SECOND DIVISION BARNES, P. J., MILLER and RAY, JJ.
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. http://www.gaappeals.us/rules/
March 12, 2014
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A13A2060 ASKEW v. THE STATE.
MILLER, Judge.
Following a stipulated bench trial, Duke Askew was found guilty of possession
of cocaine with intent to distribute (OCGA § 16-13-30 (b)), possession of marijuana
with intent to distribute (OCGA § 16-13-30 (b)), attempting to elude a police officer
(OCGA § 40-6-395 (a)), and a stop sign violation (OCGA § 40-6-72). Askew appeals
from the judgment on his conviction and sentence, contending that the trial court
erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from his car during a
traffic stop.1 We discern no error and affirm.
1 The Court of Appeals denied the application for interlocutory appeal pursuant to the trial court’s denial of Askew’s motion to suppress. Viewed in the light most favorable to Askew’s conviction,2 the evidence shows
that at 10:30 a.m. on December 30, 2011, a Georgia State Trooper observed Askew
driving in Hancock County while he was not wearing a seatbelt. The trooper turned
on his patrol car lights to initiate a stop. Askew turned right without stopping at a
four-way stop sign, and the trooper accelerated and turned on his sirens. Askew
continued driving, accelerating and making two turns, after which the trooper pulled
alongside Askew’s vehicle to ensure that he was seen. Despite these attempts, Askew
continued driving, making three additional turns before stopping on a dead-end road
in a rural area. The trooper’s pursuit lasted approximately one minute and fourteen
seconds, during which time the trooper called for backup.
Before Askew had completely stopped his vehicle, the front and rear passenger
side doors flew open, and Askew’s two passengers ran from the vehicle into the
adjacent woods. Askew then threw open his door as the trooper approached with his
gun drawn. The trooper pulled Askew from the car, pressed his head against the
ground, handcuffed him, frisked him for weapons and placed him in the back of his
patrol car. The trooper then spoke with a resident of one of the houses on the street,
who indicated that she did not know the people in the car. The trooper searched the
2 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
2 back of Askew’s vehicle, removing clothing, two brooms, shoes and miscellaneous
papers.
Two minutes after the trooper began his initial search, a Hancock County
Sheriff’s Deputy arrived to assist in the search of Askew’s vehicle. As the trooper
continued searching the back of the car, the deputy leaned into the vehicle from the
open passenger door and observed in plain view “plastic bags sticking out on the
driver’s side of the seat . . . in between the driver’s seat and the console.” The deputy
retrieved the bags, which contained crack cocaine and marijuana.
In his sole enumeration of error, Askew contends that there was insufficient
evidence to show that the search of his car was conducted as a valid exception to the
warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. We disagree.
[W]hen a motion to suppress is heard by the trial judge, that judge sits as the trier of facts. The trial judge hears the evidence, and his findings based on conflicting evidence are analogous to the verdict of a jury and should not be disturbed by a reviewing court if there is any evidence to support it. Second, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. Third, the reviewing court must construe the evidence most favorably to the upholding of the trial court’s findings and judgment. On numerous occasions the appellate courts of this state have invoked these
3 three principles to affirm trial court rulings that upheld the validity of seizures.
(Citation and footnote omitted). Miller v. State, 288 Ga. 286 (1) (702 SE2d 888)
(2010); see also Brown v. State, 293 Ga 787, 803 (3) (b) (2) (720 SE2d 148) (2013).
Under OCGA § 17-5-30 (b), the State has the burden of proving the legality
of a search and seizure pursuant to a defendant’s motion to suppress. State v.
Haddock, 235 Ga. App. 726, 728 (510 SE2d 561) (1998). “[T]he Fourth Amendment
proscribes all unreasonable searches and seizures, and searches conducted without
prior judicial approval are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject
to specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.” State v. Nesbitt, 305 Ga.
