State v. Drake, 2017 Ohio 755

On Sept. 3, 2014, Columbus police officers observed Frederick Drake and another male near a parked Chevrolet Tahoe in front of a busy bar; officers smelled burnt marijuana and saw a digital scale and a bag of marijuana in plain view inside the Tahoe.
After seeing the marijuana and scale, officers asked Drake to return to the vehicle; during a pat-down Drake volunteered he had marijuana in his pocket and produced it along with the vehicle keys.
Drake then told an officer he was carrying a gun for protection and bought it off the street; officers searched the vehicle and recovered a Taurus .45 in the driver-side armrest.
Drake was indicted for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and moved to suppress the gun and his statements; the trial court granted the motions to suppress.
The State appealed, arguing the officers had probable cause to search the vehicle (or at least reasonable suspicion), and that Drake’s volunteered statements were admissible despite no Miranda warnings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of vehicle search / seizure	Officers had probable cause to search the Tahoe based on smell of marijuana and visible scale and drugs	Search/seizure violated Fourth Amendment; officers lacked individualized reasonable suspicion to detain/search Drake	Reversed trial court: officers had probable cause to search the vehicle; suppression of gun was erroneous
Admissibility of Drake's statements	Statements were volunteered and not product of custodial interrogation; admissible without Miranda	Statements should be suppressed for lack of Miranda warnings while in custody	Reversed trial court: statements were volunteered, not the product of custodial interrogation, so Miranda not required
Good‑faith exception to exclusionary rule	(Alternate) Not reached because court sustained other arguments	(Alternate) Trial court erred in rejecting good‑faith exception	Moot after resolution of other issues

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (Terry stop / investigatory stop requires reasonable, articulable suspicion)
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) (Miranda warnings required for custodial interrogation)
State v. Moore, 90 Ohio St.3d 47 (2000) (odors of marijuana from a vehicle can establish probable cause to search)
State v. Burnside, 100 Ohio St.3d 152 (2003) (standard of review for suppression motions: trial court findings of fact reviewed for competent, credible evidence; legal conclusions reviewed de novo)
State v. Andrews, 57 Ohio St.3d 86 (1991) (Terry principles applied under Ohio law)
United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411 (1981) (reasonable-suspicion inquiry requires totality of the circumstances)
State v. McGuire, 80 Ohio St.3d 390 (1997) (volunteered statements are not subject to Miranda exclusion)