Sowell v. State, F-80-277
| Decision Date | 07 November 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. F-80-277,F-80-277 |
| Citation | 620 P.2d 429 |
| Parties | Coy Dale SOWELL, Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
On appeal from a conviction for Burglary in the Second Degree in LeFlore County Case No. CRF-78-215, wherein punishment was assessed at two years' imprisonment, the appellant, Coy Dale Sowell, hereinafter referred to as defendant presents two assignments of error. Inasmuch as this cause must be reversed we will address only that issue that is determinative of this appeal to wit: the investigatory detention of the defendant was unlawful and in violation of his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and any evidence gained as a result thereof and incident thereto was inadmissible in his subsequent trial for burglary.
While patrolling the community of Spiro, Oklahoma, Officer Stearl Barham observed a Chevrolet pickup truck at approximately 12:30 a. m. on the date in question. Barham did not recognize the vehicle when he first observed it on the south side of Spiro while making his rounds of the community. Upon seeing the truck a second time, on the opposite side of town, Barham decided to stop the vehicle and investigate, because of the hour, his unfamiliarity with the truck, and his policy of checking out strangers late at night. (Tr. 34) Thereupon, Barham engaged his red light causing the driver of the pickup to pull over. After inquiring of defendant his name and viewing his driver's license, Barham observed several items in the bed of the pickup truck. Defendant allegedly consented to Barham's taking down the serial numbers thereof. It is important to note here, that Barham requested defendant to accompany him to the police station to further checkout defendant's story to which defendant refused. Barham further testified that defendant was not free to leave until he was finished with his "field interview." Receiving a negative report on his inquiry as to whether the items in the pickup were stolen defendant was then allowed to proceed on his way. The next morning, a burglary report was received of a barn located very near to Spiro, Oklahoma, where items taken therefrom were identical to the items Barham had observed the night before in the pickup defendant was driving. The information gained from the "field interview" of defendant caused charges of Burglary in the Second Degree to be filed and said information was used as evidence in defendants subsequent trial upon which the conviction now appealed from was obtained.
The distinction between an investigatory detention and a full arrest is largely a matter of degree. Both involve significant intrusions upon the privacy of the individual, although an investigatory detention which does not result in arrest is of a much shorter duration than an arrest. Castellano v. State, Okl.Cr., 585 P.2d 361 (1978). The reasonableness of seizures or detentions that are less intrusive than a traditional arrest, depends on a balance between the public interest and the individuals right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers. Consideration of the constitutionality of such seizures involves a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure, the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest and the severity of the interference with individual liberty. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975). As stated recently in the United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 99 S.Ct....
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Coffia v. State
...matter of degree because both involve a significant intrusion upon the privacy of the individual. Sowell v. State, 1980 OK CR 98, ¶ 3, 620 P.2d 429, 430. The reasonableness of the seizures or detentions that are less intrusive than a traditional arrest depends on a balance between the publi......
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Epker v. State, s. F-84-285
...not looking for suspects in a recent crime, nor did additional circumstances exist to warrant any reasonable suspicion. In Sowell v. State, 620 P.2d 429 (Okl.Cr.1980), this Court found that an investigatory stop similar to the one at bar violated the rights of a driver who was stopped and t......
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Lunsford v. State
...which police action is predicated is the central teaching of this Court's Fourth Amendment jurisprudence." See also, Sowell v. State, 620 P.2d 429 (Okl.Cr.App.1980). A close examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the investigative stop, in this case, is necessary to determin......
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Jones v. State, F-84-434
...which police action is predicated is the central teaching of this Court's Fourth Amendment jurisprudence." See also, Sowell v. State, 620 P.2d 429 (Okl.Cr.App.1980). ...