State of West Virginia v. Richard H. Corbin II, 16-0655

In July 2014 a West Virginia trooper observed a red Dodge Durango making two turns into separate driveways on a rural road; he found this conduct "suspicious" and initiated contact with the vehicle.
The driver was Jessica Evans; petitioner Richard H. Corbin II, a registered sex offender, was a passenger. Evans was cited for driving on a suspended license.
State police later compared the vehicle’s plate to Corbin’s sex offender registry forms and found the plate listed there (2LH387) did not match the observed plate (9W9584), leading to an indictment for failure to update/maintain registry information.
Corbin moved to suppress the registry-evidence as fruit of an unlawful stop and moved to dismiss the indictment arguing he was not required to list his father’s vehicle and did not regularly operate it; both motions were denied.
Corbin pled no contest reserving his right to appeal the pretrial rulings; the circuit court sentenced him to 1–5 years (suspended in favor of 5 years probation). He appealed the denial of suppression and dismissal and the sentencing order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trooper had reasonable articulable suspicion to stop/investigate the vehicle	State: trooper observed suspicious behavior (entering two driveways, "casing" behavior) supporting reasonable suspicion	Corbin: stop lacked reasonable articulable suspicion; therefore evidence of incorrect registry listing should be suppressed	Court: trooper had reasonable articulable suspicion; suppression denial affirmed
Whether the indictment was legally sufficient	State: indictment adequately alleged failure to update registry and put defendant on notice	Corbin: indictment insufficient because vehicle belonged to his father and he lacked a license, so he was not required to list or update that vehicle	Court: indictment sufficient; whether Corbin "regularly operated" vehicle is a factual question for jury (waived by plea) and not resolved on appeal

State v. Head, 198 W.Va. 298 (1996) (sets three-pronged standard of appellate review for circuit court factual findings, discretionary rulings, and legal questions)
State v. Lacy, 196 W.Va. 104 (1996) (reviews suppression rulings: factual findings for clear error, reasonableness under Fourth Amendment de novo)
State v. Bookheimer, 221 W.Va. 720 (2007) (application of Lacy standards to suppression review)
State v. Stuart, 192 W.Va. 428 (1994) (police may stop vehicle on articulable, reasonable suspicion of criminal activity)
State v. Grimes, 226 W.Va. 411 (2009) (standard of review for motions to dismiss indictments)
State v. Wallace, 205 W.Va. 155 (1999) (indictment sufficiency: elements, fair notice, protection against double jeopardy)