Opinion ID: 769608
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Search of the Trunk

Text: 16 West argues that even if the court finds that he voluntarily consented to the search of the car and its trunk, the consent was withdrawn prior to the seizure of the amphetamine. The district court, citing Florida v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 251 (1991), found that because it was necessary and appropriate for Deputy Barney to request additional permission to open and search the locked briefcase, absent an indication by West that the prior consent to search the entire car was revoked, the initial consent still remained active as to the rest of the trunk and items therein. West argues that by refusing Deputy Barney's request to open the locked briefcase in the trunk, West withdrew consent to search for the entire car. We decline to decide whether West's consent to search the car was revoked by him refusing permission to open the locked briefcase because Deputy Barney, in the course of the consent search, acquired probable cause to search the zippered bag, rendering consent by West irrelevant. 17 It is well established that although probable cause to search a car may not exist when a car is first stopped for a traffic citation, it can arise during the course of the stop. See Colorado v. Bannister, 449 U.S. 1 (1980). The government argues that at the time consent was arguably withdrawn, probable cause to search the trunk consisted of the following factors: 1) the strong odor of air freshener in the vehicle, 2) West's prior criminal record for serious offenses, 3) West's extreme nervousness beginning with the stop of the vehicle and increasing during the search of the trunk of the car, and 4) Deputy Barney's detection of the odor of methamphetamine when he opened the trunk and when he picked up the zippered bag. We find that the combination of these factors established probable cause for the search of the trunk and its contents. 18 An officer's detection of the smell of drugs, such as methamphetamine, in a car is entitled to substantial weight in the probable cause analysis and can be an independently sufficient basis for probable cause. See United States v. Ozbirn, 189 F.3d 1194, 1200 (10th Cir. 1999) (holding that the odor of marijuana Trooper Smith detected from the vehicle, along with other suspicious conduct such as the driver and occupant's nervous, talkative, and overly-friendly behavior, and vague description of their travel plans constitutes probable cause); United States v. Wald, 208 F.3d 902, 907 (10th Cir. 2000) (stating that the odor of raw methamphetamine would suffice to provide probable cause for a trunk search); United States v. Downs, 151 F.3d 1301, 1303 (10th Cir. 1998)(holding that when an officer encounters the overpowering smell of raw marijuana emanating from a vehicle, probable cause to search the vehicle's trunk exists). Deputy Barney detected the odor of methamphetamine when he opened the trunk to the rental car. Deputy Barney described the odor of methamphetamine as follows: The smell was very sour. Meth has an, I would say a horrible odor, terrible odor, and I have smelled that a number of times and I was sure it was meth. Deputy Barney's testimony that he detected the strong and peculiar odor of methamphetamine when he opened the trunk is very persuasive and strongly contributes to probable cause. 19 In addition to the smell of methamphetamine, Deputy Barney detected the scent of air freshener in the car. The Tenth Circuit has consistently held that the scent of air freshener is properly considered as a factor in the probable cause analysis. See United States v. Anderson, 114 F.3d 1059, 1066 (10th Cir. 1997); United States v. Leos-Quijada, 107 F.3d 786, 795 (10th Cir. 1997); United States v. Alvarez, 68 F.3d 1242, 1246 (10th Cir. 1995) (McKay, concurring). Deputy Barney testified that he detected the strong odor of air freshener when he stopped West. Deputy Barney stated that in his experience air freshener is often used to mask the odor of controlled substances. Deputy Barney also discovered through the criminal history check that West had a record. While knowledge of a person's prior criminal involvement is not sufficient itself to even rise to the level of reasonable suspicion, it can combine with other factors to support the requisite standard of suspicion. See United States v. Sandoval, 29 F.3d 537, 542 (10th Cir. 1994); United States v. McCranie, 703 F.2d 1213, 1218 (10th Cir. 1983). 20 Deputy Barney also noted that West acted in an extremely nervous manner throughout the encounter. The Tenth Circuit has held that nervousness is of limited significance in determining whether probable cause to search a car trunk exists because it is not uncommon for most citizens, even innocent ones, to exhibit signs of innocuous nervousness when confronted by a law enforcement officer. See United States v. Wald, 208 F.3d 902, 907 (10th Cir. 2000). However, in this case the nervousness exhibited by West was different than that normally exhibited by innocent citizens stopped for traffic citations. In his testimony, Deputy Barney noted that, Most people shake a bit but settle down and he didn't. We had a little conversation. He continued to each time I would say something he shook more. After Deputy Barney issued the ticket, he noticed that West continued to shake: I gave him back his driver's license, the rental agreement and the warning. . . . I noted that he continued to be very shaky. With the issuance of a warning, he should have settled down. After the search began, West continued to display signs of extreme nervousness. Deputy Barney testified, He was again, I would say nervous. He was walking around. He was fidgeting. He was he just couldn't seem to stand still. Although normal nervousness exhibited by those stopped for a traffic citation is usually entitled to limited significance in the probable cause analysis, in this case it is entitled to somewhat more weight because of the extreme and continued nervousness exhibited by West. 21 We conclude that Deputy Barney had probable cause to search the bags in the trunk of the vehicle when he opened the trunk of the car and smelled the strong odor of methamphetamine. At that point, the factors discussed above combined to reach the level of probable cause enabling Deputy Barney to lawfully search the trunk and its contents.