Opinion ID: 2442245
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Suppression of Vehicular Search

Text: Prior to trial, the Reyeses moved to suppress the items seized from the Ford sedan because the search occurred without a warrant. At the suppression hearing, Detective Alexander testified that he employed a first-time confidential informant who told him that the Reyeses were in Fort Smith to distribute cocaine. He testified that when he executed the warrant, he saw the car that had also been described by the confidential informant sitting in the Capri Motel parking lot. After the arrests, the car was removed by police officers from the motel parking lot because it was located in a high-crime area and taken to the Fort Smith Police Department for the search. On cross-examination, Detective Alexander stated that he was able to connect Rogelio Reyes to the automobile by calling in the license-plate number over the police radio and doing an NCIC search. He admitted that both Reyeses were in custody and incapable of gaining access to their car when it was searched. a. Standing. The Reyeses' first task is to prove that they have standing to challenge the legality of the search. This court will not reach a Fourth Amendment argument where a defendant has failed to show that he has an expectation of privacy in the object of the search. See McCoy v. State, 325 Ark. 155, 925 S.W.2d 391 (1996); Littlepage v. State, 314 Ark. 361, 863 S.W.2d 276 (1993). Only Rogelio Reyes was tied to the Ford sedan by Detective Alexander's NCIC search. Basilio Reyes, however, proved no connection with the vehicle, and, therefore, his expectation of privacy is deficient. [1] See, e.g., Dixon v. State, 327 Ark. 105, 937 S.W.2d 642 (1997)(passenger lacked standing to challenge search of pickup truck); McCoy v. State, supra (driver without possessory interest in vehicle lacked standing to challenge its search). We conclude that Basilio Reyes has no standing to challenge the search of the car. The remaining discussion under this point will only apply to Rogelio Reyes. b. Rule 14.1 In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress evidence, this court makes an independent determination based on the totality of the circumstances and reverses only if the decision is clearly contrary to the preponderance of the evidence. Brunson v. State, 327 Ark. 567, 940 S.W.2d 440 (1997), supp. op. denying reh'g, 327 Ark. 576-A, 940 S.W.2d 440 (1997); Mullinax v. State, 327 Ark. 41, 938 S.W.2d 801 (1997). This court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Id. When police officers conduct a search without a warrant, we begin our review with the basic premise that a warrantless search is unauthorized. Bohanan v. State, 324 Ark. 158, 919 S.W.2d 198 (1996); Cook v. State, 293 Ark. 103, 732 S.W.2d 462 (1987). However, exceptions to the warrantless search rule have been recognized, including the exigency exception under Rule 14.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 14.1(a) provides in part: An officer who has reasonable cause to believe that a moving or readily moveable vehicle is or contains things subject to seizure may, without a search warrant, stop, detain, and search the vehicle and may seize things subject to seizure discovered in the course of the search where the vehicle is: (i) on a public way or waters or other area open to the public[.] Ark. R.Crim. P. 14.1(a). Reasonable cause, as required by Rule 14.1, exists when officers have trustworthy information which rises to more than mere suspicion that the vehicle contains evidence subject to seizure and a person of reasonable caution would be justified in believing an offense has been committed or is being committed. Bohanan v. State, supra ; Willett v. State, 298 Ark. 588, 769 S.W.2d 744 (1989). On these facts, reasonable cause is supported by the following: (1) the Ford sedan was found parked near the motel room to be searched; (2) a large amount of contraband was found in the motel room as were the Reyeses and the car keys; (3) Rogelio Reyes was linked to the car by the confidential informant and by the NCIC search and had marked bills from the controlled buy on his person; and (4) Detective Alexander asserted that in his experience it was common to find items of contraband in the car of a dealer when the dealer is captured in possession of controlled substances at another location. Based on these facts, it was entirely reasonable for police officers to believe that contraband would also be found in Rogelio Reyes's car. Moreover, we have no doubt that the car was parked in an area open to the public, as Rule 14.1 requires, since it was on the motel parking lot. Compare Haygood v. State, 34 Ark.App. 161, 807 S.W.2d 470 (1991)(holding that the parking lot of an apartment complex was an area open to the public even though the apartment complex was privately owned). The remaining question is whether the Ford sedan was moving or readily movable, so as to qualify for the Rule 14.1 exception. This court has observed, as has the United States Supreme Court, that an automobile does not enjoy