Johnson v. State, 359 S.W.3d 725

Hendrie responded to a 911 call about a suspicious black male near Copper Cove Apartments at 12901 Brant Rock Drive around 11:30 p.m.
Hendrie parked at an angle to partially block a running car in a parking space and shined a spotlight into it.
He approached Johnson, asked for identification, and detected a faint odor of marijuana, which grew stronger as he walked around to the driver’s side.
A small package of marijuana was found on the console, and Johnson was arrested.
Johnson testified he lived at the complex, was parked outside the gate, and that Hendrie’s actions were intimidating and did not constitute a detainment at first.
The trial court denied the suppression motion, finding the officer acted reasonably under the circumstances and had articulable facts justifying a minimal detention.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the initial encounter became a detention requiring reasonable suspicion	Johnson contends the conduct constituted a seizure under Crain and Garcia-Cantu.	State contends the totality of circumstances supported a consensual encounter that later escalated organically.	No abuse of discretion; initial encounter was consensual and later detaining based on marijuana odor was justified.

Crain v. State, 315 S.W.3d 43 (Tex.Crim.App.2010) (detention when officer’s conduct showed coercive authority)
Garcia-Cantu v. State, 253 S.W.3d 236 (Tex.Crim.App.2008) (no bright-line rule; totality of circumstances governs seizure)
Castleberry v. State, 332 S.W.3d 460 (Tex.Crim.App.2011) (encounter deemed consensual where officer asked for ID and information)
Woodard v. State, 341 S.W.3d 404 (Tex.Crim.App.2011) (establishes three categories of police-citizen interactions; consent vs seizure)
Isam v. State, 582 S.W.2d 441 (Tex.Crim.App.1979) (odor of marijuana provides reasonable suspicion for detention)
Martinez v. State, 348 S.W.3d 919 (Tex.Crim.App.2011) (articulable facts must show unusual activity and connection to crime)