State v. Crosby, 2248-C
| Citation | 35 Or.App. 617,582 P.2d 40 |
| Decision Date | 02 August 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 2248-C,2248-C |
| Parties | STATE of Oregon, Appellant, v. Mark Douglas CROSBY, a/k/a Mark Fortik, Respondent. ; CA 9758. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Oregon |
Thomas H. Denney, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, argued the cause for appellant. On the brief was James A. Redden, Atty. Gen., Al J. Laue, Sol. Gen. and Kathleen G. Dahlin, Certified Law Student, Salem.
Stephanie A. Smythe, Deputy Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief was Gary D. Babcock, Public Defender, Salem.
Before SCHWAB, C. J., and JOHNSON, GILLETTE and ROBERTS, JJ.
Defendant was charged with theft of a rifle. The state, pursuant to ORS 136.080, appeals a circuit court order suppressing the rifle and certain other evidence seized from defendant's automobile by the Caldwell, Idaho, Police Department. Defendant had been arrested in Caldwell. The automobile was searched pursuant to a search warrant which the parties now agree was invalid. The state contends, however, the police had probable cause and exigent circumstances to search the vehicle and that, in any event, the evidence would have been uncovered pursuant to a valid inventory of the automobile. We agree, and reverse.
In Caldwell, at approximately 4:30 a. m. on May 24, 1977, Dennis Armstrong was awakened by a loud noise outside his house. Armstrong got out of bed, looked out his window and saw a two-toned Buick pull up. Armstrong observed two men get out of the car, walk into his neighbor's yard and shine a flashlight on his neighbor's pickup. Armstrong called the police to report the two prowlers. While he was on the phone, Armstrong saw the men get in his (Armstrong's) pickup, which was parked in front of his house. The men then got out of Armstrong's pickup and started up the street.
Within a few minutes, Officer Siegmann of the Caldwell City Police was dispatched to investigate a possible vehicle burglary at Armstrong's residence on O'Hara Street. As he approached the street leading to Armstrong's house, Siegmann saw two men running from the scene. Siegmann turned onto O'Hara Street where he spotted a two-toned Buick which matched the dispatcher's description of the suspects' car. He pulled in front of the Buick, copied the license number and reported it to the dispatcher. At that time, the Buick doors were both tightly shut. Siegmann also requested assistance at the scene.
Leaving the place where the Buick was parked, Siegmann drove down a street which intersects O'Hara Street. Within two or three minutes, several other officers arrived on the scene.
Siegmann and another policeman searched the area for the suspects. As he returned to where the Buick was parked and approached the car, Siegmann noticed that the driver's door was slightly ajar. Looking inside, he saw a man lying on the front seat. The man's shoes were covered with mud. Siegmann told the man to get out of the car. The man got out and identified himself as James Zimmerman. The police took Zimmerman into custody and transported him to the Caldwell Police Department.
Officer Siegmann looked inside the car and noticed a battery charger, a doctor's office sign, some antenna cord and a number of other items scattered about the car. He seized the items and made a list of them.
About 15 or 20 minutes later, Dennis Armstrong's 10-year-old son, who was standing outside his house, began yelling Siegmann approached the pasture and apprehended the defendant, Mark Crosby. He escorted defendant to where the Buick was parked, frisked him for weapons, and advised him that he was under arrest for suspicion of vehicle burglary. 1 Defendant indicated that the car was not his, but that he had driven it to Caldwell. According to defendant, he stopped the car because he had drunk too much and was afraid that the right front tire, which had only two lug nuts, might come off. Another officer transported defendant to the police station.
The police drove the Buick to the police department where they impounded it. The Buick was parked on a ramp alongside the police department building. Uncontradicted testimony, which the trial court apparently believed, established that the Caldwell Police Department customarily examines the contents of impounded cars and makes a list of all property found inside. The trunk is inventoried if a key to it is available; otherwise, it is not. In this case, a key was available. In this instance, Officer Siegmann believed an inventory would have been proper, but he decided to obtain a search warrant because he wanted to look inside the...
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State v. Atkinson
...vehicle and conduct an inventory of personal property. State v. Weeks, 29 Or.App. 351, 355, 563 P.2d 760 (1977). In State v. Crosby, 35 Or.App. 617, 582 P.2d 40 (1978), the Court of Appeals concluded that the locked trunk of a car was within the proper scope of an inventory. 35 Or.App. at 6......
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State v. Atkinson
...the majority's extended discussion of the factual distinctions between that decision and our case. We so held in State v. Crosby, 35 Or.App. 617, 582 P.2d 40 (1978), rev. den. 285 Or. 319, cert. den. 444 U.S. 851, 100 S.Ct. 104, 62 L.Ed.2d 67 (1979), which the majority has conveniently deci......
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State v. Thirdgill
...identify the car as his own, willingly surrender his keys to the car nor consent to its search.3 The state also relies on State v. Crosby, 35 Or.App. 617, 582 P.2d 40, rev. den. 285 Or. 319 (1979), for the proposition that a locked trunk may be opened during an inventory search. We need not......
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State v. Tremaine, 80-4363-C-2
...see State v. Nichol, 55 Or.App. 162, 637 P.2d 625 (1981), or the examination of the clothing may have been proper, see State v. Crosby, 35 Or.App. 617, 582 P.2d 40 (1978), rev. den. (1979), and that the answer to either question does not necessarily depend upon the other.1 ORS 487.843(1) pr......