State v. Caynon, 2013 Ohio 2789

An informant working with Akron Police arranged a drug deal involving 200 grams of heroin to be delivered by Gerald Howard in a tan Volkswagen CC.
Over two weeks, the informant reported that a black female with long black hair and glasses previously supplied heroin; Howard would not deliver in person due to tax duties in Cleveland.
On the day of the transaction, undercover officers observed a tan Volkswagen in the restaurant parking lot described by the informant; Caynon was inside that vehicle.
Police approached Caynon, conducted a pat-down, and recovered 200 grams of heroin from Caynon’s purse and a .25 caliber pistol from Caynon’s sweatshirt pocket.
Caynon was indicted on trafficking, possession of heroin, and carrying a concealed weapon; she moved to suppress the evidence, arguing impaired statements, warrantless searches, and overly intrusive searches.
The trial court denied the suppression motion; Caynon then pled no contest and was convicted and sentenced to concurrent three-year terms for trafficking and possession and a one-year term for the weapon offense.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the stop and subsequent searches were lawful	Caynon contends the stop/search violated Fourth Amendment protections.	State contends the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion and searches were permissible under Terry.	Stop/search upheld; reasonable suspicion established; searches permissible.

State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152 (2003) (mixed question of law and fact; appellate review of suppression de novo on legal standards)
Maumee v. Weisner, 87 Ohio St.3d 295 (1999) (reasonable suspicion standard for investigative stops)
State v. Johnson, 2004-Ohio-3409 (9th Dist.) (reasonable suspicion must be based on specific, articulable facts)
State v. Gedeon, 81 Ohio App.3d 617 (1992) (framework for analyzing investigative stops)
State v. Freeman, 64 Ohio St.2d 291 (1980) (totality of the circumstances in stop and frisk analysis)
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (permit limited pat-down for weapons on reasonable suspicion)
Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032 (1983) (permissible interior automobile searches during a Terry stop when weapons may be hidden)
State v. Robinson, 2012-Ohio-2428 (9th Dist.) (weapon safety during Terry stop supports frisk/search rationale)
State v. Blair, 2008-Ohio-6257 (9th Dist.) (reasonableness of investigative stop under totality of circumstances)
State v. Epling, 105 Ohio App.3d 663 (9th Dist.) (reasonable suspicion standard in investigative stops)
State v. VanScoder, 92 Ohio App.3d 853 (9th Dist.) (totality of circumstances in evaluating stops)