U.S. v. Best, 97-3405

• Decision Date: 05 February 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-3405,97-3405
• Citation: 135 F.3d 1223
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Tony Cornelius BEST, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1223

135 F.3d 1223

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Tony Cornelius BEST, Appellant.

No. 97-3405.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Jan. 13, 1998.

Decided Feb. 5, 1998.

John Wesley Hall, Little Rock, AR, argued, for Appellant.

Robert Joseph Govar, Little Rock, AR, argued, for Appellee.

Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, Chief Judge, BRIGHT and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges.

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge.

Tony Cornelius Best appeals the order denying his motion to suppress marijuana seized from the door panel in the automobile he was driving. On February 25, 1997, Best pleaded guilty by plea agreement to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The conditional plea agreement reserved Best's right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. Because the motion to suppress should have been granted if the district court determines Best has standing, we vacate and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

On August 6, 1996, Arkansas State Trooper Karl Byrd stopped Best's automobile for weaving in Little Rock, Arkansas at approximately 12:30 a.m. Best, heading back to Washington, D.C. after visiting his daughter in San Antonio, Texas, was driving a Ford Taurus rented from Budget Car Rental at Washington Dulles Airport. Best's friend Susan Thomas had rented the automobile.

When Trooper Byrd started to issue a warning ticket for improper lane usage, he performed a driver's license check on Best. The check showed that Best's driver's license had been suspended for failure to appear on a ticket. Trooper Byrd wrote Best a ticket for driving with a suspended license and informed Best that because he was not a licensed driver, the automobile had to be towed. Trooper Byrd then conducted an inventory search of the car. According to the government, Trooper Byrd looked particularly for damage to protect the government and the wrecker service from false claims against them.

While checking the automobile, Trooper Byrd discovered the right front window would only roll down part of the way and the back windows would not roll down at all. When Trooper Byrd shined his flashlight into the right front window to see if there was an obstruction, he saw what appeared to be a bundle of marijuana. Trooper Byrd then pulled the inside door panel away from the right front door and saw a bundle of marijuana. Trooper Byrd arrested Best and ordered the car towed to the Arkansas State Police Troop A headquarters where the police completed the search. The police seized a total of nineteen bundles of marijuana from the automobile.

On December 8, 1996, at the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the district court denied Best's motion to suppress the evidence. On February 25, 1997, Best entered a conditional plea of guilty to the charge in the indictment. On August 27, 1997, the district court sentenced Best to a term of twenty-two months imprisonment, a four-year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Best appeals the district court's denial of his motion to suppress the evidence.

II. VALIDITY OF INVENTORY SEARCH

We review the district court's factual findings on the motion to suppress for clear error. United States v. Holloway, 128 F.3d 1254, 1255-56 (8th Cir.1997). The district court's ultimate ruling on a motion to suppress represents a legal ruling reviewed de novo. Id.

Best argues that the inventory search performed by Trooper Byrd exceeded the permissible scope of a warrantless inventory search. The government contends that Trooper Byrd reasonably searched in an effort to protect the police against damage claims once he determined the automobile's windows would not operate properly.

A warrantless inventory search of an automobile in police custody does not violate the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Marshall, 986 F.2d 1171, 1173-74 (8th Cir.1993) (citing South Dakota v. Opperman 428 U.S. 364, 369, 96 S.Ct. 3092, 3097, 49 L.Ed.2d 1000 (1976)). The Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Opperman articulated the following three justifications for an inventory search: (1) protection of the owner's property while in police custody; (2) protection of the police from claims of lost, stolen or damaged property; and (3) protection of the police from potential danger. 428 U.S. at 369, 96 S.Ct. at 3097. However, these justifications for an inventory search do not justify an unlimited search of the automobile. "The fourth amendment requires that an inventory search be reasonable in scope." United States v. Wilson, 636 F.2d 1161, 1163 (8th Cir.1980).

A warrantless inventory search must be done pursuant to "standard police procedures" and for the purpose of "protecting the car and its contents." Opperman, 428 U.S. at 372, 373, 96 S.Ct. at 3098, 3099. The Tenth Circuit concluded in a case similar to the present case that a search exceeded the proper scope of an inventory search and suppressed cocaine. Specifically, the Tenth Circuit opined:

[a]lthough the permissible scope of an inventory search has not been well-defined, searching behind the door panel of a vehicle does not qualify as "standard police procedure," and does not serve the purpose of "protecting the car and its contents" under any normal construction of those terms, at least on the evidence in this record.

United States v. Lugo, 978 F.2d 631, 637 (10th Cir.1992) (footnote omitted) (citing Opperman, 428 U.S. at 372, 373, 96 S.Ct. at 3098, 3099). ¹

We conclude that Trooper Byrd's search of Best's automobile does not...