State v. Stubblefield, 380 P.3d 1126

Defendant was driving a stolen pickup, fled from Deputy Dunkin after an illegal left turn, crashed into a Sonic support pole, and ran; officers subdued and arrested him.
Deputies searched the crashed truck: Derschon conducted an inventory search at the scene and found heavy bags including a black-powder revolver; later Baskett, with owner/insurer consent, inspected closed containers in the impound lot and seized additional items.
Items recovered (masks, a distinctive black-and-white striped coat, bicycles, an old-style revolver, and a baseball cap with defendant’s DNA) linked defendant to four bank robberies in Salem and Albany.
Defendant was charged in three consolidated cases with multiple robbery, vehicle, flight, reckless driving, criminal mischief, and firearm-possession counts; he moved to suppress the evidence from the truck and opposed admission of evidence of the uncharged Albany robbery.
Trial court denied suppression (finding abandonment and inevitable discovery/consent alternatives) and granted the state’s motion in limine admitting the Albany-robbery evidence under OEC 404(3); defendant was convicted.
On appeal, defendant challenged the denial of suppression under Article I, §9 (and originally Fourth Amendment below) and the admission of the Albany-robbery evidence; the court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether inspection/search of closed containers in the crashed stolen truck violated Article I, §9	Search lawful because property was abandoned; inventory search permissible; owner consent later validated discovery	Defendant contended searches were warrantless and violated Article I, §9 (and below raised Fourth Amendment)	Court held defendant abandoned the containers by fleeing and leaving them in a stolen vehicle; searches did not violate Article I, §9
Whether evidence of the uncharged Albany robbery was admissible under OEC 404(3) to prove identity	State: crimes sufficiently similar and method distinctive (striped coat, mask, old-style revolver, bike, cap with DNA) making evidence highly probative of identity	Defendant: admission would be improper character evidence/unduly prejudicial	Court held evidence admissible under OEC 404(3): high similarity, sufficient proof (video + DNA), probative value outweighed prejudice

State v. Ehly, 317 Or. 66, 854 P.2d 421 (standard of review for suppression rulings)
State v. Cook, 332 Or. 601, 34 P.3d 156 (abandonment under Article I, §9 requires relinquishing constitutionally protected interests)
State v. Stafford, 184 Or. App. 674, 57 P.3d 598 (factors for abandonment analysis)
State v. Dickson, 173 Or. App. 567, 24 P.3d 909 (abandonment by dropping property while fleeing)
State v. Turnidge, 359 Or. 364, 374 P.3d 853 (review standard for OEC 404(3) decisions)
State v. Johnson, 313 Or. 189, 832 P.2d 443 (three-part test for admitting other-crimes evidence under OEC 404(3))
State v. Pinnell, 311 Or. 98, 806 P.2d 110 (requirements for identity evidence: high similarity and distinctive methodology)
State v. Williams, 357 Or. 1, 346 P.3d 455 (noted by parties as a post-ruling authority relevant to OEC 404 issues)