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State v. Lovig2/25/2004
Appeal from a district court judgment and sentence entered after the denial of the defendant's motion to suppress evidence acquired through a warrantless search. REVERSED AND REMANDED.
In this appeal, we consider whether the district court properly denied the defendant's motion to suppress evidence garnered through a warrantless search of an apartment. The district court determined that probable cause and an exigent circumstance existed to justify the limited entry into the apartment by law enforcement officers. The defendant challenges this finding on appeal and seeks suppression of the evidence. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the decision of the district court and remand for further proceedings.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Shortly after 9:00 p.m. on March 29, 2002, deputy Brian Tickle (Tickle) was dispatched to the scene of a single-vehicle rollover accident near Story City. When Tickle arrived at the scene, he found a red Pontiac Grand Am resting on its top in a roadside ditch. The driver of the vehicle was no longer present, but three witnesses and two other law enforcement officers were at the scene. One of the witnesses told Tickle that she spoke with the female driver of the overturned vehicle in an effort to ascertain whether the driver needed medical assistance. At the time of the conversation, this person was sitting in a Chevrolet Blazer that was also at the scene. The witness noticed that the woman's breath smelled strongly of alcohol. She asked the driver of the Blazer whether she should call for emergency assistance and he responded that she should not call. After the witness advised them that she had, in fact, already called, the Blazer quickly sped away.
After acquiring this and other information from the witnesses at the scene, the officers checked the license plate numbers of the Grand Am and the Blazer. The Blazer came back registered to Price Barker (Barker). The Grand Am was registered to the defendant, Sheila Ann Lovig (Lovig). The two other officers at the scene, officer Jerry Spencer (Spencer) and deputy Mike Miller (Miller), eventually left to pursue the Blazer and its occupants. Tickle processed the accident scene, examining it and taking photographs and witness statements. While examining the area, Tickle found an open bottle of beer, containing a small amount of alcohol, outside of the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, he found five empty bottles of beer in a grocery bag.
Meanwhile, Spencer found and interviewed Barker, the driver of the Blazer. Barker told the officer that Lovig had been driving the Grand Am and admitted that he had taken her away from the scene in his Blazer. He also told Spencer that Lovig had exited the Blazer as soon as they had reached town and that he did not know where she was presently. Spencer then interviewed members of Lovig's immediate family to find out whether any of them had seen her. Lovig's brother advised the officer that they should contact Tanya Hopkins (Hopkins), her cousin, with whom Lovig occasionally stayed, to find out whether she had seen Lovig.
Spencer went to Hopkins' apartment. As he approached the door, he heard two females, including one he recognized as Hopkins, discussing a recent phone call from Lovig's sister-in-law informing them that officers may be on their way to the residence. Hopkins told the other woman that the woman needed to leave before the officers arrived. After listening for a couple minutes, Spencer knocked on the door and Hopkins answered. Spencer asked to speak to Lovig and Hopkins claimed she was alone in the apartment with her two small children. Spencer continued to talk to Hopkins in hopes that she would be more cooperative. A
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