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State v. Hammond

The defendant was not in custody for purposes of Miranda when he admitted to possessing contraband.

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Walter Hammond was indicted for various offenses related to an incident in which he was stopped by a police officer and found to possess crack cocaine. Hammond filed a motion to suppress this evidence and, following a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted same. This appeal by the State follows, in which the State contends that the trial court improperly granted Hammond’s motion. For the reasons set forth infra , we reverse. Our story begins with Hammond riding his bicycle through downtown Atlanta close to midnight, in an area known for drug activity. A police officer observed Hammond traveling in the wrong direction down a one-way street and riding without a headlight in violation of OCGA § 40-6-296. Accordingly, the officer stopped Hammond to inquire about the headlight and his direction of travel, and to request identification.

When questioned for identification, Hammond responded that he did not have an identification card but provided the officer with his name and date of birth. The officer then asked for Hammond’s age, to which he responded that he was 52; however, according to the date of birth provided, Hammond was actually 53. According to the officer, this discrepancy raised a red flag. Additionally, he observed that Hammond was abnormally nervous and “fiddling” with something in his pocket, and thus, he believed that Hammond was under the influence of drugs. The officer thereafter ran Hammond’s name and date of birth through the system in his patrol car, checking for any outstanding warrants.

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