App. 28, 31 (699 SE2d 368) (2010). Among the exceptions to the warrant
requirement are a search incident to a valid arrest and an inventory search of a vehicle
pursuant to lawful impoundment.3 Grimes v. State, 303 Ga. App. 808, 812 (1) (b)
3 The search in this case cannot be justified as a search incident to arrest. The United States Supreme Court has limited this exception to situations where “the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or if it reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.” Gant v. Arizona, 556 U.S. 332, 344 (III) (129 SCt. 1710, 173 LE2d 485) (2009); see also Boykins v. State, 290 Ga. 71, 72 (1) (717 SE2d 474) (2011) (without offering any evidence as to appellant’s physical location after his arrest and placement in custody, State failed to meet its burden of proving the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement).
4 (695 SE2d 294) (2010) (searches incident to arrest and inventory searches provide
two alternative means for finding that a particular search was unreasonable). See also
State v. Heredia, 252 Ga. App. 89, 91 (3) (555 SE2d 91) (2001).
In the interests of public safety and as part of what the Court has called ‘community caretaking functions,’ automobiles are frequently taken into police custody. The police may inventory the contents of a vehicle that has been lawfully impounded, but they may not use an impoundment or inventory as a medium to search for contraband. The individual’s right of privacy is superior to the power of police to impound a vehicle unnecessarily.
(Citation and punctuation omitted.) State v. Carter, 305 Ga. App. 814, 817 (2) (701
SE2d 209) (2010).
The ultimate test for the validity of the police’s conduct in impounding a vehicle is whether, under the circumstances then confronting the police, their conduct was reasonable within the meaning
In the instant case, the State does not argue that the search was permissible as a search incident to arrest and Askew contends that the exception does not apply.
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SECOND DIVISION BARNES, P. J., MILLER and RAY, JJ.
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. http://www.gaappeals.us/rules/
March 12, 2014
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A13A2060 ASKEW v. THE STATE.
MILLER, Judge.
Following a stipulated bench trial, Duke Askew was found guilty of possession
of cocaine with intent to distribute (OCGA § 16-13-30 (b)), possession of marijuana
with intent to distribute (OCGA § 16-13-30 (b)), attempting to elude a police officer
(OCGA § 40-6-395 (a)), and a stop sign violation (OCGA § 40-6-72). Askew appeals
from the judgment on his conviction and sentence, contending that the trial court
erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from his car during a
traffic stop.1 We discern no error and affirm.
1 The Court of Appeals denied the application for interlocutory appeal pursuant to the trial court’s denial of Askew’s motion to suppress. Viewed in the light most favorable to Askew’s conviction,2 the evidence shows
that at 10:30 a.m. on December 30, 2011, a Georgia State Trooper observed Askew
driving in Hancock County while he was not wearing a seatbelt. The trooper turned
on his patrol car lights to initiate a stop. Askew turned right without stopping at a
four-way stop sign, and the trooper accelerated and turned on his sirens. Askew
continued driving, accelerating and making two turns, after which the trooper pulled
alongside Askew’s vehicle to ensure that he was seen. Despite these attempts, Askew
continued driving, making three additional turns before stopping on a dead-end road
in a rural area. The trooper’s pursuit lasted approximately one minute and fourteen
seconds, during which time the trooper called for backup.
Before Askew had completely stopped his vehicle, the front and rear passenger
side doors flew open, and Askew’s two passengers ran from the vehicle into the
adjacent woods. Askew then threw open his door as the trooper approached with his
gun drawn. The trooper pulled Askew from the car, pressed his head against the
ground, handcuffed him, frisked him for weapons and placed him in the back of his
patrol car. The trooper then spoke with a resident of one of the houses on the street,
who indicated that she did not know the people in the car. The trooper searched the
2 Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SCt 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
2 back of Askew’s vehicle, removing clothing, two brooms, shoes and miscellaneous
papers.
