Opinion ID: 1692959
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: investigative stop

Text: Karen's vehicle was stopped that day in Wyoming at approximately 6:30 p.m. by Trooper David Chatfield. Chatfield was eastbound on Interstate 80 when he observed a fancy sports car in the westbound lane, which was driven by a young man. Chatfield thought the fancy car and young driver seemed out of place, so he turned around and tailed the vehicle. While Chatfield was behind the vehicle, he called his dispatcher and had registration and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) checks performed on the vehicle's license plates. The dispatcher gave Chatfield a caution message, because the NCIC response showed that there was a missing and endangered person connected with the vehicle. The dispatcher informed Chatfield that the missing person was Karen Logsdon and described her as a white female in her forties. At this point, Chatfield pulled alongside the vehicle to see if anyone fitting the description of the missing person was inside. Chatfield could see only one person in the car, a male driver. Chatfield then dropped back behind the vehicle, turned on his cruiser's lights, and stopped the vehicle. Chatfield retrieved the driver's license and registration. The registration indicated that the car was registered to Mitsubishi Motor Credit Corporation of America. Soukharith remained in the vehicle while Chatfield went back to his cruiser and called the dispatcher so they could check the validity of the license. While he was waiting for the dispatcher to make the check, Chatfield reapproached Soukharith and asked him if he owned the vehicle. Soukharith said yes he did and that he had bought the car from a guy named Wonum the previous day. Chatfield then asked Soukharith whether he knew Karen Logsdon. Soukharith told Chatfield that Karen was Wonum's stepmother. In response to further questioning, Soukharith said he had paid for the car with a $2,000 check and that he had the checkbook with him. Chatfield did not look at the checkbook at this time. Instead, he returned to his cruiser to call for backup and to see if the dispatcher had any more information concerning the vehicle. The dispatcher told Chatfield that Soukharith's license was suspended. By this time, approximately 10 to 15 minutes had passed since the initial stop. Upon learning that Soukharith's license was suspended, Chatfield approached Soukharith and took the keys to Karen's vehicle to prevent Soukharith from driving away. Chatfield then went back to his cruiser to wait for the backup and to write a citation for the suspended license. Chatfield estimated that it took anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes for his backup, a Trooper Novak, to arrive and that a total of about 25 minutes had passed from the initial stop to that point. After Novak arrived, he and Chatfield approached the vehicle again. Chatfield told Soukharith that Chatfield was citing Soukharith for driving with a suspended license, which violation is punishable by a $400 fine in Wyoming, and that either Soukharith should come up with the money or Chatfield would take him to jail. Soukharith produced $400, but Chatfield told him there was still a problem with the registration that had to be cleared up. Chatfield then asked Soukharith if he would produce the checkbook he had used to buy the vehicle. Soukharith said sure and got the checkbook from the trunk and gave it to Novak. No check had been written from the checkbook since March 1995, nor had any check been written for $2,000. Novak then asked Soukharith whether there were any drugs or weapons in the vehicle. Soukharith said there were not and gave the troopers permission to conduct a search. The troopers did a cursory search of the vehicle in an attempt to find some other proof of ownership, but did not find anything. They had Soukharith get back in the vehicle and returned to Chatfield's cruiser to see if the dispatcher had additional information from the Des Moines Police Department. The dispatcher informed them that the Des Moines Police Department considered the vehicle stolen and wanted them to hold it and the driver. Chatfield and Novak arrested Soukharith for possession of a stolen vehicle, read him his Miranda rights, and placed him in Chatfield's cruiser. Chatfield estimated that the elapsed time from the initial stop to the point of arrest was about 35 to 40 minutes. After Soukharith was arrested and placed in the cruiser, Novak apparently spoke to Soukharith about the contents of Karen's vehicle. After talking with Soukharith, Novak told Chatfield there was a .45-caliber handgun inside the vehicle. Chatfield seized the handgun immediately prior to conducting an inventory search of the vehicle, as prescribed by his patrol manual.