Johnson v. Com., No. 2004-CA-001375-MR.

• Decision Date: 14 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. 2004-CA-001375-MR.
• Citation: 179 S.W.3d 882
• Parties: Terron D. JOHNSON, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

179 S.W.3d 882

Terron D. JOHNSON, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee.

No. 2004-CA-001375-MR.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

June 17, 2005.

Discretionary Review Denied by Supreme Court December 14, 2005.

Case Ordered Published by Supreme Court December 14, 2005.

Kim Brooks Tandy, Covington, KY, for appellant.

Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General of Kentucky, Todd D. Ferguson, Assistant Attorney General, Frankfort, KY, for appellee.

Before COMBS, Chief Judge; HENRY and TACKETT, Judges.

OPINION

COMBS, Chief Judge.

Terron Johnson appeals from an order of the Henderson Circuit Court following his conditional plea of guilty to one count each of first-degree possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and possession of marijuana. Prior to pleading guilty, Johnson unsuccessfully filed a motion to suppress the introduction of evidence discovered during a police search of his automobile. He now appeals the order that denied his motion to suppress. After our review of the record, we affirm both the order denying the motion to suppress and the judgment entered upon the guilty plea.

At the suppression hearing conducted by the trial court, Officer Chris Roush of the Henderson City Police Department testified that he was driving routine patrol in the vicinity of Cherry Street on the evening of November 8, 2003. The police had recently increased their protection of that area at the request of residents. Shortly after midnight, Officer Roush observed an occupied automobile parked in front of an apartment building on Cherry Street. Because several of the apartments in the building had been confirmed as high drug-traffic areas, Roush became suspicious. Roush circled the city block and observed the car pull away from the curb as he approached.

In less than two minutes, Roush saw the driver make a right-turn without giving a proper signal and noticed that the vehicle's license plate was not properly illuminated. Officer Roush activated his lights and initiated a routine traffic stop. Roush also noticed that the vehicle's registration appeared to have expired. He radioed dispatch for more information. Dispatch confirmed that the registration had indeed expired. Roush then radioed for a canine unit.

Roush exited his patrol car and approached the stopped car. He advised the driver, Terron Johnson, of his reason for the stop. At Roush's request, Johnson provided a valid driver's license and registration but refused to consent to a search of his car.

Roush returned immediately to his patrol car to prepare a citation for the expired registration. Before Roush completed the paperwork, the requested canine unit arrived at the scene. Roush again exited his patrol car and asked Johnson to step out of his car for his own safety. Between five and seven minutes had elapsed since Roush had initiated the traffic stop.

Argo, the drug-sniffer dog, alerted immediately and aggressively to the driver's side door. Once inside the car, he alerted aggressively to the cushion of a child's safety seat. Roush discovered cocaine and marijuana hidden in the child's safety seat. Johnson was arrested and transported to the county jail. According to Roush, the entire incident lasted approximately fifteen minutes.

On January 6, 2004, Johnson was indicted on charges of first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and expired registration plates. On March 17, 2004, he filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized from the search of his automobile. As a basis for the motion, Johnson argued that the canine sweep constituted an unlawful search lacking probable cause and that the detention was otherwise unduly long and intrusive in light of the nature of the stop.

After considering the evidence presented, the trial court concluded that the traffic stop was properly supported by probable cause and that it was valid. The trial court also addressed the time involved in the officer's interaction with Johnson to determine whether the stop had been prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to investigate, prepare, and issue a citation based on the traffic violation. The court rejected Johnson's contention that Officer Roush had improperly extended the duration of the stop to enable the dog sniff to occur. Additionally, "[t]he brief delay while the dog sniffed the exterior of the car did not make the length of the stop unreasonable." Opinion at 4. We find no error in the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.

It is well settled that an investigative stop of an automobile is constitutional as long as law enforcement officials have a reasonable suspicion—supported by specific and articulable facts—that the occupant of the vehicle has committed, is committing, or is about to commit an offense. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979); Collins v. Commonwealth, 142 S.W.3d 113 (Ky.2004). In addition to the requirement that the stop be justified at its inception, the police officer's subsequent actions must be reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that gave credence to the initial stop. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). "[A]n investigative detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop." Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1325, 75 L.Ed.2d 229, 238 (1983).

Johnson concedes that the initial traffic stop was justified based upon his violation of traffic laws. However, Johnson contends that the detention lasted longer than necessary to effectuate its purpose and that it was improperly prolonged for the purpose of conducting a drug investigation, thus...