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State v. Garrison9/8/2005
Before BROWN, STEWART and CARAWAY, JJ.
STEWART, J., dissents with written reasons.
Robert Paul Garrison pled guilty to DWI Third Offense reserving his right to appeal the rejection of his motion to suppress evidence. State v. Crosby, 338 So. 2d 584 (La. 1976).
Facts
At 11:00 p.m. on the evening of June 1, 2003, Kenneth Sasser, a University Police Officer at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, was on patrol on campus on Thornton Street in a marked university police cruiser. Thornton Street runs through the Louisiana Tech campus and continues south off campus for approximately one and a half blocks to West California Avenue. Approximately one block after Thornton Street leaves the boundary of the Tech campus, it intersects with Carey Avenue. Louisiana Tech has an off-site parking lot on Carey Avenue near its intersection with Thornton. West California Avenue is less than a half block from the intersection of Carey Avenue and Thornton Street.
Officer Sasser left the campus driving down Thornton to West California, where he turned around and headed back to the campus. It was then that he heard a disturbance coming from the Louisiana Tech parking lot on Carey Avenue. He described the sound as tires squealing.
As he passed Carey Avenue, Officer Sasser saw a tan pickup truck traveling on Carey approaching the intersection with Thornton Street. The truck's right blinker was on, signaling a right turn onto Thornton in the direction of West California Avenue. Officer Sasser turned around and tried to get the driver's attention. Officer Sasser did not know whether a crime had been committed. He felt that someone was just doing something stupid and that he needed to tell them to be careful. Officer Sasser felt that the driver may not have seen or heard him, since both of the trucks' windows were rolled up. Officer Sasser activated his emergency lights, and the truck, with defendant driving and the only occupant, pulled into a parking lot.
Officer Sasser asked Garrison whether he was the one who had squealed his tires . Defendant told him no and said that it was a friend who had already left. Defendant further stated that he was on the way to Griff's to eat. Officer Sasser smelled an odor of alcohol.
Officer Sasser called his supervisor, Randy Pennington. The two officers conducted field sobriety tests to determine whether Garrison was able to drive. Officer Sasser conducted a horizontal gaze nystagmus test on the defendant and determined that he had probable cause to arrest defendant for DWI. Garrison was placed under arrest and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center for a breath test. He refused to take the breath test, and he was booked with DWI Fourth Offense.
Garrison was later charged by bill of information with DWI Third Offense. He initially pled not guilty, then filed motions to quash and suppress. Defendant's motion to quash asserted defects in the prior DWI convictions. The issues asserted at the hearing were that Officer Sasser had no jurisdiction off campus and even if he did, he did not have a reasonable basis to stop defendant.
At the hearing on the motions, Officers Pennington and Sasser testified. The trial court denied the motions. Defendant withdrew his guilty plea and entered a plea of guilty to the charge of DWI Third Offense, reserving his right to appeal the trial court's ruling on his motion to suppress.
Discussion
Jurisdiction of University Police
Due to the increase of on-campus crime, including incidents of serious crime, university police have evolved from watchmen to professionals. The legislature has provided that "no perso
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