2026 WY 85
Wyo.2026Background
- Sergeant Uhrich stopped Glenn while he rode a bicycle at night, believing the bicycle lacked a proper front light. 1
- After learning Glenn had an outstanding warrant, Uhrich arrested him and found two pipes with methamphetamine residue during the search. 2
- Glenn moved to suppress, arguing the stop was invalid because the officer misunderstood the bicycle-light statute and because the stop was pretextual. 3
- At the suppression hearing, the parties agreed the only contested question was whether the initial stop was justified. 4
- The district court denied suppression, finding Uhrich's belief that the bicycle lacked a light was a reasonable mistake of fact. 5
- Glenn entered a conditional guilty plea reserving only the suppression ruling, then appealed and raised the stop's extension and ineffective assistance arguments as well. 6
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was the bicycle stop supported by reasonable suspicion? 7 | Glenn had a headlight; officer's statutory misunderstanding and no 500-foot observation made stop invalid. | Uhrich reasonably believed no front light was visible and had reasonable suspicion. | Yes; the initial stop was supported by reasonable suspicion. 8 |
| Did Glenn reserve the stop-extension issue in his conditional plea? 9 | Counsel's hearing remarks preserved the second Terry prong. | Only the initial stop was reserved, and the issue was not in writing. | No; Glenn waived the extension issue. 10 |
| Did Glenn preserve ineffective assistance as a plea-voluntariness challenge? 11 | Counsel's failure to reserve the issue made the plea involuntary. | Glenn did not connect counsel's performance to plea voluntariness. | No; the ineffective-assistance claim was waived. 12 |
Key Cases Cited
- Schaub v. State, 556 P.3d 215 (Wyo. 2024) (suppression rulings reviewed for clear error on facts and de novo on constitutionality 13)
- Anderson v. State, 531 P.3d 912 (Wyo. 2023) (suppression standard and reasonable-suspicion review 14)
- Davis v. State, 578 P.3d 805 (Wyo. 2025) (traffic stops, including bicycle stops, are seizures requiring reasonable suspicion 15)
- Kennison v. State, 417 P.3d 146 (Wyo. 2018) (traffic stops are seizures under the Fourth Amendment 16)
- Elmore v. State, 482 P.3d 358 (Wyo. 2021) (reasonable suspicion requires a particularized, objective basis 17)
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1968) (two-part traffic-stop analysis: justification and scope 18)
- Boyer v. State, 574 P.3d 161 (Wyo. 2025) (officers may make objectively reasonable mistakes of fact 19)
- Allgier v. State, 358 P.3d 1271 (Wyo. 2015) (Fourth Amendment allows some reasonable mistakes by officers 20)
- Harris v. State, 409 P.3d 1251 (Wyo. 2018) (an officer's mistake of fact may support a stop if objectively reasonable 21)
- Allen v. State, P.3d (Wyo. 2026) (guilty plea generally waives nonjurisdictional issues 22)
- McCalla v. State, 583 P.3d 679 (Wyo. 2026) (conditional plea review is limited to issues reserved in writing 23)
- Stone v. State, 583 P.3d 1216 (Wyo. 2026) (conditional plea must reserve a specific issue in writing and issue must be dispositive 24)
- Kotrc v. State, 578 P.3d 40 (Wyo. 2025) (requirements for a valid conditional guilty plea 25)
- Brown v. State, 439 P.3d 726 (Wyo. 2019) (ambiguity in conditional plea scope is construed against the government 26)
- Kitzke v. State, 55 P.3d 696 (Wyo. 2002) (ineffective-assistance claims may relate to plea voluntariness, but only with a real nexus 27)
- Lower v. State, 786 P.2d 346 (Wyo. 1990) (a defendant must show how counsel's errors affected the decision to plead guilty 28)