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State v. Kawa1/10/2001
APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the circuit court for Kenosha County: MICHAEL S. FISHER, Judge. Affirmed.
. Mark S. Kawa was found guilty by a jury of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, his second such conviction within five years. He raises two issues on appeal. First, he claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress all evidence obtained on grounds that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to make the stop. Second, he contends that the trial court erred in refusing to strike one of the prospective jurors for cause on grounds of subjective and objective bias. We hold that there was reasonable suspicion to stop Kawa and that the trial court did not misuse its discretion by refusing to strike a prospective juror for cause. We affirm.
. The facts relating to the motion to suppress are as follows: On Friday, October 30, 1998, at about 3:44 a.m., a Village of Pleasant Prairie police officer responded to an anonymous call reporting certain activity at the Tourist Information Center located at Highways 165 and I-94 in the Village of Pleasant Prairie. The officer's information was that the caller said he was parked there when a man in a light blue Pontiac parked next to his car and commenced making "some sort of eyes at him or some sort of sexual gestures." The officer had thirteen years of experience with the village police and knew, therefore, of the information center's reputation. According to the officer, the center had a reputation of being a place where "men meet other men there for sexual purposes in the washroom and in their cars." The officer had personally observed solicitation and contact at the center.
. When the officer arrived at the center, he saw a light blue Pontiac Bonneville vehicle. It was the only such light blue Pontiac there. A Firebird vehicle was next to it. The officer pulled up behind the Firebird. The officer's squad completely blocked the Firebird and a foot and one-half of the Bonneville. The squad's emergency lights were activated. The officer described what happened next, as follows:
he passenger, who later was identified as the defendant, jumped out of the passenger side of the Firebird into his light blue Pontiac Bonneville; and I saw the lights, back-up lights, of his car come on; and I parked behind him, honking my horn signaling for him to stop before he hit my car; and I got out of my car and walked up to the defendant....
. When the officer came closer to the defendant, he detected a strong odor of intoxicants and slurred speech. The officer informed Kawa about the dispatch he had received. When Kawa protested that he was doing nothing wrong and was merely at the center to use the washroom, the officer inquired about what he was doing in the Firebird next to Kawa's car. Kawa responded that he had just come out of the bathroom and was going to get in his car, but forgot which car was his. So, he opened up the passenger side door of the Firebird and got in it. When the officer pulled up, that was when Kawa realized that he was in the wrong car.
. The officer then spoke to the driver of the Firebird. That person said he was in the washroom when Kawa came in and "made some advance toward him or said something to him." The Firebird driver went out to his car, got into the driver's seat, and was just sitting there when Kawa walked out and sat in the passenger side of his Firebird. When the driver said "what's up," Kawa responded, "I am" and motioned to his penis which was erect. Kawa then asked the driver to touch him and that is when the officer pulled up.
. The officer then directed Kawa to perform field sobriety tests which Kawa performed poorly. The o
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