Defendant appeals as of right his convictions following a bench trial of carrying a concealed weapon, MCL 750.227, possession of a firearm by a felon, MCL 750.224f, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), MCL 750.227b, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and with an occupant under the age of 16, MCL 257.625(7)(a)(i), and possession of marijuana, MCL 333.7403(2)(d). He was sentenced to two years’ incarceration for the felony-firearm conviction to be served consecutively to three years’ probation for the other convictions. We affirm.
In New York v Belton, 453 US 454, 460; 101 S Ct 2860; 69 L Ed 2d 768 (1981), the United States Supreme Court held that when an officer lawfully arrests “the occupant of an automobile, he may, as a contemporaneous incident of that arrest, search the passenger compartment of that automobile” as well as the “contents of any containers found within the passenger compartment .... However, in Gant, 556 US at 343, quoting Thornton v United States, 541 US 615, 632; 124 S Ct 2127; 158 L Ed 2d 905 (2004) (Scalia, J., concurring in the judgment), the Court held: “[W]e also conclude that circumstances unique to the vehicle context justify a search incident to a lawful arrest when it is ‘reasonable to believe evidence relevant to the crime of arrest might be found in the vehicle.’ ” The Gant Court further explained:
Police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest. When these justifications are absent, a search of an arrestee’s vehicle will be unrea*585 sonable unless police obtain a warrant or show that another exception to the warrant requirement applies. [Gant, 556 US at 351.]
Several cases, including Gant, provide guidance in determining reasonableness. In Terry v Ohio, 392 US 1, 21-22; 88 S Ct 1868; 20 L Ed 2d 889 (1968), the Court stated that in determining reasonableness, the trial court must consider whether the facts known to the officer at the time of the stop would warrant a reasonably prudent person to suspect criminal activity. An officer’s conclusion must be drawn from reasonable inferences based on the facts in light of his training and experience. Id. at 27. “The reasonableness of an officer’s suspicion is determined case by case on the basis of the totality of all the facts and circumstances.” People v LoCicero (After Remand), 453 Mich 496, 501-502; 556 NW2d 498 (1996). “[T]hose circumstances must be viewed ‘as understood and interpreted by law enforcement officers, not legal scholars ....’” People v Oliver, 464 Mich 184, 192; 627 NW2d 297 (2001), quoting People v Nelson, 443 Mich 626, 632; 505 NW2d 266 (1993). The United States Supreme Court has said that deference should be given to the experience of law enforcement officers and their assessments of criminal modes and patterns. United States v Arvizu, 534 US 266, 273; 122 S Ct 744; 151 L Ed 2d 740 (2002).
The Gant Court did not expressly define the meaning of the phrase “reasonable to believe,” nor did it expound on when it is reasonable for an officer to believe that the passenger compartment of a vehicle might contain evidence of the crime for which the vehicle’s occupant was arrested, but it did provide strong clues regarding what is reasonable. The Court said that the offenses of arrest in Belton (unlawful possession of marijuana) and Thornton (unlawful possession of marijuana and crack
The legality of the search in this case was based on the second prong of the Gant holding, that “it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.” Id. at 347, 351. Upon review de novo, we conclude that the trial court’s factual findings were consistent with the testimony and other evidence in the record.
In deciding defendant’s motion to suppress evidence, the trial court determined that the officer had
a sufficient reasonable suspicion based upon all those factors for him to conduct a search to determine whether there was any narcotics or prescription bottles that might have been in the vehicle that would further support his determination that there was-the Defendant had been in fact driving while impaired by drugs.
We hold that the facts known to the police officer at the time of the search, coupled with his common sense, based on his experience, training, and the totality of the circumstances, were sufficient for the trial court to conclude that it was reasonable to believe that the vehicle might contain evidence of driving under the influence of drugs, “the offense of arrest.” The search of defendant’s vehicle did not violate the Gant exception to the Fourth Amendment. The court did not clearly err in its factual findings. Upon review de novo, we hold that the trial court did not err by denying defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence found during the search of his vehicle.
Affirmed.
The video of the arrest and search was not supplied to this Court. However, we conclude that the evidence in the record is sufficient to address and answer this question.