Opinion ID: 223165
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Kansas, 2002

Text: At approximately 7:15 a.m. on May 22, 2002, Trooper Mike Weigel of the Kansas Highway Patrol was working I-70 when he saw a passenger car following a recreational vehicle too closely. After checking the distance between the cars several times, Weigel stopped the car. The driver, Tristin Mitchell, stated he did not have a driver’s license. The two passengers were Kristin White and Nichols. Nichols falsely identified himself as “Quindell Johnson” and said he did not have a valid driver’s license. The rental car agreement showed the car had been rented to “Angela McCauley” for one day on May 15, 2002, in Sacramento, California and it was not to be taken outside of California. White told Trooper Weigel her aunt had rented the vehicle and she had obtained a oneweek extension of the rental. Eventually Weigel told Mitchell he would issue Mitchell a warning for the traffic violation and the license violation, and the three would be free to leave. Weigel then told White she would have to drive since she was the only occupant who had a valid driver’s license. Weigel then asked White whether he could ask her some additional questions, -4- adding that he was finished with the traffic stop. White agreed and Weigel asked whether there were any drugs, guns, or explosives in the vehicle; she said no. Weigel then asked if he could look into the trunk of the vehicle; she said “sure.” Upon opening the trunk, Weigel found a sack of marijuana “laying right there in the trunk.” He arrested Nichols, Mitchell, and White. A further search revealed several small bags containing marijuana and a large bag containing approximately 4.8 kilograms of heroin. The stop was videotaped and the tape was admitted into evidence at a subsequent suppression hearing.