Opinion ID: 2271465
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Search of the Lexus

Text: In addition to finding the Lexus car keys in Scott's possession, the police noticed a Lexus parked approximately thirty feet from the convenience store in an adjacent parking lot. Officer Schagnon testified at the suppression hearing that Scott initially said he didn't have a car there and then later retracted it and said that the Lexus that was parked outside wasn't his car, but rather belonged to his cousin, Stephan White, who was working at a pizza restaurant four doors down from the convenience store in the same block. In his suppression hearing testimony, Schagnon did not state what the police asked Scott to elicit his initial statement that he didn't have a car there. Schagnon added, though, that Scott volunteered the information that his cousin owned the Lexus. Upon receiving that information, Schagnon went to the nearby pizza restaurant and met with White. White confirmed that he owned the Lexus and told Schagnon he had been allowing his cousin Scott to use the automobile for the past several months. Schagnon did not testify whether White said Scott had exclusive use of the Lexus or was using it that day. Schagnon obtained White's consent to search the Lexus. The police then entered the vehicle, using one of the keys they had taken from Scott to do so. Above the driver's-side visor, the officers found mail addressed to Scott. On the driver's-side floor board they found a small quantity of marijuana. At the suppression hearing, Schagnon agreed that the only reason the police searched the Lexus was that they found a key to it in Scott's possession. The police had no specific information indicating the presence of a stash of drugs or other contraband in the automobile, and no officer had seen Scott exit the Lexus or have any contact with it. There is no evidence in the record that it was Scott rather than his cousin who had parked the car in the lot next to the convenience store; nor does the record make clear that Scott knew the vehicle was there before the police questioned him about it.