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State v. Hechtle4/1/2004
(For Official Publication)
On June 17, 2002, following the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence, Troy Stephen Hechtle pleaded guilty to speeding, and entered a conditional guilty plea to driving with any measurable controlled substance in the body, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He now appeals.
BACKGROUND
On February 11, 2001, Hechtle was driving northbound on Interstate 15 outside Cedar City, Utah. Trooper Brian Bairett was patrolling in the area and determined that Hechtle was driving at over 88 miles per hour--well above the posted speed limit. Consequently, the trooper pulled Hechtle over. As the trooper approached Hechtle's vehicle, he noted that in addition to Hechtle, the car contained two other people--one in the front passenger seat, and the other in the rear seat area. He then noticed both Hechtle and his front seat passenger light cigarettes. When he got to the car and began speaking with Hechtle, the trooper noticed two or three air fresheners in the car.
The trooper testified that the presence of multiple air fresheners, coupled with the occupants' act of lighting cigarettes on his approach, aroused in him a suspicion that Hechtle may have been attempting to mask other odors. Nonetheless, the trooper ignored his suspicions, informed Hechtle of the reason for the traffic stop, and asked him for his license and registration. However, as the encounter progressed the trooper's suspicions heightened because Hechtle was "being overly helpful with the situation." As described by the trooper: "When people are overly helpful and want their ticket and they want to leave, they have something they are trying to hide."
The trooper took Hechtle's license and registration and proceeded back to his patrol car to complete the ticket and check for warrants. Hechtle proved to be free of outstanding warrants; however, as the trooper completed the speeding ticket, he noticed that Hechtle had a corrective lens restriction on his license. The trooper returned to Hechtle's vehicle and asked Hechtle if he was wearing either prescription sunglasses or contact lenses as required by his license. Hechtle explained that he had recently undergone vision correction surgery and as he offered this explanation he pulled his sunglasses away from his eyes. Without the sunglasses interfering, the trooper was able to see that Hechtle's eyes were "very red, very glassy." They also "had a droop to them," and the pupils were dilated. Consequently, the trooper "knew that [Hechtle] was probably using marijuana" and asked Hechtle to stick out his tongue. Hechtle complied. The trooper noted that Hechtle's tongue was "very green" with "blisters all over the back of it." This information "confirmed" to the trooper that Hechtle had been smoking marijuana.
The trooper further testified that he asked Hechtle to step out of the car to conduct field sobriety tests. However, immediately after Hechtle exited the car, the trooper frisked him. During the frisk, the trooper felt the outline of a small marijuana pipe in Hechtle's jacket pocket and asked Hechtle to remove it. After Hechtle complied, the trooper read him his Miranda rights and placed him under arrest. Hechtle then admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day. During the subsequent search incident to the arrest, the trooper discovered a small amount of marijuana in the car. As a result, Hechtle was charged with speeding, possession of paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, and driving with any measurable controlled substance in the body.
After the State filed charges, Hechtle filed a motion to su
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