Stroud v. Com., 1114-86-3

• Decision Date: 02 August 1988
• Docket Number: No. 1114-86-3,1114-86-3
• Citation: 6 Va.App. 633,370 S.E.2d 721
• Court: Virginia Court of Appeals
• Parties: Lowell Clifton STROUD v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia. Record

Page 721

370 S.E.2d 721

6 Va.App. 633

Lowell Clifton STROUD v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Record No. 1114-86-3.

Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Aug. 2, 1988.

Jonathan S. Kurtin (Lutins and Shapiro, on brief), for appellant.

Marla Lynn Graff, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Mary Sue Terry, Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellee.

Present: KOONTZ, C.J., and COLEMAN and KEENAN, JJ.

KEENAN, Judge.

Lowell Clifton Stroud was convicted in a bench trial of operating a motor vehicle after being adjudged an habitual offender. Code § 46.1-387.8. The issues presented in this appeal are: (1) whether the roadblock established by the Virginia State Police was unconstitutional; and (2) whether certain statements made by Stroud were obtained in violation of his fifth amendment rights. We affirm Stroud's conviction based on our finding that after he turned to avoid the roadblock, the police had an articulable and reasonable suspicion that justified a "stop" of his vehicle. We also find that Stroud's statements were not obtained in violation of his fifth amendment rights. Since Stroud was not stopped at the roadblock, we do not decide whether it was constitutionally permissible.

I.

On August 28, 1986, the trial court conducted a pretrial suppression hearing. Trooper L.C. Isley testified that on March 9, 1986, he established a roadblock on Route 604 to check drivers' licenses, registrations, inspection stickers, and equipment violations. After checking a stopped vehicle at the roadblock, he saw an older model Ford van approach within 100 to 150 feet of the roadblock. Isley observed the van make a U-turn and drive away from the roadblock.

Isley further testified that based on his eleven years experience with the state police, he suspected from the driver's conduct that he was either unlicensed or otherwise in violation of the law. Isley got into his vehicle and followed the van, but lost sight of it as it negotiated a slight curve. After Isley rounded the same curve, the van was not in sight. He then turned and proceeded back toward the roadblock.

On his return, Isley spotted the van he was pursuing parked in a private driveway. He turned into the driveway and parked behind the van. No one was in the van at this time. A few minutes later, Isley observed Stroud coming out of the house. Isley testified that he asked Stroud whether he was the driver of the van and Stroud said that he was. Isley then asked Stroud why he had turned around when he approached the roadblock. Stroud replied that his operator's permit had been revoked for ten years. Isley next asked Stroud whether he was an habitual offender. Stroud replied yes. At this time, Isley ran a computer check through the Department of Motor Vehicles that confirmed Stroud was an habitual offender. He then arrested Stroud and advised him of his Miranda rights. Stroud did not request an attorney nor refuse to answer questions.

Isley testified that on the way to the magistrate's office, he asked Stroud whether he lived at the house where he was arrested. Stroud stated that he did not. When asked whether he knew the people who lived there, Stroud replied that he did not but had stopped there to call his wife. Stroud stated that he had been on his way to purchase groceries, and that he had "messed up."

After the close of the evidence at the suppression hearing, Stroud argued that the statements that he made to Isley before his arrest were inadmissible because they were taken in violation of Miranda v Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). He argued that since his van was blocked by Trooper Isley's vehicle, he was "in custody" for Miranda purposes and should have been given Miranda warnings before being questioned. Stroud also argued that Isley did not have a reasonable suspicion to stop him and that the roadblock was unconstitutional. The trial court overruled his motion to suppress.

At trial, Stroud stipulated to the evidence given at the suppression hearing and preserved his prior objections regarding its admissibility. At the conclusion of the trial, Stroud conceded that the evidence before the court was sufficient to sustain a conviction, and renewed his earlier evidentiary objections. The trial court found Stroud guilty and sentenced him to two years' incarceration.

II.

Initially, we hold that since Stroud was not stopped at the roadblock, its constitutionality is immaterial to Stroud's detention or arrest. We make this ruling based on the evidence that after approaching within 100 to 150 feet of the roadblock, Stroud turned his van and drove in the opposite direction. He then stopped the van of his own volition in a private driveway.

Assuming arguendo that a "stop" occurred when Trooper Isley parked behind Stroud's van in the driveway, we find that Isley had an articulable and reasonable suspicion that justified such a stop. In Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979), the Supreme Court detailed the fourth amendment requirements that must be met in order to stop an automobile and detain its occupants. The Court held that "except in those situations in which there is at least articulable and reasonable suspicion that a motorist is unlicensed or that an automobile is not registered, or that either the vehicle or an occupant is otherwise subject to seizure for violation of law," that the fourth amendment prohibits the stopping of a vehicle unless it is done pursuant to methods that restrict the unconstrained exercise of discretion on the part of the police. Id. 440 U.S. at 663, 99 S.Ct. at 1401 (emphasis added); see Lowe v. Commonwealth, 230 Va. 346, 349-50, 337 S.E.2d 273, 275 (1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1084, 106 S.Ct. 1464, 89 L.Ed.2d 720 (1986).

In this case, Trooper Isley testified that based on his eleven years' experience with the state police, Stroud's action in avoiding the roadblock indicated that he was probably unlicensed or otherwise in violation of the law. We find that this evidence satisfies the Delaware v. Prouse requirement that a discretionary stop of a motor vehicle be based on an articulable and reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

III.

Stroud next argues that when Trooper Isley blocked his van in the driveway, he was "in custody" for Miranda purposes. Since he was not advised of his Miranda rights before making certain pre-arrest statements to Isley, Stroud contends that those statements should not have been admitted into evidence. The Commonwealth argues that Stroud was not "in custody" when he made the statements and that he voluntarily answered Trooper Isley's questions.

Under the facts presented, we find that Stroud was not "in custody" for purposes of Miranda when he made pre-arrest statements. In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a suspect must be informed of his constitutional rights before a "custodial interrogation" begins. The Court defined ...