Welfare of G.M., Matter of

• Decision Date: 13 March 1997
• Docket Number: No. C9-95-812,C9-95-812
• Citation: 560 N.W.2d 687
• Parties: In the Matter of the WELFARE OF G. (NMN) M., a/k/a W.M.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 687

560 N.W.2d 687

In the Matter of the WELFARE OF G. (NMN) M., a/k/a W.M.

No. C9-95-812.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

March 13, 1997.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Information provided by an anonymous informant had sufficient indicia of reliability to justify an investigative stop of a juvenile.

2. Under the plain-view exception to the warrant requirement, police could not seize a pouch they suspected contained cocaine unless the cocaine's incriminating nature was immediately apparent.

3. Information from an anonymous informant, combined with the suspicious answers of the juvenile, gave police probable cause to believe that cocaine was inside the pouch hanging from the juvenile's pocket, and, consequently, provided police with objective probable cause to arrest the suspect. The warrantless seizure and search of a juvenile's pouch, therefore, was a valid seizure and search incident to arrest.

4. A juvenile's statements made during a custodial interrogation were admissible when the juvenile failed to present evidence to rebut the state's showing by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the statements were voluntary.

Ann McCaughn, Assistant State Public Defender, Minneapolis, for Appellant.

Hubert H. Humphrey, III, St. Paul, Todd S. Webb, Clay County Attorney, Scott G. Collins, Moorhead, for Respondent.

Heard, considered and decided by the court en banc.

OPINION

TOMLJANOVICH, Justice.

The trial court on stipulated facts adjudicated G.M. delinquent based on actions constituting a controlled-substance crime in the second degree. A panel majority of the court of appeals affirmed the findings and order of the trial court, holding that the evidence was in plain view during a lawful stop and that G.M.'s statements were voluntary. In re Welfare of G. (NMN) M., 542 N.W.2d 54 (Minn.App.1996). G.M. appeals, challenging the denial of his motion to suppress both the evidence seized and his statements, and his adjudication of delinquency. Although we disagree with the court of appeals' reasoning, we also affirm the order of the trial court.

At about 4:30 p.m. on January 25, 1995, an agent with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) observed a wired informant's conversation with an unknown person. The agent watched as the unknown person walked away from the informant and toward a bronze or copper colored Buick. The agent then watched as the unknown person spoke with the occupants of the car and then returned to the informant. The agent then heard over the wire as the unknown person told the informant that three males inside the car possessed cocaine. After observing the car leave the area, the agent declined to leave his surveillance post and instead relayed the car's description and license plate number to a deputy in the Clay County Sheriff's Department. The deputy subsequently relayed the information to the Moorhead police. Shortly thereafter, two Moorhead police officers observed three males walking away from a car that matched the description. The officers stopped the three males, two of whom were the appellant, G.M., who was 17 years old at the time, and his 22-year-old brother. One of the officers asked the three suspects whether they were carrying weapons. G.M. replied no, but said he had a pouch in his possession that he found on the street. He offered that he did not know what it contained. The pouch, which was sticking out of G.M.'s pocket, was partially visible to the officers. After seizing the pouch and conducting a pat-down search of the three suspects, the officers looked inside the pouch and found what was later confirmed to be 15.1 grams of cocaine. Police also found G.M. to be carrying $600 in cash. The officers subsequently arrested all three suspects and transported them to the police station.

The police first interviewed G.M.'s brother, who made several incriminating statements against G.M. Because the officer conducting the interrogations became aware that G.M.'s father was deceased and his mother was living in Texas, the officer allowed G.M.'s brother to act in a parental capacity for G.M. Before interrogating G.M., therefore, the police officer allowed G.M. to speak with his brother alone for about 12 minutes. After being advised of his Miranda rights, G.M. indicated that he understood his rights and then stated that he was knowingly in possession of the cocaine.

The state charged G.M., as an extended-jurisdiction juvenile, with controlled-substance crimes in the first and second degrees in violation of Minn.Stat. § 152.021, subd. 1(1), subd. 3(a) (1994) (sale of 10 grams or more of a controlled substance) and § 152.022, subd. 2(1), subd. 3(a) (1994) (possession of 6 grams or more of a controlled substance). The trial court denied G.M.'s motion to suppress both the seized evidence and his statements. The court tried the case on stipulated facts pursuant to an agreement to dismiss the first-degree controlled substance charge. The court found that the state proved the petition beyond a reasonable doubt and adjudicated G.M. a delinquent child.

