (quoting State v. Odom, 872 So.2d 887, 890 (Ala.Crim.App.2003) ). A brief, investigatory detention is proper under Terry if, based on the totality of the circumstances, “the detaining officers ... have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.” United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417–18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981).
Further, regarding an anonymous tip, the Alabama Supreme Court has explained:
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