State v. Duran

• Decision Date: 31 August 2005
• Docket Number: No. 28,241.,28,241.
• Citation: 2005 NMSC 034,120 P.3d 836
• Parties: STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Petitioner, v. Jaclyn DURAN, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

120 P.3d 836

2005 NMSC 034

STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Petitioner, v. Jaclyn DURAN, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 28,241.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

August 31, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Patricia A. Madrid, Attorney General, Patricia A. Gandert, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, NM, for Petitioner.

Lilley Law Offices, Michael W. Lilley, Lawrence W. Allred, Las Cruces, NM, for Respondent.

OPINION

MAES, Justice.

{1} This case requires us to determine whether a police officer's questioning of a stopped motorist about her travel plans exceeded the permissible scope of a search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment. We find that the questions the police officer asked the driver of the stopped car were permissible because they were reasonably related to the purpose of the stop. Because the questions were permissible, the answers to them can be considered in determining if, under the totality of the circumstances, the officer had reasonable suspicion to expand the scope of the search or seizure beyond the initial justification for the stop. We hold that the officer did have reasonable suspicion to expand the scope of his search or seizure. Thus, the motorist's subsequent consent to allow the officer to search her car was not tainted by a prior illegal search or seizure. In so holding, we affirm the trial court's denial of Defendant's Motion to Suppress and reverse the Court of Appeals.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE BELOW

{2} Defendant does not challenge the facts as found by the trial court. Defendant and her passenger, Kate Williams, were traveling east on New Mexico State Road 26, northeast of Deming, New Mexico, on a cold winter afternoon. State Road 26 is a fifty-mile direct route from Deming to Hatch, New Mexico. It is a two-lane road which permits motorists to drive directly from Interstate 10 to Interstate 25, without having to go through Las Cruces, New Mexico. Where State Road 26 connects to I-25, drivers can either head north to Albuquerque or south to Las Cruces. Where State Road 26 connects to I-10, drivers can either head west to Tucson, Arizona or east to Las Cruces.

{3} State Police Officer Johnston was patrolling State Road 26 when he noticed that Defendant's white Chevrolet Camaro hatchback did not have a license plate. He therefore began following Defendant. Once Officer Johnston neared Defendant's vehicle he could see a white piece of paper in the rear window that he assumed was a temporary registration tag; however, it was placed so high up in the window he could not make out the expiration date. Officer Johnston initiated a traffic stop to ensure the tag was not expired and to issue a citation for not having the tag properly placed in the window.

{4} Once both vehicles were pulled over on the side of the road, Officer Johnston turned on the in-car camera and a microphone on his person so that the entire stop was recorded. When he came to the passenger side window he informed Defendant and Williams of the reasons for the stop. He then asked Defendant and Williams for their driver's licenses, registration and insurance. During this time, Officer Johnston noticed several items in the car: a two-ton floor jack, some loose tools, an overnight bag, a cellular phone plugged into the dash, and the odor of raw gasoline.

{5} Defendant produced her driver's license and had the bill of sale for the car in her pocket, but did not have proof of insurance. Officer Johnston asked Defendant to step out of the car, and to follow him to the patrol car to wait while he ran a wants and warrants check and issued citations for improperly displaying a temporary tag and not having proof of insurance. Officer Johnston also testified that he brought Defendant back to his patrol car to complete the tasks required by the stop because there was no room between the driver's side of the car and the road, and this made him concerned for both his and Defendant's safety. He also testified that separating a driver and a passenger takes the driver out of his or her safety zone. Further, Officer Johnston testified that on this particular day he had to return to his patrol car to change radio channels because there was a hazardous materials spill on a highway near Lordsburg, New Mexico that tied up the radio.

{6} On the way back to the patrol car, Officer Johnston showed Defendant how the tag was improperly displayed. Officer Johnston checked that the dates and numbers on the temporary tag and the bill of sale matched up, which they did.