I.

G.M. raises several issues regarding the stop and subsequent seizure and search of the pouch. When reviewing the legality of a seizure or search, an appellate court will not reverse the trial court's findings unless clearly erroneous or contrary to law. State v. Dickerson, 481 N.W.2d 840, 843 (Minn.1992), aff'd, 508 U.S. 366, 113 S.Ct. 2130, 124 L.Ed.2d 334 (1993). This court will review de novo a trial court's determination of reasonable suspicion as it relates to Terry ¹ stops and probable cause as it relates to warrantless searches. Ornelas v. United States, --- U.S. ----, ----, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996). Before examining the seizure and search of the pouch, however, we must analyze the stop that led to its discovery.

The Moorhead police officers in the instant case stopped G.M. only after receiving a detailed description of the car, including the license plate number, from the Clay County Sheriff's Department. The sheriff's department, in turn, had received the information from a BCA agent who overheard a conversation between a wired informant and an unknown person. It is undisputed that the only person who claims to have actually seen the cocaine before the stop was the unknown person. It also is undisputed that this person was, and still is, unknown to police. Appellant contends that because it was this unknown person who provided the information, the police did not have reasonable suspicion to stop G.M. The state, on the other hand, contends that the police had reasonable suspicion in part because it was the confidential reliable informant who provided the information. Although we agree with the appellant's contention that it was the unknown person who provided the information, ² that does not end our analysis. As we previously have stated, an unknown or anonymous person can, given other indicia of reliability, provide the basis for reasonable suspicion. City of Minnetonka v. Shepherd, 420 N.W.2d 887, 888 (Minn.1988). The legality of this stop, therefore, will turn on whether the circumstances of this stop provide such indicia.

"It is well settled that in accordance with the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution a police officer may not stop a vehicle without a reasonable basis for doing so." Marben v. Department of Pub. Safety, 294 N.W.2d 697, 699 (Minn.1980). A stop is lawful if the officer articulates a "particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular persons stopped of criminal activity." Berge v. Commissioner of Pub. Safety, 374 N.W.2d 730, 732 (Minn.1985) (quoting United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981)) (emphasis in Berge ). The officer assesses the need for a stop "on the basis of 'all of the circumstances' " and " 'draws inferences and makes deductions * * * that might well elude an untrained person.' " Id. (quoting Cortez, 449 U.S. at 418, 101 S.Ct. at 695). The police may briefly stop a person and make reasonable inquiries when an officer observes unusual conduct that leads the officer to reasonably conclude in light of his or her experience that criminal activity may be afoot. Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366, 373, 113 S.Ct. 2130, 2135-36, 124 L.Ed.2d 334 (1993) (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1884, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)). The information necessary to support an investigative stop need not be based on the officer's personal observations, rather, the police can base an investigative stop on an informant's tip if it has sufficient indicia of reliability. State v. Cavegn, 294 N.W.2d 717, 721 (Minn.1980). Police generally may not effect a stop on the basis of an anonymous informant's tip unless they have some minimal information suggesting the informant is credible and obtained the information in a reliable way. Shepherd, 420 N.W.2d at 890 (citing State v. Davis, 393 N.W.2d 179, 181 (Minn.1986)).

Ultimately, we must decide whether the information provided by an informant is reliable. To do so, we look both at the informant and the informant's source of the information and judge them against "all of the circumstances." See Cortez, 449 U.S. at 418, 101 S.Ct. at 695. Obviously, we base a large part of this analysis upon police knowledge of both the tipster and the factual circumstances surrounding the tip. It is undisputed that none of the police officers involved in this case have any significant knowledge of the unknown person who provided the tip. ³ It is equally undisputed, however, that the BCA agent had firsthand knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the tip.

Although nobody seems to know the identity of this unknown person, both the BCA agent and the confidential reliable informant saw and heard the unknown person as he spoke. In State v. Davis, we found that a face-to-face confrontation between a tipster and an officer puts a tipster in a position where police might be able to...