State v. Janes
| Decision Date | 10 May 2018 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 40A01–1706–CR–1328 |
| Citation | 102 N.E.3d 314 |
| Parties | STATE of Indiana, Appellant–Plaintiff, v. Larry O. JANES, Appellee–Defendant. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Attorneys for Appellant: Curtis T. Hill, Jr., Attorney General of Indiana, Justin F. Roebel, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee: Mark J. Dove, R. Patrick Magrath, Alcorn Sage Schwartz & Magrath, LLP, Madison, Indiana
[1] The State appeals the trial court's suppression of evidence found during a search of Larry Janes's vehicle, arguing that the trial court erred by finding that because a Pirtle1 warning was not given, suppression was warranted. Finding no error, we affirm.
[2] In the early morning of May 17, 2016, Janes and a passenger drove past Jennings County Sheriff's Department Reserve Deputy Jason Littrell on a rural road. Deputy Littrell observed that Janes failed to dim his headlights. Deputy Littrell followed Janes's vehicle for a minute so he could stop Janes in a well-lit area; during this time, the deputy observed Janes slow down so that he was driving under the posted speed limit, turn on his turn signal well before an intersection, stop well in front of the white line at the intersection, make a wide turn at the intersection, and drive on the emergency portion of the road.
[3] Once Deputy Littrell stopped the vehicle and approached Janes, he advised Janes why he stopped him, and Janes admitted that he did not dim his headlights for approaching traffic. Deputy Littrell observed that Janes was nervous and would not make eye contact with him, and when the deputy requested his driver's license, Janes initially handed him a bank card. This behavior, coupled with what the deputy had observed while following Janes, made Deputy Littrell suspect that Janes was impaired. He then requested additional officers to assist at the scene.
[4] Deputy Heilers and Sergeant Ritchie arrived shortly thereafter. Sergeant Ritchie testified that when he arrived, he "mentioned that [he] heard a lot of information about Larry Janes being involved in the drug world" or "with methamphetamine." Tr. Vol. II p. 78. After Deputy Littrell ran Janes's license, which came back clean, he returned to Janes's vehicle on the driver's side, while Deputy Heilers approached the vehicle on the passenger's side. Deputy Littrell gave Janes a verbal warning for failure to dim his headlights. He then turned and stepped toward his patrol car. Deputy Littrell testified that he then "went back to the driver's door and asked the driver if he would give consent to search the vehicle due to us trying to clean the streets up and recover stolen items and such." Id. at 13. Deputy Littrell testified that Janes consented and then "I advised him if he agreed to giving us consent to search the vehicle, I asked him and the passenger to open the door and step out and walk to the rear of his vehicle and the front of mine and stand with Sargent [sic] Ritchie." Id. Janes and the passenger complied.
[5] Deputy Littrell's body camera recorded their exchange:
[6] Deputies Littrell and Heilers then searched the vehicle. Deputy Heilers found a methamphetamine pipe underneath the passenger seat. At some point during the stop, Janes told Deputy Littrell several times that the vehicle was not his. After the deputies found the pipe, they handcuffed Janes and the passenger. The deputies also discovered methamphetamine in the vehicle's trunk and the passenger's purse.
[7] On May 26, 2016, the State charged Janes with Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine, Level 3 felony possession of methamphetamine, and Level 4 felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. On December 13, 2016, Janes filed a motion to suppress all the evidence seized during the vehicle search, alleging that the vehicle search violated the federal and Indiana constitutions because no exception to the warrant requirement applied to the stop.
[8] A suppression hearing took place on March 8 and May 9, 2017. Janes testified that the deputy had asked whether "they could look in" his vehicle, and that Janes had replied affirmatively, thinking that the deputy had wanted to "shine his flashlight through the window into the back seat and floorboards while we was sitting in the car." Tr. Vol. II p. 61–62. Janes also testified that he had told the deputy several times that the vehicle was not his and that he could not give him permission to search it. Janes further testified that at no point did any of the officers tell him that he was free to go, and that at no point did he feel free to leave.
[9] On May 31, 2017, the trial court granted the motion to suppress, making the following findings:
Appealed Order p. 2–3 (footnote omitted). On June 28, 2017, the State filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on the trial court's order, and on July 6, 2017, the trial court granted that motion. The State now appeals the trial court's order suppressing the evidence.
[10] The State argues that the trial court erred by suppressing evidence because Janes was not in custody for purposes of Pirtle and was not entitled to a Pirtle warning before a consensual search during a traffic stop.3
[11] When reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we must determine whether substantial evidence of probative value supports the trial court's decision. State v. Seidl , 939 N.E.2d 679, 683 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). Where a trial court grants a motion to suppress, the State appeals from a negative judgment and must show that the trial court's grant of the motion was contrary to law. Id. We will reverse a negative judgment only when the evidence is without conflict and all reasonable inferences lead to a conclusion opposite that of the trial court. Id. We will not reweigh the evidence nor judge witnesses' credibility, and will consider only the evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Id.
[12] Pursuant to the Indiana constitution, our Supreme Court held that "a person who is asked to give consent to search while in police custody is entitled to the presence and advice of counsel prior to making the decision whether to give such consent." Pirtle v. State , 263 Ind. 16, 29, 323 N.E.2d 634, 640 (1975). When a person does not receive this warning, "whether the evidence must be suppressed turns on whether the defendant was in custody at the time consent was requested."
Meredith v. State , 906 N.E.2d 867, 873 (Ind. 2009). In distinguishing between custodial encounters, where Pirtle applies, and non-custodial encounters, where it does not, the ultimate inquiry is whether there was a formal arrest or a restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest. Id. "In answering this question, courts consider all circumstances surrounding the encounter and ‘largely appl[y] an objective test asking whether a reasonable person under the...
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