{7} Once back at the patrol car, Officer Johnston first noticed that Defendant had very little paperwork surrounding the sale of the car. He testified that in his experience most people have more paperwork surrounding the purchase of a vehicle with them when they have not yet completed registering the vehicle, such as invoices, warranties, and included options like new tires, etc. Officer Johnston also testified that the bill of sale contained irregularities and omissions that suggested that, even though the bill of sale listed a dealership as the seller of the car, it probably was not sold at a dealership. The irregularities included: a handwritten bill of sale, which he testified increases the possibility of forgery; someone signed the odometer disclosure statement to certify that the odometer currently read a certain mileage, but failed to include the particular mileage reading; there were several boxes in the odometer disclosure statement that should have been checked but were not; and the vehicle was purchased less than a month earlier but the temporary tag was set to expire in five days, which was a short amount of time.

{8} Officer Johnston then engaged Defendant in what the State characterizes as "casual conversation" as he ran a warrant check on both Defendant and Williams and reviewed their driver's licenses and the bill of sale. He asked Defendant where she was going and where she came from. Defendant answered that she and Williams were on their way to Las Cruces from Silver City, New Mexico. Because taking State Road 26 is an indirect route from Silver City to Las Cruces, to clarify Officer Johnston again asked where Defendant was coming from and where she was going. Defendant repeated her story that she and Williams were headed from Silver City to Las Cruces. Officer Johnston then asked why she was taking such an indirect route. Defendant told him that she and Williams had never taken this route before and wanted to see how long it would take them to complete the trip, that they were just out for a drive. Officer Johnston testified that Defendant's hesitance and nervous behavior indicated to him that she was making up the story as she went along.

{9} Officer Johnston next went back to Defendant's car to check the vehicle identification number (VIN) and match it to the temporary tag and bill of sale. While walking back to the patrol car, Officer Johnston asked Williams about her and Defendant's itinerary. Williams answered that she and Defendant were coming from Las Cruces and going to Albuquerque. Officer Johnston asked her if she had been anywhere else that day, and Williams replied, "no." Officer Johnston then asked Williams to identify more specifically who she was going to visit in Albuquerque. Williams replied that she was going to visit "Derrick" and "Jesse," who lived on San Mateo Boulevard. Officer Johnston asked Williams if Defendant knew Derrick and Jesse, and Williams hesitantly replied that she did not know and did not know who Defendant was planning on visiting. These questions to Williams lasted only a few brief moments.

{10} Back at the patrol car, Officer Johnston wrote out the citations for the improperly displayed registration tag and failure to maintain and carry proof of insurance. While doing these tasks, Officer Johnston again asked Defendant where she was going and where she came from. Defendant again answered that she was coming from Silver City on her way to Las Cruces, but this time added that she had been visiting relatives in Silver City. Officer Johnston asked where her relatives lived, but Defendant could not remember her relatives' address.

{11} Officer Johnston proceeded to ask Defendant questions about the bill of sale for the vehicle. He asked Defendant if there had been a co-signer on the bill of sale. She answered yes, that her Uncle Roman had co-signed with her. Officer Johnston pointed out that the name on the bill of sale was "Ramon." Defendant said that she knew, but that she called her uncle "Roman" instead of "Ramon."

{12} Officer Johnston then asked Defendant how much she paid for the car and what year it was. Defendant hesitated but answered that the car was a 1987 model and that she paid $5,500 for it. Defendant told Officer Johnston that she had recently graduated from high school and was presently unemployed, but was employed not too long ago. Officer Johnston thought that the price paid for the car was excessive based on the dilapidated condition of the car, and wondered how she could have paid so much when she was presently unemployed. When questioned, Defendant did not know the specific date when she purchased the vehicle. In general, Officer Johnston testified that Defendant's answers were hesitant and belied a lack of understanding about the basic facts of the vehicle and its purchase. During this time, Officer Johnston noticed that Defendant was getting nervous and jittery, more so than a normal person is during a traffic stop. She would turn away from Officer Johnston and repeatedly looked back nervously. Her hands were shaking and she repeatedly put them in front of her face. This nervous behavior raised Officer Johnston's curiosity.

{13} Next, Officer Johnston went back to the vehicle to return Williams' license. He again questioned her about her destination. She again answered that they were on their way from Las Cruces to Albuquerque and denied being anywhere else that day.

{14} Officer Johnston then...