Summary
The Colorado Supreme Court considered whether police officers could search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to Crum's arrest under the evidence-gathering rationale of Arizona v. Gant. The court held that the officers had reasonable articulable suspicion that the vehicle contained additional evidence of possession of a controlled substance because they observed Crum retrieve and attempt to conceal oxycodone pills from the vehicle. The court reversed the trial court's suppression order and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the evidence-gathering rationale of Arizona v. Gant permits a warrantless search of a vehicle's passenger compartment incident to arrest when the circumstances create reasonable articulable suspicion that the vehicle contains additional evidence of the crime of arrest.
- Whether the officers had reasonable articulable suspicion that the SUV contained additional evidence of Crum's possession of a controlled substance.
Holdings
- A warrantless search of a vehicle's passenger compartment incident to arrest is justified when the particular circumstances supply reasonable articulable suspicion that the vehicle might contain evidence of the crime for which officers had probable cause to arrest.
- The officers had reasonable articulable suspicion that the SUV contained additional evidence of possession of a controlled substance, so the passenger-compartment search satisfied Gant and the suppression order was erroneous.
Key quotations
“Consequently, a search of the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a defendant's arrest is justified where "the particular circumstances of the arrest in question supply reasonable articulable suspicion" that the vehicle might contain evidence of either the crime of arrest or a crime for which there is probable cause for arrest.” (190)
“Because Crum reached into the vehicle to retrieve the pills that he later attempted to conceal, it was reasonable for the officers to suspect that additional pills might be found in the vehicle.” (191)
Factual background
Late at night in a Grand Junction commercial area known for drug activity, officers saw Crum standing beside an open rear driver-side door of an SUV he frequently used and reaching inside. As officers approached and arrested him on an outstanding warrant, Crum dropped and crushed a hamburger wrapper containing two Oxycodone pills packaged in a baggie. Officers then searched the SUV's passenger compartment and found methamphetamine, marijuana, hash, empty baggies, and a digital scale.
Procedural history
Police arrested Crum after discovering an outstanding warrant and observing him attempt to conceal Oxycodone pills. They searched the passenger compartment of an SUV and found additional drugs and drug-distribution paraphernalia. The trial court found probable cause to arrest Crum for possession of a controlled substance but concluded that the officers lacked sufficient reason to believe the vehicle contained further evidence, so it suppressed the vehicle-search evidence. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
Remand instructions
Remand for proceedings consistent with the opinion, with the evidence from the SUV search not suppressed under the ruling.