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State v. Crutcher4/12/1999
AFFIRMED
OPINION
This is an appeal by the State of Tennessee from the judgment of the intermediate appellate court affirming the suppression of evidence in the trial court below. The sole issue is whether the warrantless police search of the appellee's motorcycle violated his rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution.
The State contends that the suppression of evidence was improper because the search in question was incident to a lawful arrest. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the appellee, Bobby Crutcher, was not under arrest at the time of the police search. Accordingly, we affirm both the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeal's determination that the search was not incident to a lawful arrest. The evidence obtained from the search was properly suppressed.
BACKGROUND
On October 19, 1995, Officer Frank Moniz of the Gallatin Police Department observed three motorcyclists drive away from a traffic light at an excessive rate of speed. The officer activated his emergency flashing equipment and pulled over two of the speeding motorcyclists. However, the third motorcycle, driven by the appellee, accelerated even more in an attempt to flee from the pursuing officer. Officer Moniz gave chase to the appellee and the two vehicles reached speeds of one hundred (100) miles per hour. The officer radioed for assistance and eventually slowed his vehicle down upon entering a residential area.
As Officer Moniz crested a hill in his patrol car, he observed the appellee drive up an embankment and wreck into a storm drain. The appellee had been thrown approximately twenty feet away from his motorcycle and was crawling out of the roadside brush when the officer drove up to apprehend him. Officer Moniz testified that upon reaching the appellee, he placed one arm behind the appellee's back and intended to arrest him for reckless endangerment and evading arrest. However, when the appellee complained of injuries, Officer Moniz ceased handcuffing him and called for an ambulance.
Officer Moniz testified that he made no additional effort to arrest the appellee at the accident scene. While waiting for the ambulance, Officer Moniz and other police officers stayed with the appellee and made him lay still for his safety. The appellee questioned Officer Rich Evans about what was going to happen to him. Officer Evans told the appellee that he would be taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The officers did not discuss criminal charges or arrest proceedings with the appellee and they did not give him a Miranda warning at the scene.
Officer Moniz testified that an ambulance arrived only minutes after he radioed for medical assistance. As the appellee was being loaded into the ambulance, his friend, Jeff Crook, asked if he could take control of the wrecked motorcycle. The appellee agreed and requested that Mr. Crook also take possession of the gold chains that the appellee had around his neck.
Officer Evans testified that he and the other officers agreed to let Mr. Crook remove the motorcycle from the scene. However, before releasing the bike, Officer Evans inventoried the contents of a backpack and jacket that were located on it. The officer found a loaded .38 caliber handgun located inside the backpack and found a pill bottle inside the upper left pocket of the jacket. An examination of the pill bottle revealed several small packets of a white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine.
The appellant was taken directly to Sumner Regional Medical Center from the scene of the acci
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