Two minutes after the trooper began his initial search, a Hancock County
Sheriff’s Deputy arrived to assist in the search of Askew’s vehicle. As the trooper
continued searching the back of the car, the deputy leaned into the vehicle from the
open passenger door and observed in plain view “plastic bags sticking out on the
driver’s side of the seat . . . in between the driver’s seat and the console.” The deputy
retrieved the bags, which contained crack cocaine and marijuana.
In his sole enumeration of error, Askew contends that there was insufficient
evidence to show that the search of his car was conducted as a valid exception to the
warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment. We disagree.
[W]hen a motion to suppress is heard by the trial judge, that judge sits as the trier of facts. The trial judge hears the evidence, and his findings based on conflicting evidence are analogous to the verdict of a jury and should not be disturbed by a reviewing court if there is any evidence to support it. Second, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. Third, the reviewing court must construe the evidence most favorably to the upholding of the trial court’s findings and judgment. On numerous occasions the appellate courts of this state have invoked these
3 three principles to affirm trial court rulings that upheld the validity of seizures.
(Citation and footnote omitted). Miller v. State, 288 Ga. 286 (1) (702 SE2d 888)
(2010); see also Brown v. State, 293 Ga 787, 803 (3) (b) (2) (720 SE2d 148) (2013).
Under OCGA § 17-5-30 (b), the State has the burden of proving the legality
of a search and seizure pursuant to a defendant’s motion to suppress. State v.
Haddock, 235 Ga. App. 726, 728 (510 SE2d 561) (1998). “[T]he Fourth Amendment
proscribes all unreasonable searches and seizures, and searches conducted without
prior judicial approval are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject
to specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.” State v. Nesbitt, 305 Ga.
App. 28, 31 (699 SE2d 368) (2010). Among the exceptions to the warrant
requirement are a search incident to a valid arrest and an inventory search of a vehicle
pursuant to lawful impoundment.3 Grimes v. State, 303 Ga. App. 808, 812 (1) (b)
3 The search in this case cannot be justified as a search incident to arrest. The United States Supreme Court has limited this exception to situations where “the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or if it reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.” Gant v. Arizona, 556 U.S. 332, 344 (III) (129 SCt. 1710, 173 LE2d 485) (2009); see also Boykins v. State, 290 Ga. 71, 72 (1) (717 SE2d 474) (2011) (without offering any evidence as to appellant’s physical location after his arrest and placement in custody, State failed to meet its burden of proving the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement).
4 (695 SE2d 294) (2010) (searches incident to arrest and inventory searches provide
two alternative means for finding that a particular search was unreasonable). See also
State v. Heredia, 252 Ga. App. 89, 91 (3) (555 SE2d 91) (2001).
In the interests of public safety and as part of what the Court has called ‘community caretaking functions,’ automobiles are frequently taken into police custody. The police may inventory the contents of a vehicle that has been lawfully impounded, but they may not use an impoundment or inventory as a medium to search for contraband. The individual’s right of privacy is superior to the power of police to impound a vehicle unnecessarily.
(Citation and punctuation omitted.) State v. Carter, 305 Ga. App. 814, 817 (2) (701
SE2d 209) (2010).
The ultimate test for the validity of the police’s conduct in impounding a vehicle is whether, under the circumstances then confronting the police, their conduct was reasonable within the meaning
In the instant case, the State does not argue that the search was permissible as a search incident to arrest and Askew contends that the exception does not apply. Although our focus is limited to the inventory exception to the warrant requirement, a review of the record shows that Askew is correct, because at the time of the search, Askew was handcuffed and in the back of a police car, completely unable to access his vehicle. See Canino v. State, 314 Ga. App. 633, 639 (2) (725 SE2d 782) (2012) (search improper despite driver’s close proximity to car because driver was in handcuffs during the search). Consequently, the search in question cannot be justified as a search incident to arrest.
