STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. HAKEEM S. GAMBLE (16-04-0294, GLOUCESTER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-5556-18

Background

Officer Steven Flannery recognized and followed defendant while driving in West Deptford; he observed the rear license plate frame partially covering the phrase "Garden State."
Flannery knew from prior contacts that defendant's New Jersey license had been suspended and used his MDT to confirm the suspension before stopping the vehicle.
During the stop defendant admitted his license was suspended, appeared nervous, repeatedly reached toward the center console, and a white pill bottle was visible in the drivers door pocket.
Flannery requested consent to search; defendant refused; a K-9 arrived, conducted an exterior sniff that alerted to drugs, and officers obtained a warrant.
The search (pursuant to the warrant) recovered packaged heroin and crack cocaine from the gas cap; the evidence was transported to the lab by Patrolman Thomas McWain, who did not testify at trial due to a pending indictment.
Defendant was convicted of third-degree possession of heroin and cocaine; he appealed raising suppression, a requested Clawans instruction, and sentencing claims; the Appellate Division affirmed.

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a partially covered "Garden State" plate justified the stop under N.J.S.A. 39:3-33	The frame obscured the marking so it was illegible and violated the statute, supplying reasonable suspicion	Partial covering left the marking recognizable under Roman-Rosado; stop was unlawful	Plate here nearly fully covered "Garden State"; under Carter the obstruction violated the statute and the stop was lawful
Whether Flannerys knowledge/MDT check of a suspended license provided an independent basis for the stop	Officers prior knowledge and MDT confirmation gave reasonable suspicion to stop for driving with a suspended license	Flannerys assertion of typing the license from memory was implausible and the information was stale/secondhand	Judge credited Flannery; prior knowledge and MDT confirmation (or at least the prior knowledge alone) supplied reasonable suspicion; alternate basis upheld
Whether the stop was impermissibly prolonged for a K-9 sniff and further inquiry	Defendants nervousness, reaching into the console, visible pill bottle, and defendants narcotics history created reasonable suspicion to broaden the stop and summon a canine	Canine sniff and questioning extended the stop beyond the traffic mission without independent reasonable suspicion	Credible evidence supported extension; reasonable suspicion existed to expand inquiry and to conduct the canine sniff without unlawfully prolonging the stop
Whether the judge should have given a Clawans adverse-inference instruction because McWain (chain-of-custody witness) did not testify	McWain was unavailable (likely to invoke Fifth Amendment); lab clerks testified and pre-log/receipts established chain of custody	Failure to call McWain warranted an adverse inference instruction	McWain was equally unavailable to both parties; lab testimony adequately established chain of custody; no Clawans charge required
Whether sentencing involved impermissible double-counting or improper use of drug addiction as an aggravator	Defendant was statutorily eligible as a persistent offender; criminal record and addiction were relevant to aggravating factors like risk of reoffense and need for deterrence	Using the record to trigger extended term and again as aggravators is double-counting; addiction should not be an aggravator	No abuse of discretion; Tillery permits use of record for both eligibility and aggravating-factor findings; addiction relevant to likelihood of recidivism and deterrence

Key Cases Cited

State v. Atwood, 232 N.J. 433 (2018) ( Fourth Amendment review of vehicle stops and scope of traffic-stop inquiries )
State v. Roman-Rosado, 462 N.J. Super. 183 (App. Div. 2020) (interpretation of what constitutes "obscuring" plate markings under N.J.S.A. 39:3-33)
State v. Locurto, 157 N.J. 463 (1999) (officer justified in stopping vehicle for articulable suspicion of motor-vehicle offense)
State v. Dunbar, 229 N.J. 521 (2017) (permissible breadth of inquiry during traffic stops and canine-scent limitations)
State v. Pineiro, 181 N.J. 13 (2004) (burden on State to prove reasonable suspicion by preponderance)
Clawans v. State, 38 N.J. 162 (1962) (standard for adverse-inference instruction when a party fails to call a witness)
Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978) (standard for attacking affidavit truthfulness in warrant proceedings)
State v. Tillery, 238 N.J. 293 (2019) (permitting use of criminal record both for extended-term eligibility and as support for aggravating factors)
State v. McDuffie, 450 N.J. Super. 554 (App. Div. 2017) (rejecting double-counting challenge where record supported both extended term and aggravating factors)
State v. Baylass, 114 N.J. 169 (1989) (discussing relevance of probation violations and drug use in sentencing contexts)