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State v. Lombardi.3/22/1999
This case came before the Court on February 9, 1999, pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in the defendant's appeal from a judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance should not be summarily decided.
After hearing the arguments of counsel and reviewing the memoranda submitted by the parties, we are of the opinion that cause has not been shown. The issues raised in the appeal will be decided at this time.
At the suppression hearing held prior to Steven A. Lombardi's trial for possession of a controlled substance, the testimony disclosed the following facts. On September 16, 1996, at 1:15 in the morning, John Santurri (Santurri) was driving on Cranston Street in the City of Cranston. With him as a passenger in the car was the defendant, Steven A. Lombardi (defendant). Santurri had offered to drive the defendant home from the bar where Santurri worked as a bartender because the defendant, who had been at the bar, was too inebriated to ride the bicycle that he had used to get to the bar earlier. The bicycle was protruding from the trunk of Santurri's car during that ride.
As Santurri drove his car along Cranston Street, Officer Thomas Martin (Martin), who was parked in a parking lot on Cranston Street with another police officer, Officer Michael Jansen (Jansen), observed Santurri's vehicle and noticed that Santurri failed to give any signal indicating his turn from Cranston Street onto Gladstone Street. Because of that traffic violation, Martin followed Santurri and signaled him to stop. Martin then asked Santurri for his license and registration. Santurri was unable to produce a license and registration. After Martin checked Santurri's name and date of birth through the Registry of Motor Vehicle's computer, it was determined that Santurri's license to operate a motor vehicle had been suspended. Martin then placed Santurri under arrest and performed a custodial search. During the course of that search Martin discovered a small bag of cocaine and two tablets of Tylenol with codeine. Santurri was told that his car would be towed and impounded.
Because the defendant appeared intoxicated and because Santurri had told Martin that the reason he was giving the defendant a ride home was because the defendant was too intoxicated to ride his bicycle, Martin decided that it was best, for the defendant's own safety, that the other officer at the scene, Jansen, should drive him home while Martin drove Santurri to the police station. When that was explained to the defendant, he voiced no objection to being driven home. Martin then told the defendant that prior to placing him in the police cruiser, Martin would have to perform a pat-down search of the defendant in order to search for possible weapons that could endanger Jansen while he was driving. Again, the defendant voiced no objection.
Just as the pat-down search commenced, the defendant volunteered to Martin that he had cocaine in his pocket, which Martin then confiscated. As a result, the defendant was immediately placed under arrest for possession of a controlled substance and a custodial search was then performed on him. No weapon or further contraband was found. Martin testified that if the defendant had not pointed out the tiny packet of cocaine, he never would have discovered it.
The testimony of Santurri and the defendant at the suppression hearing differed in essentially every detail from Martin's testimony. They both testified that Santurri did signal his turn, that neither Santurri nor the defendant had ever possessed any cocaine, and that the defendant was not intoxicated that night. However, the trial Justice f
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