State v. Taplin

The trial court erred in granting the defendant's motion to suppress, as the warrantless search of the defendant's truck incident to his arrest was justified.

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Steve Taplin was indicted for aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, cruelty to a child in the third degree and driving with a suspended license. The trial court granted Taplin’s motion to suppress evidence of a gun found in his truck during a warrantless search incident to his arrest, and the state appeals. Because the uncontroverted evidence demonstrated, as a matter of law, that Taplin was arrested for the crime of aggravated assault, and because it was reasonable for an officer to believe that the truck contained evidence related to that crime, the warrantless search was permitted pursuant to Arizona v. Gant , 556 U. S. 332 129 SC 1710, 173 LE2d 485 2009. Accordingly, we reverse. On reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress, evidence is construed most favorably to uphold the findings and judgment, and the trial court’s findings on conflicting evidence will not be disturbed if there is any evidence to support them. Tate v. State , 264 Ga. 53, 54 1 440 SE2d 646 1994. But “where the evidence is uncontroverted and no question regarding the credibility of witnesses is presented, the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review.” Citations omitted. Vansant v. State , 264 Ga. 319, 320 1 443 SE2d 474 1994.

The only evidence presented at the suppression hearing was the testimony of police officer Larry Sanford. He testified that around noon on November 29, 2009, he was dispatched to a domestic dispute with information that a person named Steve Taplin had pointed a firearm at his child’s mother and then driven away from an apartment complex in a black pickup truck. One to two minutes later, as Officer Sanford was en route to the scene, he saw a black pickup truck leaving the vicinity of the apartment complex. He determined by checking the license tag that the pickup truck was registered to Steve Taplin. A dispatcher also informed him that Taplin’s driver’s license was suspended.

State v. Taplin

The trial court erred in granting the defendant's motion to suppress, as the warrantless search of the defendant's truck incident to his arrest was justified.

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