 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Wilson5/1/2000
Plaintiff-appellant, the state of Ohio, appeals a decision of the Warren County Court of Common Pleas granting the motion to suppress of defendant-appellee, Edward Wilson.
In the early hours of February 24, 1999, Patrolman Steven Dunham of the Franklin Police Department was traveling southbound on Interstate Highway 75 when he observed Wilson's vehicle traveling southbound in a weaving motion and going left of center three times within one and onehalf miles. The officer stopped Wilson. Upon approaching Wilson's vehicle, the officer observed furtive movement on Wilson's part in the area between the driver's seat and door. Upon approaching Wilson, the officer recognized him from a previous encounter in which Wilson had a shotgun in his vehicle.
Wilson was arrested after he admitted he was driving under suspension. A pat-down of Wilson's person yielded a bag of marijuana. Wilson was subsequently put in the back of a police cruiser. The officer then conducted an on-scene inventory search of Wilson's vehicle. The officer testified he "looked right in the driver's area first." Upon opening the driver's door, the officer observed a plastic bag on the floor between the driver's door and seat, partially under the seat. After retrieving the bag, which contained cocaine, the officer continued to search the vehicle for contraband and weapons. Although the officer believed he had signed off on an inventory sheet, no sheet was produced at the hearing on the motion to suppress. The officer also could not recall what, if anything, was recovered from Wilson's vehicle besides the cocaine.
Wilson was indicted on May 3, 1999 on one count of possession of cocaine in violation of R.C. 2925.11(A) and one count of permitting drug abuse in violation of R.C. 2925.13(A). On August 9, 1999, Wilson filed a motion to suppress the marijuana and cocaine on the grounds that the initial investigative stop and the subsequent warrantless arrest and search were not valid. The state did not file a brief in response, but argued at the suppression hearing that the search was valid either as an inventory search or as a search incident to a lawful arrest.
On August 16, 1999, the trial court granted Wilson's motion to suppress in part. The court first found that Wilson's erratic driving and his admission of driving under suspension justified the initial stop and his subsequent arrest. The court found, however, that while the seizure of the marijuana was a search incident to a lawful arrest, the subsequent search of Wilson's vehicle and the seizure of the cocaine could not be justified under the plain view doctrine, as an inventory search, or as a search incident to a lawful arrest. The state timely filed this appeal.
On appeal, the state presents three assignments of error in which it challenges the trial court's grant of Wilson's motion to suppress. In its first assignment of error, the state argues that the cocaine supporting the drug charges was lawfully seized by the officer because it was in plain view. In its second assignment of error, the state argues that the search of Wilson's vehicle was a proper inventory search. In its third assignment of error, the state argues that the search was a valid search incident to a lawful arrest. At the heart of all three arguments is the state's claim that the warrantless search of Wilson's vehicle fell within three exceptions to the warrant requirement and was thus valid.
An appellate court may not disturb a trial court's decision on a motion to suppress where it is supported by competent, credible evidence. State v. Retherford (1994), 93 Ohio App.3d 586, 592. When considering a motion to suppress, the trial court serves as the
Page 1 2 3 4 Ohio DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|