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Anderson v. State1/12/2004
Following a bench trial in the Superior Court of Floyd County, Clifford A. Anderson was found guilty of possession of cocaine. He appeals and, without otherwise challenging the sufficiency of the evidence against him, claims error in the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress based upon an allegedly illegal stop of his vehicle and an invalid consent to search. Upon review of the circumstances surrounding both grounds for suppression, we affirm Anderson's conviction.
On appeal from a motion to suppress, the evidence is viewed in a light most favorable to upholding the trial court's judgment. The credibility of witnesses and the weight accorded their testimony rest with the trier of fact. Thus, the trial *147 court's findings on disputed facts and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. [FN1]
FN1. (Punctuation and footnotes omitted.) Sanders v. State, 247
Ga.App. 170, 543 S.E.2d 452 (2000).
So viewed, the record shows that Anderson's driver's license was suspended following a May 2001 conviction for violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. Floyd County Sheriff's Deputy R. Clemones testified at the suppression hearing that he was very familiar with Anderson. In the recent past, Clemones had arrested Anderson for drugs, as well as participated in the execution of a number of narcotics-based search warrants wherein Anderson was present at the locale to be searched. Deputy Clemones had personal knowledge that Anderson's driver's license had been suspended. Clemones also had personal knowledge that Anderson continued to drive a car despite his suspended license. At one point in 2001, Clemones saw Anderson driving with his license suspended; when Anderson saw the deputy, he abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. Further investigation of Anderson in the summer of 2002 revealed that Anderson's driver's license was still suspended, as it had been for over a year.
**912 Approximately four months later, on November 22, 2002, Deputy Clemones again saw Anderson driving. He performed a traffic stop in order to determine if Anderson had a valid driver's license. Anderson pulled over into a parking space on Broad Street in front of the First Union Bank in Rome; the deputy pulled his vehicle in behind Anderson's car, sufficiently out of traffic to exit the vehicle. As he approached the car, Clemones testified that he "observed Mr. Anderson leaning forward. It appeared to be he had his hands down below the seat, at which point he raised back up."
Deputy Clemones asked Anderson for his license, which was produced. Anderson's driver's license had been reinstated two weeks earlier on November 8, 2002. Clemones told Anderson that he knew he did not have a license prior to this point; Anderson concurred and stated that he "just got them back in the past couple of weeks." Clemones handed Anderson's license back to him and asked for consent to search the vehicle. Anderson told the officer that the car belonged to his mother, but "he said no problem. He stepped out of the car and [Clemones] started the search." The deputy testified that Anderson was "very cooperative"; that he asked for consent to search "[j]ust one time and [Anderson] hopped right out." A set of digital scales was found under the driver's seat; the scales contained trace amounts of cocaine.
Anderson also testified at the suppression hearing. He testified *148 that Deputy Clemones never told him why he was stopped; he testified that he refused consent to search the car. Anderson stated that, in response to the deputy's requests to search, he was "just telling [Clemones] no, it was my mom's car."
The trial court denied the motion to suppress, finding that Clemones had "probable cause" to stop the vehicle by virtue of his past experience wit
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