Youngstown Daily Legal News

Court of appeals rules police illegally searched defendant in drug bust

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 5, 2014

A panel of three judges in the 9th District Court of Appeals recently ruled that the Summit County Court of Common Pleas erred when it denied a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from the unlawful stop of a vehicle and subsequent search of the defendant’s home.

Rayshawn Robinson pleaded no contest to trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine and having weapons while under disability and he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Upon appeal, he argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when he was the victim of an unlawful search and seizure.

The court of appeals agreed.

According to case summary, Cleophus Thompson was arrested when he was found pushing a stolen car.

In hopes of helping his situation, Thompson offered to speak to a narcotics officer and provide drug information.

Det. Michael Zimcosky arrived on the scene where Thompson told him that he was late for a meeting with “Y.G.” who was supposed to sell him six grams of crack cocaine.

Thompson described Y.G. as a black male who drove a black SUV and a red SUV.

He told the detectives that the vehicles would be parked in the rear lot of a nearby apartment complex.

He also told the police that Y.G. would be with his girlfriend, who would be carrying the drugs.

Zimcosky sent several patrol cars to the apartment complex where they found the black and red SUVs.

Thompson was instructed to place a call to Y.G. while Zimcosky listened on speakerphone.

During the call, Thompson told Y.G. that he was at the local Taco Bell and that he needed to be picked up.

After the call was made, police followed the black SUV out of the apartment complex and down the street.

Det. Kandy Shoaff testified she could not see into the vehicle and could not describe the people inside. She said she planned to stop the SUV when it pulled into the Taco Bell.

The SUV, however, never went to Taco Bell. Instead, it turned onto another street, traveling away from the planned destination.

It went through a drive-through at another restaurant and returned to the apartment complex.

Officers stopped the SUV as it pulled into the complex and, after a search, discovered a BB gun, a scale and approximately $600 in cash.

Robinson, the driver, was arrested and the passenger, Megan Husk, was taken into custody.

Husk later admitted to police that she had four grams of crack cocaine hidden in her bra.

Police subsequently obtained a search warrant for Robinson’s residence, where they discovered 38 grams of crack cocaine, a weapon, ammunition and a large amount of cash.

The court of appeals held that those searches violated the Fourth Amendment.

“Stopping a vehicle and detaining its occupants constitutes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment,” wrote Judge Eve Belfance for the court. “However, an investigative traffic stop does not violate the Fourth Amendment where an officer has a reasonable suspicion that the individual is engaged in criminal activity.”

In some cases, Judge Belfance wrote that reasonable suspicion may be based on information from an informant.

“Information received from a tip can foster reasonable suspicion if it is supported by significant indicia of reliability or corroborated by independent police work,” wrote Judge Belfance.

According to the appellate panel, there is no presumption that a tip is reliable when it comes from an informant implicated in criminal activity because the motive is questionable.

The panel determined that Thompson’s tip was unreliable and the police did not corroborate the tip with their own investigation.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, we conclude that, at the time of the stop, Mr. Thompson’s tip was not sufficiently corroborated to furnish reasonable suspicion that the occupants of the vehicle were committing or about to commit a crime,” wrote Judge Belfance.

The court of appeals noted that the police officers were unable to see the occupants of the black SUV before they conducted the stop.

Also, it pointed out that the SUV never even turned in the direction of the Taco Bell after it left the apartment, which would have been consistent with Thompson’s tip.

“The police observed benign, non-criminal behavior that ultimately was inconsistent with the predictions of the tipster,” Judge Belfance concluded. “We agree that the trial court erred in its determination that there was reasonable, articulable suspicion to effectuate the stop.”

The judgment of the Summit County court was reversed and Robinson’s case was remanded for further proceedings.

Presiding Judge Carla Moore and Judge Jennifer Hensal concurred.

The case is cited State v. Robinson, 2014-Ohio-579.

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