Court Opinion

ID: 9551271
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:50:28.989219+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:25.644056
License: Public Domain

BRETT, Judge
(specially concurring).
I concur in this decision because of the special circumstances which exist. Defendant relies on Watt v. State, Okl.Cr., 487 P.2d 961 (1971), and recites in his brief that the circumstances are almost identical. However, a reading of Watt v. State, supra, reveals an absence of intoxication. In the instant case the initial arrest was for an “improper tag,” but when defendant alighted from the vehicle he appeared to stagger and possessed an unusual odor, which provided the officers with probable cause to believe he was under some type of intoxication. The first impulse was to believe the intoxication was the result of liquor, so the second officer looked into the vehicle to ascertain if an open bottle was on the seat. The officer found an open can of beer and assertedly saw the bags of marijuana. The record makes some reference to “a paper sack which was torn and wet and had clear plastic bags with some green substance inside.” (Tr. 29) At the same time there is not sufficient testimony in the record for this Court to ascertain to what extent the paper sack entered the picture and whether or not the plastic bags could be seen without opening the paper sack. Consequently, considering the record before the Court, there is no evidence or testimony to contradict that of the arresting officers.
Therefore, I concur in this decision.