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State v. Kreps9/5/2002
On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
The State seeks further review of the court of appeals' decision affirming the district court's ruling, which granted defendant's motion to suppress. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT REVERSED AND REMANDED.
The State sought discretionary review of a district court ruling sustaining the defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The evidence was obtained by a police officer who stopped the defendant's vehicle when a passenger exited the vehicle while it was still moving.
We transferred the case to the court of appeals, which affirmed. We granted the State's application for further review. On that review, we now vacate the court of appeals' decision and reverse the district court judgment. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
On December 28, 2000, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Officer Craig Johnson of the Carter Lake Police Department observed a red Chevrolet Blazer traveling north on 13th Street. The vehicle turned west onto Cachelin Street. Because there was no traffic at that time of the night, the officer turned around and came back "to check the vehicle out." As the officer was catching up with the vehicle, it sped up and turned north on 11th Street. The vehicle sped up even more. Next, the vehicle turned onto "P" Street, went one block east, then turned back onto 13th street, thereby completing a circle. From 13th Street, the vehicle went one block and turned back onto Cachelin. The officer had difficulty catching up to the vehicle.
As the officer turned onto Cachelin, he saw an individual jump from the vehicle while it was still moving and run in between two houses. The vehicle continued for approximately fifty yards, then pulled over to the curb. At this point, the officer activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop.
The officer approached the vehicle and asked the driver, Michael Scott Kreps, for his driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. The officer smelled alcohol coming either from Kreps or inside the vehicle, so he asked Kreps to step out and perform some field sobriety tests. The tests indicated "definite signs of narcotic usage," so the officer arrested Kreps and charged him with operating while intoxicated. He asked Kreps to come to the police station for a urine test.
The State charged Kreps with driving while intoxicated, in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2 (1999). Later, Kreps filed a motion to suppress, which the State resisted. In his motion to suppress, Kreps asked the court to suppress all statements and other evidence obtained following the stop because it was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Federal Constitution and the comparable provision of the Iowa Constitution.
At the suppression hearing, the officer testified that as he caught up to the vehicle, it "sped up even more in attempt to lose me, like a cat-and-mouse game." When asked why he stopped the vehicle, the officer explained it was due to "the evasive action and trying to lose me going around the block," combined with "seeing an individual exit the vehicle in a manner that is not consistent with normal people getting out of the vehicle, then [running] between two houses." When asked whether the passenger ran because he was under age and possibly consuming alcohol, the officer responded: "It could be. Carter Lake has a curfew, where individuals under the age of 18 cannot be out past 11."
On cross-examination, the officer added, "I couldn't get a radar lock on him because of the short distances from corner to corner
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