State v. Holmes
| Decision Date | 18 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. C5-96-901,C5-96-901 |
| Citation | 569 N.W.2d 181 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Kevin Lemont HOLMES, petitioner, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. A police officer cannot make a Terry stop to investigate a parking violation.
2. When a police officer's sole motivation in conducting an inventory search of an automobile is to discover evidence of a crime, it is unreasonable.
David M. Gross, St. Louis Park, for appellant.
Jay Heffern, Minneapolis City Atty., Timothy T. Mulrooney, Special Asst. City Atty., Minneapolis, Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Minn. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, for respondent.
Heard, considered and decided by the court en banc.
The state on December 8, 1995 charged Kevin Lemont Holmes with transporting a pistol inside a motor vehicle without a permit. The police on November 20, 1995 discovered a pistol inside the locked glove compartment of an automobile that Holmes admitted he had parked just outside the Bierman Athletic Building on the University of Minnesota campus. After an omnibus hearing, the trial court suppressed evidence of the pistol and Holmes' statement that he in fact had placed the pistol inside the glove compartment, and consequently the court dismissed the charge for lack of evidence. In particular, the court found that the police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk Holmes, that the police's search of the automobile was constitutionally unreasonable, and that the police failed to adequately administer a Miranda warning before receiving Holmes' statements. The state appealed, and the court of appeals in an unpublished opinion reversed the trial court's suppression of both the pistol and the statements, and consequently reinstated the charge. Upon Holmes' petition for review, we reverse the court of appeals and affirm the trial court's dismissal of the charge.
A parking monitor with the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD) discovered a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Minnesota license plate number 773 CJA parked in a contract lot behind the Bierman Athletic Building on the University of Minnesota campus on November 20, 1995. The monitor parked her vehicle directly behind the Cutlass, exited and proceeded to look for the Cutlass' parking permit. When she noticed that the unattended vehicle did not have the appropriate permit, the monitor started to write a parking ticket using her hand-held computer. Upon entering the appropriate information into the computer, the monitor learned that there were five or more unpaid parking tickets on the Cutlass. The monitor then called the UMPD dispatcher on duty at the time. The dispatcher subsequently checked with Hennepin County officials, who informed the dispatcher that there were in fact seven unpaid parking tickets on the Cutlass, and that the dispatcher should order the car towed pursuant to Minnesota Statutes section 169.041, subdivision 4(13)(1996) (). The dispatcher relayed the information to the monitor, who subsequently wrote the ticket and ordered a "white tag tow," a procedure where the parking monitor or police officer remains with the vehicle until the truck arrives.
Shortly thereafter, Holmes and a friend approached the Cutlass. Holmes testified at the omnibus hearing that he and his friend sat inside the Cutlass and waited for the monitor to move her vehicle out of the way. When the monitor did not move her vehicle Holmes testified that he got out of the car, and that his friend remained inside the car with his foot outside the door. The monitor explained to Holmes that she was impounding the vehicle because of the outstanding parking tickets. Holmes said he was unaware of the tickets because the car belonged to his wife. He subsequently asked the monitor to cancel the tow. He also promised to pay the tickets the following day. The monitor refused the request and told Holmes that he should get his things out of the car. Holmes then went back to the car to retrieve his school books and other personal property. The monitor testified that Holmes remained cooperative and respectful throughout the incident. Despite this, the monitor called the UMPD for assistance because she said she felt intimidated. Shortly thereafter, an officer from the UMPD arrived on the scene, parking her vehicle directly behind the monitor's vehicle. Holmes and the officer exited their vehicles and met alongside the parking monitor's vehicle.
