Opinion ID: 2639504
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: [¶ 3] At approximately 6:30 p.m. on July 25, 2004, Officer Joseph Baird and Corporal William Wright of the Gillette Police Department were dispatched on a welfare check to investigate a claim that juveniles, between the ages of ten and fourteen, had stolen one of their parent's blood pressure medication. Their investigation led them to a trailer house and Corporal Wright knocked on the door. A man answered the door and appeared shocked and nervous about the presence of the officers. Corporal Wright asked him about the juveniles and he indicated there was a woman in the house who was in charge of one of them. The man went back into the residence to get her. A few minutes later, a woman came to the door. She told the officers she and the man who had answered the door were the only persons at the residence. The officers questioned her about the juveniles and she stated they had been there earlier, but had left the residence and she pointed toward the direction they might have gone. Like the man who had answered door, the woman appeared nervous and evasive. [¶ 4] The officers left the home and discussed the strange behavior of the man and woman as they returned to their vehicles. They concluded, there was something possibly criminal going on within the residence. . . . Shortly thereafter, a different man, who was later identified as Mr. Custer, left the residence. The officers thought this was strange because they had been told there was no one else in the residence. Mr. Custer had a rolled newspaper under his arm which he appeared to be attempting to conceal. He walked across the street and the officers could see a yellow object sticking out from the rolled up newspaper. [¶ 5] Mr. Custer entered the passenger side of a van parked on the street, shoved the newspaper under the seat, and moved over to the driver's side. Officer Baird approached and knocked on the driver's side window. Mr. Custer did not acknowledge him, but, simply looked straight ahead and held the steering wheel. He appeared very nervous and was sweating. The officer knocked on the window again and Mr. Custer lowered the window approximately three inches. Officer Baird asked Mr. Custer, what was going on, but Mr. Custer did not answer. Officer Baird then questioned Mr. Custer about the object hidden in the newspaper and Mr. Custer responded saying he couldn't go to jail. He offered to give the officer the object in the newspaper if the officer promised he would not go to jail. Officer Baird indicated he could not make that promise and asked again what was in the newspaper. Mr. Custer replied it was a pornographic magazine. Officer Baird told him possession of pornography, alone, would not result in his arrest. [¶ 6] Officer Baird asked Mr. Custer to step out of the van and he responded, I'll get it for you. He was apparently referring to the newspaper parcel. Officer Baird was concerned about Mr. Custer's demeanor and again asked him to exit the vehicle. Mr. Custer did not comply and instead, reached down and almost dove down into the passenger side of the vehicle and reached under the seat. Officer Baird attempted to open the driver's side door, but it would not open. The officer then moved to the passenger side door, opened it, took Mr. Custer by the arm, and removed him from the vehicle. Officer Baird released Mr. Custer's arm once he was out of the vehicle and Mr. Custer moved to stand by Corporal Wright. [¶ 7] After Mr. Custer was removed from the vehicle, the van's passenger door stood open, allowing Officer Baird to see a pair of yellow work gloves sticking out of the newspaper. Inside the gloves, the officer saw plastic bags containing a substance which looked like marijuana and glass pipes commonly used to smoke methamphetamine. Officer Baird retrieved the gloves and their contents from the vehicle and placed them on the hood of his patrol car. He talked to Mr. Custer who stated repeatedly he did not want to go jail. Officer Baird asked him about the pipes, and Mr. Custer reached into his pants pocket, produced a plastic bag of methamphetamine and attempted to put it inside the gloves. Mr. Custer was arrested and charged with one count of possession of less than three ounces of marijuana, a third or subsequent offense, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-7-1031(c)(i)(A) (LexisNexis 2005), and one count of possession of less than three grams of methamphetamine, a third or subsequent offense, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35-7-1031(c)(i)(C). [¶ 8] Mr. Custer filed a motion to suppress the evidence resulting from the seizure claiming he was illegally seized by the officers. The district court held a hearing on his motion and denied it. Mr. Custer subsequently pled guilty to both counts, but reserved his right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. The district court sentenced him to serve eighteen to forty months of imprisonment on each count to be served consecutively. The sentences were suspended and Mr. Custer was placed on probation for a period of six years. He filed a timely notice of appeal.