Court Opinion

ID: 9738487
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:54:31.510197+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:06.481981
License: Public Domain

HARRIS, Justice
(dissenting).
Because I entirely agree with the trial court ruling, I respectfully dissent.
I agree with the majority’s recitation of the facts, though I would emphasize certain matters related by the deputy sheriff in his testimony. A gravel, winding, country road that passes by the limestone plant runs adjacent to the Des Moines river. Opposite the river, except for the plant, is a rural area; the nearest farm lane at the point was another 150 yards beyond the plant entrance. The gate of the plant entrance, the one in which the defendant’s vehicle was parked, was closed. It was posted with a “keep out” sign. It was dark and the road was not lighted. Although the officers were not responding to a call or other emergency, they were in the area on assignment, and the choice of the patrol route was not a random selection. This was partly because the plant manager had requested it. It was also because there had been a number of burglaries in the area. And the area was known by the officers for other problems. For one thing, according to the deputy sheriff, “usually there is marijuana in that area that we’ve kept an eye on.” Use of the area by juveniles for consumption of alcohol had also led to arrests.
It was under these circumstances that the officers, coming around a bend in the road, noticed the defendant’s vehicle parked at the plant entrance with its lights off. On the approach of the patrol car, the defendant’s vehicle backed out, turned its lights on, and the officers saw the vehicle “take off’ toward them.
The trial court first recited the requirements for a Terry stop, and then pointed out:
Otherwise innocent activities may in combination with other circumstances give a law officer necessary cause to suspect wrongdoing and make a stop. Pertinent circumstances which have been considered by the courts in determining the constitutional validity of a stop include:
1. Whether the officer is investigating a specific crime which is alleged to have occurred in the area of the stop [citing State v. Stevens, 394 N.W.2d 388, 391 (Iowa 1986); State v. Lamp, 322 N.W.2d 48, 51 (Iowa 1982); State v. Latham, 380 N.W.2d 743, 745 (Iowa App.1985) ].
2. The nature, movements or activities of the stopped person or the vehicle in which [he or she] is riding [citing State v. Rosenstiel, 473 N.W.2d 59, 61 (Iowa 1991); Stevens, 394 N.W.2d at 391; Lamp, 322 N.W.2d at 51; State v. Cooley, 229 N.W.2d 755, 759-61 (Iowa 1975) ].
3. History of crime in the area of the stop [citing State v. Richardson, 501 N.W.2d 495, 497 (Iowa 1993); State v. Donnell, 239 N.W.2d 575, 577 (Iowa 1976); State v. Losee, 353 N.W.2d 876, 878-79 (Iowa App.1984) ].
4. Time of stop [citing same authorities].
5. Nature of the area in which the stop occurred [citing same authorities].
While the officer in this case was on routine patrol and not investigating a specific crime in the area of the stop, all the other factors mentioned above were such *771that he could have had a reasonable belief that criminal activity may have occurred involving the occupants of the stopped car. This particular bit of road had a history of a variety of criminal conduct which required heavier than ordinary patrolling. It was late at night when any vehicle stopped near the limestone business had no legitimate purpose with the business because it was closed. There is nothing to show that the vehicle or its occupants had stopped near any residence where they had any legitimate business. The character of the area in general was not such that any car had any legitimate purpose at that time of night to be stopped at that location with its lights off. Criminal conduct had occurred in the area. Those past crimes were of the type which the passengers in the ear the officer observed could have been committing when he came upon them. The fact that when any vehicle drove toward the defendants’ stopped vehicle it immediately turned on its lights and drove away from the vicinity is a suspicious circumstance. These facts are almost identical to those in Richardson, cited above, in which the court upheld the denial of the motion to suppress.
The trial court correctly relied on our Richardson holding, noting its facts bore striking factual similarities to those presented here. In Richardson, we noted that the officer, who was on routine night patrol,
saw a silver car parked near the chain-link fence next to a marina. He thought it was a suspicious place to park, since the surrounding businesses were all closed and there were no residences in the vicinity. [The officer] knew that the marina area had frequently been burglarized.
Richardson, 501 N.W.2d at 496.
The factual circumstances enumerated by the district court reasonably gave rise of a particularized suspicion on the part of the officers, who acted prudently. Given the circumstances, they would have been naive not to have suspected wrongdoing. I would affirm.