State v. Glossbrener

49 P.3d 128
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 3, 2002
Docket71655-2
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 49 P.3d 128 (State v. Glossbrener) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Glossbrener, 49 P.3d 128 (Wash. 2002).

Opinion

49 P.3d 128 (2002)
146 Wash.2d 670

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Ellwood Tsugio GLOSSBRENER, Petitioner.

No. 71655-2.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued May 16, 2002.
Decided July 3, 2002.

*129 James Egan, Kennewick, for Petitioner.

Jeffrey Sullivan, Yakima County Prosecutor, Lauri Boyd, Deputy, Yakima, for Respondent.

BRIDGE, J.

Petitioner, Ellwood Glossbrener, seeks review of his conviction for possession of a controlled substance. He argues that at the time of the search of the passenger compartment of his vehicle, which led to the discovery of the controlled substance, the officer did not have an objectively reasonable concern for his safety. We agree.

I

At approximately 11:45 p.m. on November 8, 1999, Union Gap police officer Carlos Trevino pulled Glossbrener over because his passenger side headlight was not operating. Glossbrener stopped within one-half block. Before coming to a complete stop, the officer noticed Glossbrener reach down toward the passenger side of the car for several seconds. Glossbrener was the only person in the car.

Trevino approached the driver's side of the car and told Glossbrener that he had stopped him because his headlight was out. Trevino smelled alcohol and noticed that Glossbrener's eyes were bloodshot. He asked Glossbrener if he had been drinking and Glossbrener indicated that he had had a couple beers. By this time, Glossbrener had given Trevino his driver's license, registration, and insurance card.

Trevino then asked Glossbrener why he had reached towards the passenger side of the car and Glossbrener replied that he was getting the registration out of the glove box. Trevino told Glossbrener that he had seen him reach for the glove box and remove the registration after he had stopped. He asked Glossbrener whether he had been trying to hide any guns, knives, or other weapons. Glossbrener admitted that he had reached over to hide an alcohol container.[1] Trevino told Glossbrener to stay in the car while he went back to his patrol car to check for warrants.[2] None was found.

When Trevino returned to Glossbrener's car, he asked Glossbrener if he would perform some field sobriety tests and Glossbrener agreed. Once Glossbrener stepped out of the car, Trevino patted him down for weapons. None was found. After completing the field sobriety tests, Trevino concluded that Glossbrener was not legally intoxicated. He then called Officer Vanicek for backup. While waiting for Vanicek to arrive, Trevino *130 had Glossbrener stand at the right front side of his car.

Upon Vanicek's arrival, Trevino proceeded to search the passenger side of the car, the area in which he thought he had seen Glossbrener reaching prior to coming to a stop, for weapons and "other evidence." He found an open can of beer between the passenger seat and the door. He also found a brass smoking pipe, which appeared to contain marijuana, underneath the passenger floor mat. Trevino testified that he could not remember which item he found first. Trevino placed Glossbrener under arrest. Vanicek searched Glossbrener incident to arrest and found a baggie containing what the officers believed to be methamphetamine.[3] He was not cited for either the headlight or the open container infractions.

Glossbrener was charged with possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in violation of RCW 69.50.401(1)(d). He moved to suppress the methamphetamine as the fruit of an illegal search, arguing that his detention while waiting for Vanicek and the search of the passenger compartment of his vehicle were contrary to the holdings in State v. Kennedy, 107 Wash.2d 1, 726 P.2d 445 (1986) and State v. Tijerina, 61 Wash. App. 626, 811 P.2d 241 (1991). The trial court denied Glossbrener's motion to suppress. The trial court found that Trevino had validly stopped Glossbrener for the headlight infraction and that Glossbrener's furtive movement prior to coming to a stop gave rise to a valid concern by Trevino that he might be hiding a weapon and perhaps an alcohol container. These concerns justified the search of the passenger side of the car and the subsequent discovery of the drug paraphernalia in plain view. That, in turn, justified Glossbrener's arrest and the search incident thereto, in which the methamphetamine was discovered. Glossbrener was convicted of possession of methamphetamine in a stipulated facts bench trial.

On appeal, Glossbrener challenged the methamphetamine evidence as the product of an illegal detention and search. The Court of Appeals, Division Three affirmed in an unpublished opinion.[4] The court held that Glossbrener's furtive movement before coming to a stop and his unsatisfactory explanation for the movement gave Trevino "justification to search for weapons in the passenger compartment areas where Mr. Glossbrener could reach."[5] The court further held that, in the interest of officer safety, Trevino was justified in waiting for backup to arrive before searching the car for a possible weapon. Thus, it concluded that any additional detention beyond what was authorized by statute for a traffic infraction was reasonable. Because the initial detention and search were valid, the court held that Glossbrener's subsequent arrest and search incident thereto were also valid. We granted Glossbrener's petition for review.[6]

II

Detention

Glossbrener first argues that Trevino did not have authority to detain him after Trevino determined that he was not intoxicated. Relying on Tijerina, he asserts that once the officer made a decision to not issue a citation, any further detention was improper. The Court of Appeals concluded that Tijerina was distinguishable because it had not involved a situation in which the officer was concerned that the suspect might have hidden a weapon in the vehicle. State v. Glossbrener, noted at 107 Wash.App. 1041, 2001 WL 894300, *3 (Aug. 9, 2001).

RCW 46.61.021(2) provides that an officer may detain a person stopped for a traffic infraction for a reasonable period of time "to identify the person, check for outstanding warrants, check the status of the person's license, insurance identification card, and the vehicle's registration, and complete and issue a notice of traffic infraction." In Tijerina, *131 the court held that once an officer decides not to issue a citation and returns the driver's license and registration, "any further detention [has] to be based on articulable facts from which the [officer] could reasonably suspect criminal activity." 61 Wash. App. at 629, 811 P.2d 241.

There is no dispute that Trevino's original stop of Glossbrener was valid. Glossbrener, 107 Wash.App. 1041, 2001 WL 894300 at *1. Thus, Trevino had the authority to detain Glossbrener long enough to check for warrants and to check Glossbrener's license, insurance and registration. See RCW 46.61.021(2).

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Bluebook (online)
49 P.3d 128, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-glossbrener-wash-2002.