Wilson v. State

727 N.E.2d 775, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 637, 2000 WL 502615
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 2000
Docket55A01-9908-CR-262
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 727 N.E.2d 775 (Wilson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. State, 727 N.E.2d 775, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 637, 2000 WL 502615 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant Derek S. Wilson (Wilson) appeals his conviction of carrying a handgun without a license in his possession, a Class A misdemeanor. Ind.Code § 35-47-2-1.

We affirm.

ISSUES

Wilson raises three issues for our review, which we restate as follows:

1. Whether the pat down of Wilson was lawful in order for the trial court to deny Wilson’s motion to suppress the handgun discovered as a result of the pat down.
2. Whether the State laid the proper foundation to show that the arresting officer had the requisite authority as an Indiana State Trooper in order to stop Wilson and conduct a pat down search of his person.
3. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to convict Wilson of carrying a handgun without a license in his possession.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

At approximately 1:30 a.m., on January 17, 1999, Indiana State Trooper Patrick Etter (Etter) noticed a speeding vehicle. Etter pursued the vehicle until the vehicle finally stopped behind a gas station in a deserted area. Etter approached the vehicle and asked Wilson for identification. At this point, Etter noticed that Wilson’s eyes were red and glassy, and he smelled strongly of alcohol. There were also several alcoholic beverage containers in the vehicle. Etter then asked Wilson to step out of his vehicle and come to his police car to determine if Wilson showed signs of intoxication. However, before Wilson exited his vehicle, Etter asked him if he had any weapons in his vehicle or on his person, to which Wilson responded in the negative. Etter testified that before he places anybody in his vehicle, he pats down the individual for weapons for his own safety. On the way to the police car, Etter again asked Wilson if he had any weapons on his person, to which Wilson again responded in the negative. Etter then told Wilson that he needed to pat him down for weapons, and Etter conducted the pat down search of Wilson for weapons. As a result of the pat down search, Etter discovered a handgun on Wilson’s person. Wilson was arrested and charged with carrying a handgun without a license.

On April 28, 1999, Wilson filed a motion to suppress the evidence of the handgun discovered as a result of the pat down search.

On July 15, 1999, a hearing on the motion to suppress and a court trial was held. At trial, Wilson challenged the arresting officer’s legal authority to conduct a traffic stop as well as the lack of justification for a pat down search of Wilson. The trial court denied Wilson’s motion to suppress the handgun and found that the State had laid a proper foundation that Etter had the legal authority to stop Wilson. Wilson was found guilty of possession of a handgun without a license. Wilson now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Motion to Suppress

Wilson first contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence of the handgun found as a result of the pat down search. Specifically, he argues that the pat down search that [778]*778resulted in the discovery of the handgun was not based upon a reasonable belief, supported by articulable facts, that he was armed and dangerous. We disagree.

The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence. Drake v. State, 655 N.E.2d 574, 575 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). We will reverse a trial court’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence only when it has been shown that the trial court abused its discretion. Carter v. State, 692 N.E.2d 464, 465 (Ind.Ct. App.1997). A trial court’s decision to deny a motion to suppress is reviewed as a matter of sufficiency. Wilson v. State, 670 N.E.2d 27, 29 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). Thus, in reviewing a trial court’s decision on a motion to suppress, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses, but determine if there was substantial evidence of probative value to support the trial court’s ruling. Whitfield v. State, 699 N.E.2d 666, 668 (Ind.Ct.App. 1998), trans. denied.

However, when evaluating determinations of reasonable suspicion, we accept the factual findings of the trial court unless they are clearly erroneous. State v. Lamar, 680 N.E.2d 540, 542 (Ind.Ct.App.1997) (citing Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 699, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996)). Findings of fact are clearly erroneous when the record lacks any facts or reasonable inferences to support them. Id. When determining whether the findings are clearly erroneous, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment and the reasonable inferences flowing from that evidence. Id. We will not judge witness credibility, or reweigh the evidence. Id. However, the ultimate determination of reasonable suspicion or probable cause is reviewed de novo. Id.

In Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), the United States Supreme Court determined that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution permits a police officer to approach a person for purposes of investigating possible criminal behavior without probable cause to make an arrest, and to execute a reasonable search of the person for weapons for the officer’s own protection. Drake, 655 N.E.2d at 575. When conducting this search, the Court indicated that:

[T]here must be narrowly drawn authority to permit a reasonable search for weapons for the protection of the police officer, where he has reason to believe that he is dealing with an armed and dangerous individual, regardless of whether he has probable cause to arrest the individual for a crime. The officer need not be absolutely certain that the individual is armed; the issue is whether a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger. And in determining whether the officer acted reasonably in such circumstances, due weight must be given, not to his inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or “hunch,” but to the specific reasonable inferences which he is entitled to draw from the facts in light of his experiences.

Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868 (citations omitted).

On appeal, the State contends that the pat down search of Wilson was necessary to protect the safety of the officer. The State relies on Burkett v. State, 691 N.E.2d 1241 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), where this court found that a police officer’s pat down search of the defendant before he placed him in the police car was lawful. In that case, the facts were as follows:

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