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McConnell v. State2/11/2004
Appellant, Kenneth K. McConnell, appeals the Washington County Circuit Court's denial of his motion to suppress. Appellant entered a conditional plea of guilty to driving while intoxicated, fourth offense, and was sentenced to six years' imprisonment with five years suspended and a $1,000 fine. Appellant has two arguments on appeal. First, appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress in that the arresting officer violated Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.1, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 2 of the Arkansas Constitution because he lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the dark BMW driven by appellant. Second, appellant argues that the officer's stop of the dark BMW should be suppressed because the tip phoned in to the Fayetteville Police Department by the known informant did not contain sufficient indicia of reliability as articulated in Frette v. City of Springdale, 331 Ark. 103, 959 S.W.2d 734 (1998). We affirm.
On the evening of July 10, 2002, Michael Scott Stanley, a security officer working at the Cliffs Apartments in Fayetteville, came into contact with a dark BMW. Stanley reported to the dispatcher at the Fayetteville Police Department that once the occupant of the BMW saw Stanley, the BMW took off up the hill to a dead end. Even though the BMW's occupant saw Stanley following him, the car continued into a dead end area. The driver of the BMW turned around and came back down the hill, making a hard right turn and "flooring" the vehicle. Stanley stated that there was a bulldozer there, which the BMW barely avoided. The driver then backed the BMW all the way down the hill, past Stanley, and sped away. Stanley chased him until he exited the parking lot. Stanley gave both a description of the car and the license plate number to the dispatcher. He also stated that there appeared to only be one occupant in the BMW. He explained that the vehicle turned east out of the parking lot and then turned again traveling north. Stanley provided his name, phone number, and date of birth to the dispatcher.
Officer Crisman testified at the suppression hearing that he responded to the dispatch. Dispatch reported to him that the vehicle had left the vicinity of the Cliffs Apartments. He reported to dispatch that he had located a car matching the description and with the same license plate number given by Stanley approximately three to four miles away from the Cliffs Apartments traveling north. Officer Crisman pulled the vehicle over behind the Butcher Block on College Avenue. Officer Crisman testified that approximately seven minutes had passed between the time Officer Crisman heard the dispatch and the time that he stopped appellant. He testified that he remembered indicating in his report that he was advised of a reckless driver; however, the tape of the call did not mention the term "reckless." He also testified that a portion of the area in which Stanley observed the vehicle was under construction. On this particular evening, law enforcement was monitoring the construction area to prevent theft. Under these circumstances, Officer Crisman suspected a possible breaking and entering.
Following a hearing, the trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress. Appellant then entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving his right to appeal the lawfulness of the stop. This appeal followed.
Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress in that the arresting officer violated Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.1, the Fourth Amendment to the United *372 States Constitution, and Article 2 of the Arkansas Constitution because he lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the dark BMW. Upon review of a trial court's denial of a motion to suppress,
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