Dryer v. State, 323 Ga. App. 734

Dryer was convicted of possession of more than one ounce of marijuana after a jury trial and his suppression motion was denied.
Around 11:00 p.m. on April 4, 2010, a Douglasville officer observed Dryer's car in a closed country club parking lot and approached when the vehicle attempted to exit.
The officer activated blue lights as Dryer drove past, Dryer stopped, and the officer questioned him about his presence in the lot.
The officer smelled burnt marijuana, noted Dryer’s nervousness, sought consent to search, and Dryer refused; a K-9 unit was dispatched.
Dryer admitted to smoking marijuana and to having some in the car; the dog alerted, leading to a search that recovered marijuana and residues totaling about 2.5 ounces.
The trial court denied suppression, ruling the initial encounter was a first-tier, non-detained encounter; on appeal the denial was reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the initial police encounter was first-tier or second-tier	Dryer argues the encounter was first-tier and required no reasonable suspicion	Dryer contends the officer’s blue-light approach transformed it into a second-tier encounter	Initial contact was second-tier; suppression reversed

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1968) (three-tier framework for police-citizen encounters)
Collier v. State, 282 Ga. App. 605 (Ga. Ct. App. 2006) (blue-light scientifically distinct from first-tier if it does not permit leaving)
Sidner v. State, 304 Ga. App. 373 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010) (cite for related discussion on encounters and suppression standards)
Satterfield v. State, 289 Ga. App. 886 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008) (analysis of police stops and reasonable suspicion)