State v. Shepherd
| Decision Date | 02 July 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 18019,18019 |
| Citation | 118 Idaho 121,795 P.2d 15 |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Wesley K. SHEPHERD, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Court of Appeals |
Killen, Pittenger & Kerrick, McCall, William M. Killen, Cascade (argued), for defendant-appellant.
Jim Jones, Atty. Gen. by Myrna A.I. Stahman, Deputy Atty. Gen., for plaintiff-respondent.
Wesley Shepherd entered a conditional plea of guilty to the felony charge of possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces with the intent to deliver. I.C. § 37-2732(a)(1)(B). For committing this offense, Shepherd received a withheld judgment and was placed on probation. He has appealed, raising these issues: (1) whether a backpack on the back seat of Shepherd's automobile was lawfully searched incident to Shepherd's arrest; (2) whether a closed cooler in the trunk of the automobile was validly searched under the "automobile" exception to the warrant requirement; and, if not (3) whether the searches of the backpack and cooler were proper under the "inventory search" exception to the warrant requirement. For reasons explained below, we affirm.
An Idaho State Police officer stopped Shepherd's automobile at a campground near Highway 55 in the Boise National Forest. At the time of the stop, Robert Zichko was driving; Shepherd was a passenger. As the officer approached Shepherd's automobile, he noticed the smell of raw marijuana. The officer then asked Shepherd to produce his driver's license. Shepherd complied. During this exchange, the officer observed a pipe on the passenger side of the front seat. To the officer, the pipe had an appearance characteristic of those used to smoke marijuana. When the officer asked Shepherd what the pipe was used for, Shepherd replied that the pipe was used merely for smoking tobacco. However, minutes later Shepherd admitted that he used the pipe for smoking marijuana..
[118 Idaho 122] Shepherd was arrested on the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver of the automobile, Zichko, was arrested for driving while under the influence
Shepherd and Zichko were handcuffed and placed in the back seat of the officer's patrol car. The officer then called for a tow truck and conducted an inventory search of Shepherd's automobile, pursuant to an Idaho State Police impoundment policy. During the inventory search, marijuana was discovered in a backpack located in the back seat of the automobile. Marijuana was also found in a closed cooler in the trunk of the automobile.
Shepherd was charged with possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces with the intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. Prior to trial, Shepherd moved unsuccessfully to suppress the admission of the marijuana. The court also denied a subsequent motion to reconsider. Shepherd entered a conditional plea of guilty to the felony charge of possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces with the intent to deliver. Pursuant to a plea bargain, the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed. This appeal followed.
Shepherd contends the marijuana should have been suppressed due to violations of the Fourth Amendment. We disagree.
Preliminarily, we note our standard of review. Because Shepherd's argument raises a constitutional question, our appellate review is one of deference to factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. However, we exercise free review over the district court's determination as to whether the constitutional requirements have been satisfied in light of the facts found. State v. Heinen, 114 Idaho 656, 759 P.2d 947 (Ct.App.1988) (review denied). In the present case, because neither party disputes the facts, our review is limited to determining whether the search and seizure were reasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
We will first discuss whether the evidence seized from the passenger compartment of the car should have been suppressed. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizures. State v. Crawford, 110 Idaho 577, 716 P.2d 1349 (Ct.App.1986). A warrantless search by law enforcement officials is per se unreasonable unless it comes within certain specific and well delineated exceptions. State v. Heinen, supra. A search incident to an arrest is a well established exception to the warrant requirement. State v. Cook, 106 Idaho 209, 677 P.2d 522 (Ct.App.1984). Under this exception, police may search the arrestee following any lawful custodial arrest. United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973). The original rationale for this exception was set forth in Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969). In Chimel, the United States Supreme Court stated that the purpose of the exception was two-fold: (1) to prevent the arrestee from gaining access to dangerous weapons which might pose a threat to the safety of the police and other persons, and (2) to thwart any attempt an arrestee may have in seeking to destroy evidence. See State v. Calegar, 104 Idaho 526, 661 P.2d 311 (1983).
The Chimel Court noted that the search must take place when the arrest occurs and may only cover areas within the "immediate control" of the arrestee. In New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (1981), the United States Supreme Court enlarged upon the Chimel rationale in cases involving "searches of automobiles" following a lawful custodial arrest of an occupant of the automobile. In Belton, the officer stopped an automobile for excessive speeding. While checking the driver's license and automobile registration, the officer smelled burnt marijuana and observed an envelope marked "Supergold" on the floor of the automobile. From the officer's prior training and experience, he associated the envelope containing the words "Supergold" with marijuana. The officer ordered the In Belton, the United States Supreme Court was asked to determine whether an officer could lawfully search the passenger compartment of an automobile incident to a lawful custodial arrest of the occupants. The United States Supreme Court answered in the affirmative. In addition, the Court stated that the constitutionally permissible scope of the search would extend to any "container," whether it be opened or closed, found within the passenger compartment of the automobile. 1 The Court in Belton sought to establish a bright-line rule for police to follow when searching an automobile after an arrestee has been detained. The Court generalized "that articles inside the relatively narrow compass of the passenger compartment of an automobile are in fact generally, even if not inevitably, within 'the area into which an arrestee might reach in order to grab a weapon or evidentiary ite[m].' " Id. at 460, 101 S.Ct. at 2864, quoting Chimel, 395 U.S. at 763, 89 S.Ct. at 2040; State v. Calegar, supra.
[118 Idaho 123] four occupants out of the automobile and placed them under arrest for the unlawful possession of marijuana. The officer frisked the men and then separated them so that they could not physically touch each other. The officer then retrieved the envelope labeled "Supergold" and discovered that it contained marijuana. The officer proceeded to search the passenger compartment of the automobile. During the search, a black leather jacket belonging to Belton was seized from the back seat of the automobile. The officer discovered cocaine inside one of the zipped pockets of the jacket.
In the present case, there is no question but that the search of the passenger compartment of the automobile took place incident to a lawful custodial arrest. Shepherd was properly arrested on a drug paraphernalia charge after voluntarily admitting that he used a pipe, which was openly visible to the officer, for smoking marijuana. The backpack containing marijuana was discovered within the passenger compartment of the automobile after the arrest. We hold that the search and seizure of the backpack was proper under Belton. The district court correctly refused to suppress that evidence.
We turn now to the evidence seized from a cooler in the trunk of the automobile. Belton did not provide authority for the warrantless search of a trunk incident to a lawful custodial arrest of an occupant of an automobile. Therefore, we...
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