¶ 1 Appellant pled guilty to. receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime, conspiracy, criminal attempt, burglary, theft, and various Motor Vehicle Code violations. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 18 to 36 months’ imprisonment. This direct appeal followed.
¶ 2 Appellant contends that plea counsel ineffectively advised him to plead guilty despite the existence of a meritorious suppression claim. In order to set aside the plea, Appellant must show: (1) the existence of constitutionally infirm incriminating evidence; (2) that his guilty plea was primarily motivated by such evidence; and (3) that he was incompetently advised by counsel.to plead guilty rather than stand trial. Commonwealth v. Marsh,
¶ 3 At approximately 3:15 a.m., Appellant and his co-defendant were stopped by police for driving with their high beams on, a violation of the Motor Vehicle Code.
¶ 4 Appellant concedes that the initial stop was justified because of the Motor Vehicle Code violation. He claims, however, that the officers could do no more than issue a citation and allow Appellant and his passenger to be on their way.
¶ 5 In support of his claim, Appellant relies on those cases which hold that, in the absence of other indicia of criminal activity, an officer who stops a motorist for a traffic violation cannot, after examining the driver’s papers and issuing a citation or warning, detain a driver who provides a valid license and registration. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Lopez,
¶ 6 Moreover, the presence of a crowbar and gloves in the back seat and a trunk that was apparently so full it had to be held down with a bungy cord, the evasiveness of Appellant and Nicholson as to who owned the car and where they were going, and the time of night also gave the officers reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot.
¶7 Appellant’s complaint that he was detained for an hour and a half before the police actually searched the car does not alter our result. The key factor in determining if a detention lasts too long to be justified as an investigative stop is whether the police acted diligently to confirm or dispel their suspicions. Commonwealth v. Ellis,
¶ 8 We conclude that Appellant did not have a meritorious suppression issue and counsel’s advice to that effect was sound. Thus, Appellant has not met the first prong of the Marsh test and is not entitled to have his plea set aside.
¶ 9 Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Notes
. Although the trial court appointed counsel for an appeal, a Notice of Appeal was not timely filed. Thereafter, the court granted Appellant’s Petition to Reinstate Appellate Rights and appointed present counsel to pursue a direct Appeal nunc pro tunc.
. 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 4306
