State of Minnesota v. Terrance Paul DeRoche
A15-1871
| Minn. Ct. App. | Oct 11, 2016Background
- Terrance DeRoche was stopped by police and later convicted of DWI; he appealed suppression of evidence from a pretrial stop.
- Officer observed DeRoche in the early morning on a dark frontage road in a commercial area near a trailer dealership that had recent thefts.
- DeRoche drove briefly onto a private, vacant driveway marked "Private Property. No Trespassing," his vehicle sat momentarily, then backed out and turned when the officer approached.
- Officer testified the area had "ongoing issues" with theft (propane tanks, batteries, scrap metal) in the prior month or two.
- District court credited the officer’s testimony that the conduct was "unusual and suspicious" in light of local thefts and denied suppression; the court of appeals affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | DeRoche's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the investigatory stop was supported by reasonable, articulable suspicion | Officer’s observations (time, location, prior thefts, brief entry onto private lot, vehicle pausing, backing out) gave rise to reasonable suspicion of property crimes | Brief, momentary entry onto a vacant lot and appearing possibly lost do not provide specific, articulable suspicion—stop was a mere hunch | Stop was supported by reasonable, articulable suspicion; suppression denial affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Morse, 878 N.W.2d 499 (Minn. 2016) (officer may draw inferences from driving behavior, time, and location to support reasonable suspicion)
- State v. Diede, 795 N.W.2d 836 (Minn. 2011) (Terry-stop reasonable-suspicion standard explained)
- State v. Cripps, 533 N.W.2d 388 (Minn. 1995) (officer must articulate particularized, objective basis for suspicion)
- Olmscheid v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 412 N.W.2d 41 (Minn. App. 1987) (early-morning presence on dead-end frontage road near businesses with theft history can support stop)
- Thomeczek v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 364 N.W.2d 471 (Minn. App. 1985) (brief, suspiciously parked vehicle in a developing residential area supported suspicion)
- Reid v. Georgia, 448 U.S. 438 (1980) (Terry-stop cannot rest on an inchoate hunch)
- State v. Harris, 590 N.W.2d 90 (Minn. 1999) (officers acted on mere hunch where observed behavior was consistent with innocent activity)
- United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411 (1981) (totality-of-the-circumstances test for reasonable suspicion)