the same constitutional protection a home does because of an automobile's mobility and because one does not have the same expectation of privacy in an automobile. Vinston v. State, 274 Ark. 452, 625 S.W.2d 533 (1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 833, 103 S.Ct. 74, 74 L.Ed.2d 73 (1982), citing Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). In this same vein, we held in Bohanan v. State, supra , that a vehicle located on a street was readily movable despite the fact that the car had a flat tire, the rationale being that the tire could have been changed in a matter of minutes. See Bohanan v. State, supra . In the instant case, it is uncontroverted that the Reyeses were in custody at the time the vehicle was removed to the police department. The State argues, however, that the threat the car would be removed by a third party still existed. We agree. We reached the same conclusion in Vinston v. State, supra , when we said: The seizure of a vehicle is justified when confederates or others might remove a vehicle. U.S. v. 1972 Chevrolet Nova, 560 F.2d 464 (1st Cir.1977); See W. RINGEL, SEARCHES AND SEIZURES, ARRESTS AND CONFESSIONS, § 11.3 (1980). 274 Ark. at 456, 625 S.W.2d at 536. We are further aware of the fact that the United States Supreme Court recently reversed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in two cases on this very issue. See Pennsylvania v. Labron, ___ U.S. ___, 116 S.Ct. 2485, 135 L.Ed.2d 1031 (1996)(per curiam), rev'g Com. v. Kilgore, 544 Pa. 439, 677 A.2d 311 (1995); Com. v. Labron, 543 Pa. 86, 669 A.2d 917 (1995). In Labron, the respondent was arrested after police officers saw him sell narcotics taken from the trunk of a car parked on a public street. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the subsequent search of the trunk was unlawful because the vehicle was stationary and was not supported by exigent circumstances. In Kilgore , a confidential informant gave respondent's accomplice money for drugs in a parking lot. The accomplice drove to a farmhouse and obtained the drugs from Kilgore. Once the delivery occurred, the police arrested Kilgore and searched his truck, which was parked in the driveway of the farmhouse, and found cocaine. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court again determined that no exigent circumstances existed. The Supreme Court, however, reversed and explained: If a car is readily mobile and probable cause exists to believe it contains contraband, the Fourth Amendment thus permits police to search the vehicle without more. As the state courts found, there was probable cause in both of these cases: Police had seen respondent Labron put drugs in the trunk of the car they searched, and had seen respondent Kilgore act in ways that suggested he had drugs in his truck. We conclude the searches of the automobiles in these cases did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Pennsylvania v. Labron, ___ U.S. at ___, 116 S.Ct. at 2487 (internal citation omitted). In both of these cases, the cars were parked and the vehicles were searched after those accused were placed under arrest. Thus, the ability of the defendant to move the car was not the pivotal factor. Indeed, in Kilgore the suggestion that drugs were in the truck was enough to satisfy probable cause. The weight of authority appears to support the conclusion that an exigent circumstance exists when a car is readily movable by any person and not just the defendant. See United States v. Brazel, 102 F.3d 1120 (11th Cir.1997); United States v. Sinisterra, 77 F.3d 101 (5th Cir.1996); United States v. Reed, 26 F.3d 523 (5th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1157, 115 S.Ct. 1116, 130 L.Ed.2d 1080 (1995); People v. Lee, 914 P.2d 441 (Colo.App.1995); Jones v. State, 111 Md.App. 456, 681 A.2d 1190 (1996); Reyes v. State, 910 S.W.2d 585 (Tex.App.1995). But see State v. Harnisch, 113 Nev. 214, 931 P.2d 1359 (1997). Two state appellate courts looked, in addition, to factors such as location of the car in a high-crime area, potential for theft, and potential movement by family or friends as important considerations in determining exigency. See People v. Lee, supra ; Reyes v. State, supra . Likewise, in the case at hand the Reyes brothers could not have moved the car because they were in custody. But that is not to say that a third party, either a confederate or thief, could not have done so. The car sat in the parking lot of a motel in a high-crime area during the early morning hours. The fact of the Reyeses' arrest would certainly have been known to people at the motel. Under such circumstances, for the police to have left the vehicle unattended would have been foolhardy. Moreover, a search warrant for the motel room had been obtained and executed. For one officer to have watched the car while another officer obtained a second search warrant directed at the car, given these facts, appears unnecessary and impractical. See Chambers v. Maroney, supra . We decline to hold that the trial court erred in refusing to suppress the test tube and baking soda taken from the car.