Wilson v. State

• Decision Date: 26 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 30A01-0508-CR-393.,30A01-0508-CR-393.
• Citation: 847 N.E.2d 1064
• Parties: Joseph E. WILSON, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

847 N.E.2d 1064

Joseph E. WILSON, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 30A01-0508-CR-393.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

May 26, 2006.

James W. McNew, Allen Wellman McNew, Greenfield, for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, J.T. Whitehead, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, for Appellee.

OPINION

MAY, Judge.

Joseph E. Wilson appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. He argues his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and under Article I, § 11 of the Indiana Constitution were violated when police officers detained him after his traffic stop while a drug-sniffing dog was brought to the scene.

We reverse.

FACTS¹ AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

During the early morning hours of March 9, 2005, Officer Eric Fields of the Greenfield Police Department noticed Wilson in a car parked in a CVS parking lot. Wilson and his companion were watching the patrol car. Wilson drove to a Gas America parking lot, and Officer Fields noticed Wilson watching him as Wilson cleaned his windshield. Officer Fields continued his patrol. About twenty minutes later he returned to the Gas America station, where Wilson and his companion were still parked. Officer Fields again noticed Wilson and his companion watching him.

Officer Fields drove to a nearby parking lot and turned out his headlights so he could watch Wilson's car. Wilson drove out of the parking lot and accelerated very quickly to a high rate of speed. Wilson's license plate light was out, and Officer Fields stopped Wilson's car. During the traffic stop, Wilson was "very nervous." (App. at 19.) His "hands were shaking" and he was "having trouble getting his license and vehicle registration." (Id.) Officer Fields noted Wilson paused often when speaking.

After obtaining Wilson's license and registration, Officer Fields returned to his vehicle to run license and warrant checks on Wilson and to write warning tickets for the license plate light and speeding violations. Wilson's license check was returned at 1:58 a.m. and reflected a misdemeanor drug violation. The time indicated on the warning tickets Officer Fields prepared was 2:06 a.m.

Officer Fields spoke with his riding partner, Patrolman Moore, about Wilson and his companion, then the officers asked Wilson to step out of his car. Officer Fields asked if "there was anything in the vehicle we needed to know about like weapons or illegal narcotics," and Wilson replied there was not. (Id.) Officer Fields then asked Wilson whether he had any weapons on him, and Wilson replied he had a knife.

Patrolman Moore patted down Wilson, and Wilson told the officers he had $4,000.00 in cash in his pocket. Officer Fields asked if he could search Wilson's car, and Wilson declined to permit the search. Officer Fields returned to his patrol car and at approximately 2:15 a.m. called for backup and for a unit with a drug-sniffing dog.

Officer Michael Noble arrived shortly thereafter and after speaking with Officer Fields, spoke with Wilson and his companion. Officer Noble heard "conflicting stories" from Wilson and his companion, and noted Wilson was "very nervous." (Id. at 24.) Wilson mentioned several times that he was cold, but declined several offers by Officer Noble to get Wilson's jacket out of his car. Officer Noble told Wilson they were waiting for Officer Fields to finish writing the warning tickets and "were also waiting on dispatch to advise us on their warrant checks." (Id. at 25.)

The dog arrived as Officer Fields gave Wilson the warning tickets. The dog alerted on two different areas of the vehicle, and the officers found narcotics and a gun. Wilson was arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including dealing in methamphetamine, a Class A felony.² The trial court denied Wilson's motion to suppress the evidence police seized from his car.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

We review the denial of a motion to suppress evidence in a manner similar to allegations of insufficient evidence. We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling. Bocko v. State, 769 N.E.2d 658, 664 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), reh'g denied, trans. denied 783 N.E.2d 702 (Ind. 2002). However, unlike the typical sufficiency of the evidence case where only the evidence favorable to the judgment is considered, in reviewing a denial of a motion to suppress, we must also consider the uncontested evidence most favorable to the defendant. Id. Trial courts have wide latitude in weighing the probative value of evidence against the danger of unfair prejudice, and we review that determination for abuse of discretion. Ingram v. State, 715 N.E.2d 405, 408 (Ind.1999).

Wilson argues his detention during the lawful traffic stop was longer than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the traffic stop, and was designed to stall until the drug-sniffing dog could arrive. The United States Supreme Court recently held "[a] dog sniff conducted during a concededly lawful traffic stop that reveals no information other than the location of a substance that no individual has any right to possess does not violate the Fourth Amendment." Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405, 410, 125 S.Ct. 834, 160 L.Ed.2d 842 (2005). A trooper stopped Caballes for speeding. When the trooper reported the stop to dispatch, another unit with a drug-sniffing dog overheard the call and drove to the site of the stop. While the first trooper wrote Caballes a warning ticket, the second trooper walked the dog around Caballes' car. The dog alerted on the car and narcotics were found. The Supreme Court observed the dog sniff was performed on the exterior of a car and held "[a]ny intrusion on respondent's privacy expectations does not rise to the level of a constitutionally cognizable infringement." Id. at 409.

Our Indiana Supreme Court followed Caballes in holding a dog sniff, if reasonable, did not violate the United States or Indiana Constitutions. Myers v. State, 839 N.E.2d 1146 (Ind.2005). However, Myers did not address whether the dog sniff improperly prolonged Myers' detention. Police initiated Myers' traffic stop at 1:19 a.m. and the dog sniff began at 1:32 a.m. At the time of the dog sniff, the officer was explaining the traffic citation to Myers and "had not completed the traffic stop prior to the time of the canine sweep of the vehicle." Id. at 1150.

The Caballes Court noted not all "dog sniff" situations are the same: "a seizure that is lawful at its inception can violate the Fourth Amendment if its manner of execution unreasonably infringes interests protected by the Constitution." 543 U.S. at 407, 125 S.Ct. 834. Specifically, "a seizure that is justified solely by the interest in issuing a warning ticket to the driver can become unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete that mission." Id.

The State argues Wilson's detention was proper as a Terry stop. Police may briefly detain an individual for investigatory purposes if, based on specific and articulable acts, the officer has a reasonable suspicion criminal activity "may be afoot." Sullivan v. State, 748 N.E.2d 861, 865 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)). While a dog sniff is not a search, on the completion of a traffic stop an officer must have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to proceed thereafter with an investigatory detention. Bradshaw v. State, 759 N.E.2d 271, 273 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). The critical facts in determining whether a vehicle was legally detained at the time of the canine sweep are whether the traffic stop was concluded and, if so, whether there was reasonable suspicion at that point to continue to detain the vehicle for investigatory purposes. Id. at 273-74. The...