Holmes asked the officer why she had been summoned, and the officer said she was there because the monitor had requested support. Holmes at this time reiterated the fact that the car belonged to his wife and that he was unaware of the parking tickets. The officer then asked Holmes to remove his hands from his pockets and provide some identification. Holmes testified that he thought the officer asked for a driver's license, and that he did not feel free to leave the scene. Upon his first attempt to locate his driver's license, Holmes found only his University of Minnesota identification card, which he removed from his pocket and gave to the officer. Shortly thereafter, Holmes again placed his hands in his pockets 1 and the officer asked him once again to remove his hands from his pockets and accompany her back to her vehicle. After the two arrived at the squad car, the officer informed Holmes that she needed to pat him down before placing him in the squad car. Upon patting Holmes' outer clothing, the officer felt a hard object. She asked Holmes what the object was, and at first he did not respond. The officer then asked if she could look inside Holmes' pocket and Holmes said she could. Holmes then told the officer that the object was a magazine clip. The officer then removed the magazine clip and asked Holmes where the rest of the weapon was located. Holmes said it was at home. The officer then finished the pat-down of Holmes and placed him in the rear of the squad car. The officer testified that the back doors to the squad car were locked and that Holmes had no way to get out. The officer then had a conversation with Holmes, at which time Holmes gave the officer his paper driver's license for the purpose of identification. Holmes also testified that the officer asked him if he wanted to get anything out of the car, and Holmes said he would like to get his son's stroller out of the trunk. Holmes testified that the officer asked him for his keys, which he gave her. The officer testified, however, that she found the keys in the ignition. At about this time, Holmes' friend exited the Cutlass and the officer asked him to leave the scene, which he did.
Some time prior to this, the parking monitor had walked around the car and glanced inside to inventory any items within the vehicle. The trial court found that the parking monitor was the officer ordering the tow and as such was the person responsible for the inventory search under UMPD policy. Shortly thereafter, the officer took the keys and opened the trunk. She then entered the vehicle, where she discovered an unsecured and empty gun case on the floor behind the driver's seat. The officer then used one of the keys on Holmes' key chain to unlock the glove compartment, where she found a .40 caliber Ruger semi-automatic handgun. At that time the officer radioed to have a sergeant dispatched to the scene. The sergeant arrived on the scene to secure the pistol. Upon pulling back the slide, the sergeant found no bullets in the chamber, 2 but upon taking the magazine clip out from inside the pistol, he found it filled with the same type of hollow-point bullets found inside the magazine clip taken from Holmes' jacket pocket. Holmes also testified that the officer eventually removed the baby stroller and other personal items from the car for the purpose of safekeeping.
The officer then returned to her car, where she informed Holmes about the pistol found in the glove compartment. Holmes stated that he forgot he had placed the pistol in the glove compartment after a recent trip to a local target shooting range. The officer then handcuffed Holmes, arrested him and transported him to the University Police Department. Holmes was then taken to Hennepin County Jail. An officer met with Holmes inside one of the interview rooms at the jail facility. This officer testified that he immediately informed Holmes of his Miranda rights, and that Holmes said he understood those rights and agreed to speak with the officer. Holmes testified that he received no such warning and gave no such waiver. At no point did the officer record such a waiver in his reports of the interview. The officer then told Holmes he was going to tape-record the conversation, which the officer then attempted to do. But after the complete interview, the officer discovered that the tape recorder had malfunctioned and failed to record any of the interview. According to the officer's testimony, Holmes stated during the interview that the pistol was his and that he did not have a permit to carry it. As such, the state on December 8, 1995 charged Holmes with the unlawful possession of a pistol in violation of Minnesota Statutes section 624.714, subdivision 1 (1996).
Holmes appeals two distinct holdings of the court of appeals. The first holding reversed a trial court order suppressing evidence of the pistol and Holmes' statements. The second holding affirmed the trial court's order denying Holmes' motion to dismiss the charge pursuant to his proof that the permit exception enunciated in Minnesota Statutes section 624.714, subdivision 9(e)(1996) applied. Because our holding on the evidentiary issue is dispositive, we will not address the statutory ruling.
In reviewing the appeal of a pretrial ruling, we will reverse a...
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