State v. LaneganState v. Lanegan
Lead Opinion
delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 An Information filed January 17, 2003, charged Albert Allen Lanegan (Lanegan) with criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony in violation of
¶2 Did the District Court err when it conсluded that exigent circumstances did not permit the opening of Defendant’s fanny pack immediately following his arrest?
BACKGROUND
¶3 In the early hours of December 28, 2002, Deputy Shane Hight, Lincoln County Sheriffs Department, patrolled past the Town Pump gas station in Libby on routine patrol. He observed a man standing next to a white Toyotа Célica, appearing to kick the tires. Surmising that the vehicle may have been disabled, he radioed dispatch to check
¶4 Deputy Hight pulled into the Town Pump parking lot to investigate the license plate discrepancy as the two occupants of the vehicle walked towards the building. Upon asking the two to return to the vehicle, Deputy Hight established that the parties were Patricia Eaker (Eaker) and Albert Lanegan. Deputy Hight commenced questioning Eaker while Lanegan leaned against the car on the other side. Within two minutes of Deputy Hight making initial contact, Officer Josh Harth, Libby City Police Department, arrived on the scene in a separate patrol car and engaged Lanegan in convеrsation while Deputy Hight interviewed Eaker.
¶5 Upon Deputy Hight’s explanation of the stop, Eaker told him that she had borrowed the car two days earlier and knew nothing of the license plate discrepancy. Due to her nervous appearance, overly emotional state and difficulty standing still, Deputy Hight concluded that she might be under the influence of drugs. Additionally, during Deputy Hight’s questioning of Eaker, Lanegan became agitated and continually injected himself into the discussion both loudly and profanely. In response to Deputy Hight’s inquiry as to if she possessed any weapons, Eaker said no and refused to consent to a purse search after Lanegan shouted advice not to consent.
¶6 Upon conclusion of Eaker’s investigation, Deputy Hight approached Lanegan and as he did, he noticed a bulge in Lanegan’s right coat pocket. Deputy Hight testified that he asked Lanegan if he had any weapons, and that Lanegan rеsponded that he did have a gun, although he did not indicate where the gun was located. Lanegan testified that in response to Deputy Hight’s question, he stated that he did not have a weapon but there was one underneath the passenger seat in the car. Lanegan stepped back, and Deputy Hight grabbed Lanegan, informing him that he was not under arrest, however, Hight wanted to pat him down for weapons. Lanegan did not cooperate, struggled and shoved his hands into his pockets, then told Deputy Hight that he refused to submit to a pat down. Concerned for his safety at that point, Deputy Hight handcuffed Lanegan and arrested him for obstructing a peace officer. Deputy Hight then retrieved the item in Lanegan’s right pocket that was making the bulge-a black fanny pack about the size that would accommodate a medium sized pare of binoculars.
¶7 After Deputy Hight handcuffed Lanegan, he proceeded to unzip the retrieved black fanny pack and observed a hypodermic needle filled with a clear liquid, a white powdery substance, and other items that appeared to be drug related. He did not find a pistol in the fanny pack and this could have been ascertained by squeezing the pliable fanny pack, however, according to Deputy Hight’s testimony, it is not good policy to squeeze a container that might contain a hypodermic needle as was ultimately the case in this instance. Deputy Hight testified that these events happened within seconds, and Lanegan told him that his gun was under the passenger seat in the car either right before оr right after he opened the fanny pack. He further testified that once he handcuffed Lanegan, he no longer felt immediately threatened.
¶8 While Deputy Hight questioned Lanegan, Eaker took her purse and entered into the Town Pump building. She later emerged holding a cell phone and ran over to Deputy Hight’s рatrol car dumping the contents of her purse on the hood. Officer Harth testified that he retrieved the gun from under the passenger seat after Lanegan was already in the back of the patrol car.
¶9 On February 26, 2003, Lanegan filed a Motion to Suppress the evidence seized from his person or vehicle by Deputy Hight. After a hearing held on May 21, 2003, the District Court granted Lanegan’s Motion. It is from this Order that the State appeals. We affirm.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶10 The standard of review for a district court’s grant of a motion to suppress is whether the court’s findings of fact are
¶11 Whether the factual circumstаnces determined by a district court constitute exigent circumstances is a conclusion of law reviewed for correctness. State v. Saxton,
DISCUSSION
¶12 Did the District Court err when it concluded that exigent circumstances did not permit the opening of Defendant’s fanny pack immediately following his arrest?
¶13 The District Court concluded that Deрuty Hight was justified in performing an investigative stop of Lanegan. When Lanegan refused to cooperate, Deputy Hight was justified in placing him under arrest. The District Court found that once Lanegan was arrested, the stop and frisk procedure authorized under
¶14 The State argues that the District Court erred when it concluded that exigent circumstances did not permit opening the fanny pack. Central to this argument is the theory that the court neglected to consider the totality of the circumstances in reference to officer safety. For instance, the State asserts that the following factors contributed to exigent circumstances justifying a warrantless search: (1) Eaker’s unpredictable behavior; (2) Eaker’s use of a telephone, possibly to call for help; (3) the fact that both Lanegan and Eaker were thought to be on methamphetamines, thus a danger to the officers’ safety; (4) the early morning hour contributing to the natural isolation of the officers; and (5) the escalation of the situation changing from a traffic stop to one involving a gun and methamphetamine.
