Opinion ID: 2220705
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The stops of Krebs' vehicle.

Text: The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution is implicated when a vehicle is stopped. The action constitutes a seizure even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the detention is brief. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975). A passenger has standing to challenge the stop of a vehicle because a stop is a seizure of all persons in the vehicle. United States v. Erwin, 875 F.2d 268, 270 (10th Cir.1989). Governmental interest in investigating an officer's reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, may outweigh the Fourth Amendment interest of the driver and passengers. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). In accord with the Fourth Amendment, a police officer may not stop a vehicle without a reasonable basis for doing so. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). The reasonable cause required to make a stop is less than the probable cause required to issue a warrant or make an arrest. Terry, 392 U.S. at 25-26, 88 S.Ct. at 1882, 20 L.Ed.2d at 900-909. State v. Lownes, 499 N.W.2d 896, 898 (S.D.1993); State v. Anderson, 331 N.W.2d 568, 570 (S.D.1983) (citing Marben v. State, Dep't of Public Safety, 294 N.W.2d 697, 699 (Minn. 1980)). The United States Supreme Court has articulated the following standard to evaluate the reasonableness of a stop in the absence of probable cause: [W]hether the officer's action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place. Terry, 392 U.S. at 20, 88 S.Ct. at 879, 20 L.Ed.2d at 905. We have previously set forth the standard by which this court will measure the reasonableness of a stop of a vehicle: [T]he factual basis required to support a stop for a routine traffic check is minimal.... All that is required is that the stop be not the product of mere whim, caprice, or idle curiosity. It is enough if the stop is based upon specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant [the] intrusion[.] Anderson, 331 N.W.2d at 570 (quoting People v. Ingle, 36 N.Y.2d 413, 369 N.Y.S.2d 67, 74, 330 N.E.2d 39, 44 (1975)); Lownes, 499 N.W.2d at 899. The finder of fact is the exclusive judge of the credibility of witnesses. State v. Lingwall, 398 N.W.2d 745, 747 (S.D. 1986). A trial court's factual findings resulting from a suppression hearing will be upheld unless clearly erroneous. State v. Smith, 477 N.W.2d 27, 31 (S.D.1991); State v. Pfaff, 456 N.W.2d 558, 560 (S.D.1990). Whether the facts, when taken together, add up to probable cause, is a different question. Smith, 477 N.W.2d at 31. The existence of probable cause is a question of law, fully reviewable de novo by this court. Id.; State v. Zachodni, 466 N.W.2d 624, 630 (S.D.1991).
Davis testified that the Krebs vehicle was driven from the 7-11 and parked at Davis' cousin's home; he stated: We were going to that address anyway. The record shows the patrol car followed the vehicle from the 7-11 and, after it had stopped, parked behind Krebs' car. Davis testified he got out of the car and went inside the residence. Wermers then approached the vehicle. Davis stated he did not hear any conversation between Krebs and Wermers and that when he exited the residence, Wermers was pulling away. Davis was not stopped, questioned, detained or seized in any manner in the first stop of Krebs' vehicle. He exited the car before Wermers approached the car and did not return until he was driving away. Davis has no standing to challenge the first stop of Krebs' vehicle.
When Wermers saw Krebs and Davis in the vehicle at the 7-11, Wermers was justified in making a reasonable investigation based upon the police flyer. We have stated: A police officer, in performing his official work, may properly question persons when the circumstances reasonably indicate that it is necessary to the proper discharge of his duties. State v. Burkman, 281 N.W.2d 436, 439 (S.D.1979). Evidence at trial indicated that Krebs intended to stop at the residence. Wermers did not activate his emergency siren to cause Krebs to stop nor did he use his lights. Additionally, as Wermers approached Krebs' vehicle, he became aware of a violation of the law due to the dangling handcuffs on the rear view mirror. Wermers issued a warning ticket for the violation and Krebs removed the object from the mirror. Krebs identified himself to Wermers and identified his passenger as Guy Davis. He also provided his vehicle registration and proof of insurance to Wermers. Wermers used his flashlight to peer into the interior of Krebs' vehicle from the outside. That is the extent of the intrusion of the first stop. In light of the information available to Wermers in the bulletin and his subsequent discovery of a violation of SDCL 32-15-6, the initial investigation of Krebs' vehicle was minimally intrusive and was reasonable under the circumstances. The trial court did not err in finding Wermers acted reasonably.
In United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 105 S.Ct. 675, 83 L.Ed.2d 604 (1985), a unanimous United States Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' determination that a wanted flyer was insufficient to create a reasonable suspicion because the crime was already completed. The Court said: It is enough to say that, if police have a reasonable suspicion, grounded in specific and articulable facts, that a person they encounter was involved in or is wanted in connection with a completed felony, then a Terry stop may be made to investigate that suspicion. Hensley, 469 U.S. at 229, 105 S.Ct. at 680, 83 L.Ed.2d at 612. The Court went on to hold that a flyer or bulletin based on articulable facts supporting a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed an offense justifies a Terry stop. Hensley, 469 U.S. at 232, 105 S.Ct. at 682, 83 L.Ed.2d at 614. It is the objective reading of the flyer that determines whether other officers may act in reliance on the information. Id., 469 U.S. at 233, 105 S.Ct. at 682, 83 L.Ed.2d at 615. In this case, the flyer requested police be on the lookout for a 1977/1978 grey Pontiac LeMans with Rapid City plates, gave general descriptions of two men and reported the second suspect as wearing multicolored barrettes in his ponytail and a distinctive black, quilted welders cap worn backwards. The bulletin stated the two suspects were believed responsible for burglaries in St. Lawrence, Wessington Springs and Artesian. It then reports one of the suspects could be Guy Davis. Krebs had earlier identified his passenger as Guy Davis. Wermers testified he had read the flyer and that the car and two men he saw at the 7-11 fit the description in the bulletin. He testified he did not make the connection with Davis' name until Officers Spiering and Haug questioned him as to the identity of Krebs' passenger. When Wermers realized Davis was named as a suspect in the bulletin, that corroboration gave added credibility to the bulletin. Additionally, Wermers testified that Krebs had told him they were staying at the residence for the night but drove away five minutes later. The trial court found the suspicious behavior, combined with the corroboration of information in the police flyer, gave rise to reasonable suspicion justifying the stop by Officers Haug and Spiering. We agree with the trial court that law enforcement officers had reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify the stop.