Oglesby v. State
311 Ga. App. 615
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2011Background
- Oglesby was convicted of trafficking methamphetamine after a stipulated bench trial; he moved to suppress the meth evidence as stemming from an illegal detention; the trial court denied the motion; the appeal contends the encounter was an illegal detention and thus the evidence should be suppressed; the March 9, 2009 encounter occurred in a residential area near a vacant residence previously linked to thefts and vandalism; Oglesby approached the officer, claimed he came from a store, but items described by him were not in his possession; he engaged in a rambling discussion and admitted possession of a knife when asked; the officer conducted a pat-down and then recovered methamphetamine from his front pocket after consent to remove the object; the arrest followed, and the motion to suppress was denied; the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the encounter was consensual or, at most, supported by articulable suspicion.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was there a seizure requiring suppression? | Oglesby argues the encounter became a second-tier stop. | State asserts the encounter remained consensual or supported by suspicion. | No seizure; encounter was consensual or upheld by suspicion. |
| Did the officer have reasonable articulable suspicion to detain? | Oglesby contends no second-tier detention occurred. | State contends officer had suspicion based on location and prior incidents. | Even if second-tier, there was articulable suspicion. |
| Whether the pat-down/search was permissible under safety or consent | Search violated Fourth Amendment if detention unlawful. | Search justified by safety during detention. | Pat-down/search valid for safety during detention. |
Key Cases Cited
- Cutter v. State, 274 Ga.App. 589, 617 S.E.2d 588 (2005) (Ga. App. 2005) (framework for evaluating seizures and tiers of police-citizen encounters)
- Brown v. State, 301 Ga.App. 82, 686 S.E.2d 793 (2009) (Ga. App. 2009) (articulable suspicion standard for second-tier stops)
- Postell v. State, 279 Ga.App. 275, 630 S.E.2d 867 (2006) (Ga. App. 2006) (consensual encounter prerequisite to Fourth Amendment scrutiny)
- Johnson v. State, 299 Ga.App. 474, 682 S.E.2d 601 (2009) (Ga. App. 2009) (objective facts govern seizure analysis, not officer’s beliefs)
- McKinney v. State, 265 Ga.App. 322, 593 S.E.2d 865 (2004) (Ga. App. 2004) (relevance of surrounding circumstances for suspicion-based detentions)
- Leivis v. State, 307 Ga.App. 593, 705 S.E.2d 693 (2011) (Ga. App. 2011) (detention and safety search supported by behavior and context)
- Bishop v. State, 299 Ga.App. 241, 682 S.E.2d 201 (2009) (Ga. App. 2009) (articulable suspicion based on prior incidents and context)