State v. Schellhorn

• Decision Date: 22 February 1989
• Citation: 95 Or.App. 297,769 P.2d 221
• Parties: STATE of Oregon, Respondent, v. Steven Scott SCHELLHORN, Appellant. 10-86-08917, 10-86-09500, 10-86-10075; CA A43575 (Control), CA A43576, A43577.
• Court: Oregon Court of Appeals

Page 221

769 P.2d 221

95 Or.App. 297

STATE of Oregon, Respondent, v. Steven Scott SCHELLHORN, Appellant.

10-86-08917, 10-86-09500, 10-86-10075; CA A43575 (Control),

CA A43576, A43577.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted April 28, 1988.

Decided Feb. 22, 1989.

Stephen J. Williams, Deputy Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief was Gary D. Babcock, Public Defender, Salem.

Janet A. Klapstein, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Dave Frohnmayer, Atty. Gen., and Virginia L. Linder, Sol. Gen., Salem.

Before RICHARDSON, P.J., and NEWMAN and DEITS, JJ.

DEITS, Judge.

Defendant appeals his conviction for burglary in the first degree, ORS 164.225, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, ORS 475.992, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We reverse and remand.

On November 13, 1986 at 1:14 a.m., Officer Olson of the Eugene Police Department encountered defendant riding a bicycle without a light on a public street. Olson testified that he slowed down alongside defendant and saw what appeared to be a rolled up purse in his left hand and that defendant appeared to be avoiding his gaze by looking forward. Defendant was wearing dark clothing and tennis shoes, which Olson testified he associated with the type of apparel commonly worn by burglars. He also testified that defendant was riding the bicycle away from a neighborhood with a high burglary rate. Olson stopped defendant and immediately grabbed the purse out of his hands. He testified that he did that because he feared that the purse could have been used as a weapon against him. When he seized the purse, Olson noticed that it was "extremely heavy" and opened it. He testified that he did so because he feared that it may have contained a weapon. He found approximately $40 in change in the purse.

Olson asked defendant's name, which he recognized as one appearing on police bulletins listing "heavy pawners" of stolen items. He ordered him to place his hands on the hood of the police car and informed him that he was going to "pat him down" for weapons. However, he decided to handcuff defendant before the frisk, because he "wasn't following instructions clearly" and because he was "gazing around" in the direction from which he had come. ¹ During the frisk, Olson found a micro recorder, a bent spoon, Q-tips, coins, a small money clip and some jewelry in defendant's pockets. He testified that he removed some of the items from the pockets, because they felt like weapons, and that others were removed in the process of removing the items that felt like weapons. When asked where he had obtained the items, defendant gave Olson inconsistent accounts. Olson then searched the purse and discovered a bag of methamphetamine in a zipped pouch on the side.

Olson placed defendant under arrest for possession of a controlled substance. He then checked the serial number on the bicycle and learned from the dispatcher that it had been reported stolen. A subsequent check of the items found in defendant's pockets revealed that they, too, had been reported stolen. In a stipulated facts trial, defendant was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and first degree burglary. He appeals, arguing that his motion to suppress the items found during the frisk and subsequent search should have been granted, because the search and seizure were in violation of Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution, and the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The trial court ruled that the items were admissible as evidence found during a lawful stop, frisk and search ² and that, in any event, they would be admissible under the "inevitable discovery rule." Defendant concedes that the initial stop in this case was valid, because he was riding a bicycle without a light, in violation of ORS 815.280. However, he argues that the seizure of the purse and the ensuing frisk and search were unlawful.

An officer may take reasonable steps to protect himself if, during a lawful encounter with a citizen, the officer develops a reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, that the citizen might pose an immediate threat of serious physical injury to the officer. State v. Bates, 304 Or. 519, 524, 747 P.2d 991 (1987). The trial court in this case held that the seizure of the purse was justified, because the officer reasonably feared that it could be used as a weapon against him. ³ We agree that there were specific and articulable facts supporting Olson's suspicion that defendant posed an immediate threat to him, and we hold that the seizure of the purse was a reasonable protective measure under the circumstances.

However, once the officer had seized the purse, he no longer had any reason to believe that it still posed an immediate threat to him. The fact that the purse was unusually heavy may have given the officer reason to believe that it contained a weapon. However, the officer had the purse in his possession and, if he believed that it contained a weapon, he could have taken steps to protect himself without opening it. Before the officer could open the purse and inspect its contents, he was required to have probable cause to believe that it contained evidence of a crime and there had to be exigent circumstances to justify not obtaining a search warrant. Neither of those conditions existed. Thus, the officer's inspection of the contents of the purse after seizing it was unlawful.

Because we hold that the initial search of the purse was unlawful, any reasonable suspicion or probable cause that may have arisen as a result of that search could not support a subsequent frisk and search. See Pooler v. MVD, 306 Or. 47, 52-53, 755 P.2d 701 (1988). The officer testified that, after he saw the contents of the purse, he suspected that defendant had committed a burglary. He also testified that his decisions to frisk defendant and later to search the purse thoroughly were based in part on that suspicion. Accordingly, the evidence discovered thereby was subject to suppression.

The state argues that, even if the seizure, frisk and search were unlawful, the evidence is nevertheless admissible under the "inevitable discovery rule." Generally, the inevitable discovery doctrine requires a showing that certain proper and predictable investigatory procedures would have been used and that they would have resulted in the discovery of the evidence in question. State v. Miller, 300 Or. 203, 226, 709 P.2d 225 (1985).

The officer testified that, because of the large number of bicycle thefts in Eugene, he routinely checks serial numbers on bicycles that he stops for traffic infractions. He also testified that, even if no search or seizure had occurred, he would have "ran the bicycle for warrants" and would have discovered that it was stolen. After learning that it was stolen, he would have arrested defendant for possession of stolen property, taken him to the county jail, inventoried the contents of his pockets and the purse and, therefore, would have discovered the methamphetamine and stolen property. The trial court made extensive findings of fact that essentially adopted all of the officer's testimony, including his testimony as to the procedures that he would have followed had the search and seizure not occurred. ⁴ On those findings, the trial court held that the test for the application of the inevitable discovery rule was met.

We are bound by the findings of the trial court if there is evidence in the record to support them. State v. Miller, supra, 300 Or. at 227, 709 P.2d 225. As discussed above, there is evidence in the record to support the court's finding that the officer would inevitably have discovered the methamphetamine and stolen property. ⁵ Nonetheless, the inevitable discovery rule is not applicable here, because ORS 133.683, which codifies the doctrine, makes it inapplicable to the facts of this case. ORS 133.683 provides:

"If a search or seizure is carried out in such a manner that things seized in the course of the search would be subject to suppression, and if as a result of such...