Opinion ID: 2036519
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Tire Identification

Text: Defendant cites deposition testimony from Anthis and Parker that they did not know who provided the information to them, prior to the drafting of the warrant affidavit, that the tire print at the crime scene was made by a Cooper Tire brand Falls Persuader tire. Defendant concludes that the source of this information also remains a mystery to this day. Evidence that the officers could not recall, 15 years later, who provided the tire identification information incorporated into the warrant affidavit is not grounds to relitigate defendant's motion to suppress. Defendant also argues that police misled the judge who issued the warrants about the tire print identification by failing to disclose in the warrant affidavit that Cooper Tire had already concluded that the tire print was not made by a Cooper Tire brand tire. Defendant cites two letters in the record dated September 25 and September 30, 1987, sent by Cooper Tire to David Brundage, the forensic scientist who analyzed the tire print. The letters state, respectively, that nothing in Cooper Tire's files even looks close to this impression, and that the tire could be a Goodyear Custom Super Cushion. Assuming, arguendo, that the two letters were not available to the defense at the time of the first suppression hearing, we conclude that this new evidence was insufficient to warrant relitigation of defendant's motion to suppress. David Brundage testified at the suppression hearing about the method he used to identify the brand and style of tire that left the print at the scene. After narrowing down the number of possible manufacturers to three or four, Brundage contacted numerous dealers, manufacturers and distributors for assistance. He admitted that not all the responses he received verified his own conclusion that the print could have been made by a Cooper Tire brand tire. Brundage also testified that he received a telephone call from the product services manager at Cooper Tire confirming that the print could have come from a Cooper Tire brand tire. According to Brundage, that telephone call was received prior to October 22, 1987. The two earlier letters defendant cites do not necessarily contradict Brundage's testimony. Thus, we find no error in the trial court declining to revisit this matter.