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State v. Welch10/14/1994
ENTRY ORDER
Defendant was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI), fourth offense, 23 V.S.A. § 1201(a)(2). He entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence, based on his contention that the initial stop had not been valid. We reverse.
At the suppression hearing, Trooper Vincent DiMauro testified that he and two other officers were on an unrelated, late-night investigation in Westminster, when an unnamed and unknown person approached and advised them of some suspicious activity elsewhere in the area. DiMauro said that the unidentified person had
observed an older model Chevrolet pickup truck in a driveway. The occupants were out of the vehicle walking around. He thought that that was suspicious, so he went down a ways, turned around and reversed his direction and he indicated that the vehicle was in a different driveway and the occupants were either not around or in the vehicle.
According to DiMauro, this person also saw objects in the back of the truck, though he did not state what the objects were or that he had seen anyone place the objects there. As the unidentified person was talking to the troopers, he identified the pickup truck driving by them as the same one he had observed earlier. Trooper DiMauro followed the truck for two miles onto the interstate and then stopped it, without observing any unlawful or suspicious conduct by the driver. When the trooper pulled the vehicle over, the operator stopped properly. DiMauro testified that his purpose in stopping the vehicle was to inquire about what defendant was doing going in and out of driveways.
The trial court denied the motion to suppress and explained its ruling as follows:
There are a number of facts that, combined, create an articulable and reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. The officers testified that around midnight . . . an unidentified informant reported that he had seen an old pickup truck in a driveway with its occupants out walking around, and a few minutes later saw the same pickup in a different driveway with objects in its bed. The area in which the truck was seen, was an area that experiences burglaries. As the officers were talking to the informant, a pickup truck, matching the description given them by the informant, passed them, and the informant identified the truck as the one he had seen involved in the suspicious activity. The officers' subsequent stop of the defendant was made in order to investigate what they believed to be suspicious activity. The Court finds that the officers' suspicions of wrongdoing were based on articulable and reasonable facts and that the inferences drawn from those facts were rational.
This appeal followed.
There is no dispute that defendant was driving while under the influence and that, prior to being stopped, he had not driven in a manner to create reasonable, articulable suspicion that he was driving while under the influence. The sole issue on appeal is whether the police had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant's vehicle, apart from his driving.
A reasonable and articulable suspicion of wrongdoing is necessary for a police officer to stop a motor vehicle that is being operated on the highway. State v. Emilo, 144 Vt. 477, 481, 479 A.2d 169, 171 (1984); see Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663, 59 L. Ed. 2d 660, 99 S. Ct. 1391 (1979). "The level of suspicion required under the Fourth Amendment is considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence, United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7, 104 L. Ed. 2d 1, 109 S. Ct. 1581 (1989), but it mu
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