5 of the Fourth Amendment. The determinative inquiry, therefore, is whether the impoundment was reasonably necessary under the circumstances, not whether it was absolutely necessary. A police seizure and inventory are not dependent for their validity upon the absolute necessity for the police to take charge of property to preserve it.
(Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Carlisle v. State, 278 Ga. App. 528, 529-530
(629 SE2d 512) (2006). See also Humphreys v. State, 287 Ga. 63, 77 (7) (694 SE2d
316) (2010) (test for lawful impoundment is whether, under the circumstances, the
officer’s conduct in impounding the vehicle was reasonable within the meaning of the
Fourth Amendment). Further, “[p]olice officers are not required to ask whether an
arrestee desires to have someone come and get the car, nor are they required to accede
to an arrestee’s request that they do so.” (Citations omitted.) Johnson v. State, 268 Ga.
App. 867, 868 (602 SE2d 876) (2004).
Here, Askew’s car was stopped in a residential, dead-end road, and there was
no obvious person to take possession of it. The owner of the vehicle was not present,
Askew’s companions had fled, and the closest neighbor told the trooper that she did
not recognize Askew or the car. Although Askew relies heavily upon this Court’s
decision in Canino, supra, 314 Ga. App. at 639-641, to argue that the impoundment
was not reasonable, his argument is unavailing. In Canino, we found impoundment
6 to be unreasonable because the facts showed that the car was legally parked, and the
officers made no effort to determine whether one of the defendant’s friends could
remove the car, or whether the defendant wanted to make alternative arrangements.
314 Ga. App. at 641 (3). Therefore, this case is squarely distinguishable from Canino.
Id. Based on the information available to the officers at the scene as set forth above,
the decision to impound the vehicle was reasonable. See Wiley v. State, 274 Ga. App.
60, 61 (1) (616 SE2d 832) (2005) (reasonable to impound U-Haul truck where officer
on scene could not allow driver to continue driving and only authorized driver of the
truck had a suspended driver’s license).
Having determined that impoundment was not unreasonable, we now turn to
the inventory search in question. See Canino v. State, 316 Ga. App. 467, 469 (729
SE2d 602) (2012) (considering validity of impoundment prior to reasonableness of
the inventory search).
The United States Supreme Court has held that an inventory search may be “reasonable” under the Fourth Amendment even though it is not conducted pursuant to a warrant based upon probable cause. In this respect, an inventory search must not be a ruse for a general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence, but instead the policy or practice governing inventory searches should be designed to produce an inventory. Pursuant to these principles . . . the first purpose
7 of an inventory search is the protection of the owner’s property while it remains in police custody and the second purpose is the protection of the police against claims or disputes over lost or stolen property.
(Citation, punctuation and footnote omitted). Grizzle v. State, 310 Ga. App. 577, 580
(2) (713 SE2d 701) (2011). “[I]nventories conducted by the police pursuant to
standard police procedures are deemed to be reasonable under the Fourth
Amendment.” (Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Id. at 579 (1).
Here, the record contains sufficient evidence about the police department’s
policy on inventory searches. The trooper who initiated the inventory search testified
at the hearing on the motion to suppress that once the decision to impound is made,
it is the policy of the department to inventory the vehicle according to standard police
procedure in order to protect the violator and the police. In so doing, the trooper
completed a standard inventory form, listing all items of value found in the vehicle
other than the contraband. The ziplock bags containing marijuana and cocaine were
found in plain view during the inventory search, and the removal of the bags from the
console was not unreasonable. State v. Evans, 181 Ga. App. 422, 424 (2) (352 SE2d
599) (1986). Because the impoundment in question was reasonable and there is
evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the search was conducted pursuant
8 to standard police procedure, the trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress will not
be disturbed on appeal. See Grizzle, supra, 310 Ga. App. at 579 (1).
Accordingly, we affirm.
Judgment affirmed. Barnes, P. J., concurs. Ray, J., concurs in judgment only.