State v. Crandall, No. 90-131
| Docket Nº | No. 90-131 |
| Citation | 644 A.2d 320, 162 Vt. 66 |
| Case Date | May 20, 1994 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Vermont |
Page 320
v.
Wayne D. CRANDALL and Donna L. Crandall.
Page 321
[162 Vt. 67] Theresa St. Helaire, Bennington County Deputy State's Atty., Bennington, for plaintiff-appellant.
E.M. Allen, Defender Gen., and Anna E. Saxman, Appellate Defender, Montpelier, for defendant-appellee Wayne Crandall.
Robert Katims of Martin & Paolini, P.C., Barre, for defendant-appellee Donna Crandall.
[162 Vt. 66] Before ALLEN, C.J., and GIBSON, DOOLEY, MORSE and JOHNSON, JJ.
[162 Vt. 67] GIBSON, Justice.
The State appeals from the trial court's suppression of all evidence obtained from the stop and search of a vehicle occupied by defendants Wayne and Donna Crandall. We remand for further fact-finding by the trial court.
I.
On Wednesday, March 15, 1989, Officer Gary Briggs met with an informant who volunteered information about persons he believed were dealing drugs in the Bennington area. The informant named Wayne and Donna Crandall, told Briggs where they lived, identified some of their customers, and made a number of predictions about how and when the Crandalls would next purchase drugs. The informant said the Crandalls usually collected from their customers on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. He further indicated that they would borrow Jack Crandall's black pickup truck the next weekend, that they would head north on Route 7 to meet their supplier, and that Donna Crandall would be driving.
Briggs verified that Jack Crandall owned a black pickup truck matching the informant's description and then attempted surveillance of the Crandalls on Saturday, March 18. That morning, Briggs watched Donna Crandall drive away in the truck with Wayne Crandall as a passenger, but lost them as they proceeded out of Bennington. He went back to the Crandall residence, and saw them return about noontime.
Early the following week, Briggs again met the informant, who told him the Crandalls had changed their route and had left Bennington on Route 9 to go to the Mount Snow area, where they obtained about two pounds of marijuana. He predicted they would do the same thing on Saturday, March 25.
Relying on this information, Bennington police officers and the Vermont State Police then organized a team surveillance effort. Early on Saturday morning, a person identified by the informant as a Crandall customer arrived at their residence. Shortly thereafter,
Page 322
defendants left, went to get the pickup truck, and with Donna driving, [162 Vt. 68] proceeded out of Bennington on Route 9 to Wilmington, where they turned onto Route 100 toward Mount Snow. Defendants took numerous side roads, were lost by the police at various times, but were eventually spotted and followed to a residence in a remote location. The trial court found this destination to be in the general area predicted by the informant.In mid morning, the supervisor of the field surveillance team telephoned Officer Baker in Bennington, and instructed him to stop the pickup truck when it reentered Bennington. At about noon, Baker spotted the Crandall vehicle. He followed it into Bennington, stopped it, and asked the driver, Donna, for registration, insurance identification, and a driver's license. Officer Haverkoch soon joined him and took up a position from which he could watch Wayne. After requesting Donna to get out of the vehicle, Baker asked her, and then Wayne separately, where they had gone and for what purpose. There were minor conflicts in their stories. Baker also sought, without success, to obtain Donna's consent to search the vehicle. Meanwhile, Haverkoch observed Wayne reach behind the seat, grab a brown grocery bag, and place it on the floor in the front of the truck. When Haverkoch asked Wayne what was in the bag, Wayne replied, "[N]othing." Thereafter, Baker approached the passenger side door and asked Wayne to get out so he could search the vehicle. When Wayne tried to take the bag with him, Baker told him to leave it in the truck. Wayne threw the bag at Haverkoch, hitting him in the chest. The bag, which contained approximately two pounds of marijuana, opened and some of the contents spilled onto Haverkoch's shirt. Defendants were arrested, read their Miranda rights, and brought...
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State v. Boyea, No. 99-061.
...and articulable suspicion to justify the stop. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 70, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994). It is worth observing, at the threshold, that it is inaccurate to suggest the officer here was somehow trailin......
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State v. Robinson, No. 2007-321.
...which concerns the higher probable-cause standard. See State v. Cunningham, 2008 VT 43, 183 Vt. 401, 954 A.2d 1290; State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 644 A.2d 320 (1994). We express no opinion on whether the facts here sufficed to establish reasonable suspicion, but note that it is entirely po......
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State v. Langlois, No. 94-031
...Although the officer was justified in stopping defendant's vehicle because the front license plate was not visible, see State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 70, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994) (stop can be made based on reasonable belief that suspect is engaged in criminal activity); 23 V.S.A. § 511 (de......
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State v. Cooper, No. 93-490
...circumstances in evaluating the existence of reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify an investigatory detention. State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, ----, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994). We agree with the district court that there were sufficient specific and articulable facts to support a fin......
-
State v. Boyea, No. 99-061.
...and articulable suspicion to justify the stop. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 70, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994). It is worth observing, at the threshold, that it is inaccurate to suggest the officer here was somehow trailin......
-
State v. Robinson, No. 2007-321.
...which concerns the higher probable-cause standard. See State v. Cunningham, 2008 VT 43, 183 Vt. 401, 954 A.2d 1290; State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 644 A.2d 320 (1994). We express no opinion on whether the facts here sufficed to establish reasonable suspicion, but note that it is entirely po......
-
State v. Langlois, No. 94-031
...Although the officer was justified in stopping defendant's vehicle because the front license plate was not visible, see State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, 70, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994) (stop can be made based on reasonable belief that suspect is engaged in criminal activity); 23 V.S.A. § 511 (de......
-
State v. Cooper, No. 93-490
...circumstances in evaluating the existence of reasonable and articulable suspicion to justify an investigatory detention. State v. Crandall, 162 Vt. 66, ----, 644 A.2d 320, 323 (1994). We agree with the district court that there were sufficient specific and articulable facts to support a fin......