State v. Bizovi

129 S.W.3d 429, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 345, 2004 WL 502629
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 16, 2004
DocketED 82057
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 129 S.W.3d 429 (State v. Bizovi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bizovi, 129 S.W.3d 429, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 345, 2004 WL 502629 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

GLENN A. NORTON, Presiding Judge.

Curt Bizovi appeals the judgment entered on his convictions for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. He claims that the trial court erred by refusing to suppress evidence seized after Bizovi was stopped for a traffic violation. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Bizovi was stopped for following another vehicle too closely. The officer testified that when he approached Bizovi’s car, he noticed a cooler, laundry basket, duffle bag, road atlas and fast food wrappers inside and that the car had Nevada license plates. Bizovi appeared very nervous while producing identification and answer- *431 mg the officer’s questions. The officer testified that Bizovi’s hands were shaking, he was stuttering and his voice was trembling. Based on the officer’s training and experience, Bizovi’s nervousness was greater than that of most people he stops for a traffic violation. The officer also noticed that Bizovi had a thick stack of money with a $100 bill on top. Bizovi went back to the patrol car with the officer, continuing to act very nervously. When asked why he was nervous, Bizovi told the officer that nothing good ever comes out of being stopped.

While waiting for responses to registration, license and criminal history checks, the officer asked Bizovi about his trip. Bizovi told the officer that he was going from Las Vegas to the Detroit area and that he was driving a friend’s car because his was in poor condition. He explained that he preferred to drive than to fly. Bizovi had been driving for three days at that point and planned to stay in Michigan about a week. He also claimed, however, that he would be starting classes in Las Vegas in just four days. Bizovi also told the officer that he was unemployed.

The officer testified that, based on Bizo-vi’s statements and his own observations up to that point, he suspected that Bizovi was involved in some type of criminal activity. He stated that the few clothes he saw in Bizovi’s car seemed insufficient for the almost two-week trip. At trial, the officer also noted that it was January, but Bizovi’s bag and cooler were not large enough to contain the heavy, bulky clothing he would need on a trip to Michigan in the winter. The officer was also suspicious because Bizovi was travelling from the southwestern part of the United States, a known drug source, to the Detroit area, one of the top three destinations for drugs.

After the checks revealed no problems with Bizovi’s license, registration, or criminal history, the office gave him a warning and told him the traffic stop was over. Bizovi got out of the patrol car, and the officer followed, asking Bizovi if there was anything in his car that could be considered illegal. Bizovi said no. The officer explained that although he believed he had reasonable suspicion already to detain Bizovi based on his observations during the traffic stop, he preferred to get consent to perform the search. When Bizovi refused to consent, the officer told him he was going to detain him until a drug-detecting dog arrived. After the dog’s search, the officer seized six bundles of marijuana and miscellaneous paraphernalia.

The trial court denied Bizovi’s pre-trial motion to suppress and his objection at the bench trial to the introduction of any evidence obtained after the initial traffic stop concluded. The court found Bizovi guilty, and he appeals.

II. DISCUSSION

On review of the trial court’s decision not to suppress evidence, we view the facts and any reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to that decision and disregard any contrary evidence and inferences. State v. Lewis, 17 S.W.3d 168, 170 (Mo.App. E.D.2000). “If the trial court’s ruling is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, this court may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently.” Id. We will only reverse if the ruling is clearly erroneous. State v. Million, 794 S.W.2d 181, 183 (Mo. banc 1990). Nevertheless, we must consider whether the court’s decision is a proper application of Fourth Amendment precepts. State v. Stevens, 845 S.W.2d 124, 128 (Mo.App. E.D.1993).

*432 Ordinarily, the police must have probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is about to commit a crime to conduct a lawful search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964). But a minimally intrusive form of seizure — the so-called investigative Terry stop — is permissible if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts that the person stopped is engaged in criminal activity. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Whether the facts amount to reasonable suspicion is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Berry, 54 S.W.3d 668, 672 (Mo.App. E.D.2001).

Bizovi concedes that the officer was authorized to stop his vehicle and detain him to give him a warning for the traffic violation. See Stevens, 845 S.W.2d at 128. But “[i]f the detention extends beyond the time reasonably necessary to effect its initial purpose, the seizure may lose its lawful character unless a new factual predicate for reasonable suspicion is found during the period of lawful seizure.” Id. Bizovi argues that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to detain him after he was given the warning concluding the traffic stop. We disagree.

The totality of the circumstances and an objective assessment of the officer’s actions in light of the facts confronting him at the time guide the evaluation of reasonable suspicion. Id. at 128; United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 104 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989). Factors that may be consistent with innocent conduct when considered alone may amount to reasonable suspicion when taken together. Maryland v. Macon, 472 U.S. 463, 470-71, 105 S.Ct. 2778, 86 L.Ed.2d 370 (1985). For example, nervousness alone cannot provide reasonable suspicion for further detention, but it can be considered as one factor in the totality of the circumstances. State v. Weddle, 18 S.W.3d 389, 394 (Mo.App. E.D. 2000). The extent and significance of a suspect’s nervousness is for the trial court to determine. Stevens, 845 S.W.2d at 128.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Missouri v. Thomas Steve Higgs
Missouri Court of Appeals, 2022
State of Missouri, Plaintiff/Respondent v. Michael Ford
445 S.W.3d 113 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2014)
State v. Smith
373 S.W.3d 502 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
State v. Waldrup
331 S.W.3d 668 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2011)
State v. Woods
284 S.W.3d 630 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Kempa
235 S.W.3d 54 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
State v. King
157 S.W.3d 656 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
129 S.W.3d 429, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 345, 2004 WL 502629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bizovi-moctapp-2004.