State v. Ramirez

468 P.3d 1006, 305 Or. App. 195
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJuly 1, 2020
DocketA166595
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 468 P.3d 1006 (State v. Ramirez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Ramirez, 468 P.3d 1006, 305 Or. App. 195 (Or. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

Argued and submitted July 9, 2019, reversed and remanded Juy 1, 2020

STATE OF OREGON, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. SAMUEL RAMIREZ, Defendant-Appellant. Yamhill County Circuit Court 16CR50083; A166595 468 P3d 1006

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction of one count each of carry- ing a concealed weapon, ORS 166.240, unlawfully possessing methamphetamine, ORS 475.894, and providing false information to a police officer, ORS 162.385. Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea reserving his right to seek appellate review of the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress. On appeal, defendant assigns error to that denial, first arguing that the trial court incorrectly deter- mined that handcuffing defendant—an act which led to the discovery of a knife sheathed under defendant’s sleeve—was justified by the officer safety exception to the warrant requirement under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution. Second, defendant argues that even if his detention for officer safety concerns was lawful, the subsequent search of his backpack, in particular an Altoids tin located within his backpack, was not a lawful search incident to arrest. Held: The trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence resulting from the unjustified handcuffing of defendant was error. The trial court did not err, however, in its denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence resulting from the lawful search of the backpack. Because this case arises as a conditional plea, the Court of Appeals remanded to the trial court for further proceedings, where defendant may elect to withdraw his plea as to the charge of carrying a concealed weapon, or may elect to withdraw his plea to all charges. Reversed and remanded.

Ronald W. Stone, Judge. Mary M. Reese, Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant. Also on the brief was Ernest G. Lannet, Chief Defender, Criminal Appellate Section, Office of Public Defense Services. Hannah K. Hoffman, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. Also on the brief were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Benjamin Gutman, Solicitor General. 196 State v. Ramirez

Before Lagesen, Presiding Judge, and DeVore, Judge, and James, Judge. JAMES, J. Reversed and remanded. Cite as 305 Or App 195 (2020) 197

JAMES, J. Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction of one count each of carrying a concealed weapon, ORS 166.240, unlawfully possessing methamphetamine, ORS 475.894, and giving false information to a police officer in connection with a citation, ORS 162.385. Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea reserving his right to seek appel- late review of the trial court’s denial of his motion to sup- press. On appeal, defendant assigns error to that denial, first arguing that the trial court incorrectly determined that handcuffing defendant—an act which led to the discovery of a knife sheathed under defendant’s sleeve—was justified by the officer safety exception to the warrant requirement under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution, which requires an officer’s objectively reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, that defendant poses an immediate threat of serious physical injury. Second, defen- dant argues that even if his detention for officer safety con- cerns was lawful, the subsequent search of his backpack, in particular an Altoids tin located within his backpack, was not a lawful search incident to arrest. We agree with defendant that objectively reason- able officer safety concerns did not justify the handcuffing of defendant. That act led to the discovery of the knife, and in turn the charge of carrying a concealed weapon, ORS 166.240. We reverse the trial court’s ruling on that aspect of defendant’s motion to suppress. However, we affirm the trial court’s ruling as to the search of the backpack that led to evidence in support of the charges of unlawfully possessing methamphetamine, ORS 475.894, and giving false infor- mation to a police officer, ORS 162.385. Because this case arises as a conditional plea, we remand to the trial court for further proceedings. At that time, defendant may elect to withdraw his plea as to the charge of carrying a concealed weapon, ORS 166.240, or may elect to withdraw his plea to all charges. “We review the trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress for legal error.” State v. Miller, 267 Or App 382, 383, 340 P3d 740 (2014). “In reviewing a denial of a motion to suppress, we are bound by the trial court’s findings of 198 State v. Ramirez

historical fact that are supported by evidence in the record. We state the facts consistently with the trial court’s explicit and implicit factual findings, which the record supports.” State v. Leiby, 293 Or App 293, 294, 427 P3d 1141 (2018) (internal citation omitted). Officers Harmon, Cerda, and LaRue were driving their respective patrol vehicles to a domestic disturbance when they saw defendant and two female companions vio- late the city’s jaywalking ordinance by crossing the street at less than a 90-degree angle. None of the officers had pre- viously encountered defendant or his companions or had any other knowledge about them. As the officers drove by, Harmon saw defendant shield his face, which, Harmon tes- tified, officers “often encounter * * * when people don’t want us to see who they are or identify them.” Harmon did not clarify whether “people” referred specifically to defendant. The officers were unable to locate the disturbance, so Cerda radioed the other officers that he would circle back to find the jaywalkers. Harmon and LaRue provided backup sup- port for Cerda, and the three officers drove back to the area where they had seen the jaywalkers. On cross-examination, Harmon acknowledged that three patrol cars converging on a jaywalker might be viewed as unusual: “[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Okay. And so would you agree with me then that there was quite a show of force to deal with jaywalkers? “[HARMON]: There were three of us there. If—if we’re simply talking jaywalking, I think one could maybe see it that way. “[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Okay. And that’s all you were there for, wasn’t it, was jaywalking, three jaywalkers? “[HARMON]: Well, I was there to cover Officer Cerda. “[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: So that’s a yes, there were three officers there to cover three jaywalkers? “[HARMON]: Well, we also had additional informa- tion knowing—I mean I personally knew that Mr. Ramirez had—you know, just shielding his face, again, just an inkling that there’s something else, but—but— Cite as 305 Or App 195 (2020) 199

“[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: So he didn’t want to look at you? “[HARMON]: Uh-huh. It’s possible. “[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Okay.

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Bluebook (online)
468 P.3d 1006, 305 Or. App. 195, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ramirez-orctapp-2020.