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STATE v. KINKEAD10/22/1997
Following a stipulated trial, defendant Craig Allen Kinkead was convicted of possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine), manufacturing a controlled substance (marijuana), and operating a vehicle without a valid motor vehicle license, in violation of Iowa Code sections 124.401(3), 124.401(1)(d) and 321.218(1) (1995), respectively. On appeal, he argues the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence [570 NW2d Page 99]
obtained at the time of his arrest and that the statute upon which the stop was initiated is unconstitutionally vague. The defendant has also raised the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel in the event we find the vagueness issue was not properly preserved.
I. Factual and Procedural Background
In the late evening hours of May 8, 1996, Iowa State Trooper Mary Miller was on routine patrol on a state highway near Anamosa. Miller was parked on the shoulder of the highway with her windows up and police radio on. A black Ford pickup drove by and Miller's attention was drawn to the muffler on the vehicle, which she believed to be excessively loud. She decided to stop the vehicle to investigate and issue a citation based on Iowa Code section 321.436, which prohibits excessive muffler noise. Once the vehicle was stopped, Miller approached and asked the driver, Craig Kinkead, to produce his driver's license. When Kinkead was unable to produce his license, Miller asked the dispatcher to run a check on his license status. The check disclosed that Kinkead's license was suspended and that an outstanding warrant existed for his arrest. Miller called for assistance from Anamosa police and with their help, arrested Kinkead and conducted an inventory search of Kinkead's vehicle prior to towing.
During the search, Anamosa police officer Andy Bowers discovered two small plastic bags containing a cream-colored, rock-like substance inside an empty cassette case in the console of the vehicle. Field tests conducted by the officers indicated that the substance was crack cocaine. Anamosa officer Jeff Frankfurt discovered six plants on the passenger-side floorboard of the vehicle which field tests indicated to be marijuana. The officers seized the items as evidence and subsequent tests performed by the state crime laboratory confirmed their status as controlled substances.
The State subsequently charged Kinkead by trial information with the following offenses: possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, manufacturing a controlled substance, and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. The State later agreed to reduce the possession with intent to deliver charge to the lesser-included offense of possession of a controlled substance. Kinkead filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained by the search of the vehicle, arguing that Miller did not have the requisite reasonable suspicion to warrant the stop of his vehicle and, therefore, that the subsequent search was illegal under the Iowa and United States Constitutions.
In ruling on the suppression motion, the district court found that Miller had reasonable suspicion to believe the condition of Kinkead's vehicle violated Iowa Code section 321.436, which prohibits excessive muffler noise. Despite the fact that a later inspection of the vehicle revealed that the muffler was in good working condition and did not violate the statute, the court found that Miller's suspicion was reasonable at the time in light of the articulated reasons for her belief that the vehicle violated the statute. The district court therefore denied the defendant's motion to suppress.
The district court found Kinkead guilty on all three counts and sentenced hi
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