Court Opinion

ID: 9789629
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:39:25.0517+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:23.604823
License: Public Domain

ROSSMAN, J.,
dissenting.
Because I believe that the totality of the circumstances in this case create a reasonable suspicion that defendant and his wife were engaged in criminal activity in their automobile, I would affirm the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
Although I agree with the majority that a furtive gesture — alone—ordinarily does not provide a basis for a reasonable suspicion, it is equally clear that such a gesture, in conjunction with other suspicious circumstances, may become the determining factor in establishing reasonable suspicion. Here, the suspicious location of defendant’s car next to a closed business at 2:00 a.m., coupled with his wife’s startled reaction and her apparent effort to hide something under the seat, provided a reasonable suspicion that defendant or his wife had committed or was committing a crime. This crime could have been, among others, unlawful possession of a firearm, ORS 166.250, second degree burglary, ORS 164.215, or possession of burglar’s tools. ORS 164.235. Officer Galbreth — like any reasonable police officer — was justified in stopping defendant to investigate the suspicious conduct. As the trial court noted in its findings, defendant’s own remark (“It’s not a gun, it’s just coke”) demonstrates that his wife’s conduct would lead a reasonable person to suspect that she was hiding a gun under the seat.