¶15 While conceding that federаl case law does not permit free-ranging searches incident to arrest, the State cites numerous federal cases to support its claim that law enforcement has the right to search an item incident to arrest even if such item is no longer accessible to the defendant at the time of the search. Moreover, recognizing that the Montana Constitution provides a heightened protection of a citizen’s privacy rights, see State v. Hardaway,
¶16 The United States and Montana Constitutions protect persons from unreasonable search and seizure. Saxton, ¶ 25. Under Montana Law, warrantless searches are per se unreasonable, with few exceptions to that rule. See State v. Galpin,
Exigent circumstances are those that would cause a reasonable person to believe prompt action is necessary to prevent physical harm to police officers or other persons, the destruction of rеlevant evidence, the escape of the suspect, or someother consequence improperly frustrating legitimate law enforcement efforts.
State v. Logan,
¶17 Based on the facts of this case, we agree with the District Court that there were no exigent circumstances justifying a warrantless search of Lanegan’s fanny pack. The State bears the heavy burden of showing the existence of exigent circumstances. State v. Wakeford,
¶ 18 Deputy Hight arrested Lanegan for obstructing a peace officer.
¶19 We therefore conclude, from the facts and circumstances present at the time of Lanegan’s arrest, that Deputy Hight’s search of Lanegan’s fanny pack did not rise to the level of exigent circumstances as allowed pursuant to
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
¶20 I respectfully dissent. The District Court’s order granting the motion to suppress failed to consider important evidence relevant to the search conducted here, and, consequently, the court entered conclusions of law which were incorrect. If properly considered by this Court, the evidence would require reversal.
¶21 First, as a preliminary matter, Respondent Lanegan failed to file a brief. “[W]here а respondent does not appear by brief or argument on appeal, this Court will take appellant’s versions and positions as being correct if they are supported by the record. Alden v. Board of Zoning Comm’rs (1974),
¶22 The District Court concluded that there were no exigent circumstances to justify unzipping the fanny pack because Lanegan was then “subdued,” and thus, “[t]he necessary element of immediacy [was] not present.” This Court concurs with these conclusions. See ¶ 13. However, the Court errs, as the District Court did, by narrowly focusing on Lanegan’s handcuffed condition and ignoring the more significant evidence of other exigent circumstances.
¶23 Lanegan, who was “very verbally abusive” and acting “nervous, flighty, paranoid,” refused to be frisked, told officers he had a gun, and reached for the bulge in his pocket when Hight attempted to frisk him.
[Hight] A. He put his right hand in the same pocket to where the bulge was.
[Prosecutor] Q. How long did all this take?
A. Seconds.
Q. Okay. What went through your mind when he put his hand into that right pocket, where you saw where the bulge was, after he told you he had a gun?
A. I thought he was going for a gun.
Q. What did you do?
A. I grabbed onto him and told him that he’s not under arrest. And he pulled away from me. I told him I was just going to pat him down. He pulled away from me. I grabbed both of his arms, pulled his hand out of the pocket, and I cuffed him up and arrested him for obstructing at that point.
Q. Did you feel threatened?
A. Absolutely.
¶24 Immediately after handcuffing Lanegan, Hight opened the pack “because I thought there may be a gun in it.” He testified that there was “probably a hundred different models” of firearms that would have fit within the fanny pack. Further, Hight expressed a concern about other items in the pack which could “poke me, stick me, or stab me.”
¶25 Then, Eaker, who had “disappeared” when Hight had turned his attention to Lanegan, and who, according to Hight, “couldn’t stand still” and was “very nervous,” came running out of the Town Pump and toward the vehicles. She begun dumping the contents of her pursе unto the hood of the patrol vehicle. Obviously, this situation was anything but “subdued.”
¶26 Although Lanegan was handcuffed, and Hight felt no fear of Lanegan’s possible use of a weapon at that point, Hight nonetheless retained legitimate fears about the contents of the pack, given what had occurred. Lanegan had rеached for the pack as Hight attempted to frisk him, and very well could have been reaching for a gun, which he claimed to have, or for another kind of weapon. Further, with Eaker running about and dumping items on the patrol car, the situation remained fluid. Under these circumstances, police should be able tо open the pack to determine if there was something-such as a loaded firearm- that could harm them or the other people present. Indeed, exigent circumstances “are those that would cause a reasonable person to believe prompt action is necessary to рrevent physical harm to police officers or other persons ... or some other consequence improperly frustrating legitimate law enforcement efforts.” State v. Logan,
¶27 The officers acted correctly in the entire incident. They refrained from searching Eaker’s purse when she refused to consent. In contrast, they searched Lanegan’s pack because it presented a legitimate danger. The District Court failed to consider all the circumstances and entered incorrect conclusions of law. I would reverse.