Opinion ID: 74409
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Parking Lot

Text: While the officers' car continued on, Jackson turned the blue Pontiac left into the parking lot of the Moto Cycle Shop. The parking lot was on the south side of the shop which faced west toward Marietta Street. Jackson parked next to a dumpster in the parking lot. The three Plaintiffs and Dean got out of their car and walked into the Moto Cycle Shop to check on Jackson's motorcycle. Also present in the Shop were the owner Robert Lebus, and mechanics Tony Delly, Danny Jackson, Thomas Stearns, and Tony Thompson. After realizing that Jackson's blue Pontiac was no longer behind them, Officer Fields turned his gray Pontiac around and drove to the parking lot next to the Moto Cycle Shop. Defendants based their decision to turn around on a suspicion that the blue Pontiac had been stolen. Defendants aver that their suspicion was based on their observation of the alleged nervousness of the occupants, their knowledge that the Pontiac 6000 is an easy car to steal, and their assertion that the blue Pontiac made such an abrupt turn into the parking lot. However, Plaintiffs' evidence shows that their blue Pontiac turned in a regular fashion and reveals no nervousness by its occupants. After reaching the Moto Cycle Shop's parking lot, Officer Fields pulled his vehicle up on the sidewalk to the rear of Jackson's car partially blocking its movement from the parking lot. Officer Sauls got out of the car and inspected the empty blue Pontiac. There was no physical evidence indicating that Jackson's 4 blue Pontiac had been stolen, such as a broken window or broken ignition, nor was the door ajar.4 Officer Sauls also looked in the dumpster but did not find anything suspicious. Neither Sauls, Pinckney, nor Fields called into the APD dispatcher to advise of their stop, its purpose, or its location. The officers had no outside information that Jackson or any of his friends had committed any criminal acts or were about to commit any criminal acts. At some point, Officer Pinckney called in a registration check on the blue Pontiac's license plate.5