Following a bench trial in DeKalb County, Larry Culpepper was convicted of possession of cocaine1 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.2 Culpepper appeals, asserting that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence that was recovered from his rental car. Culpepper contends that the search of the car was unlawful because it was the fruit of an unreasonably prolonged investigative detention. We see no error and affirm the judgment of conviction. When we review the denial of a motion to suppress, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the findings and judgment of the trial court, Tanner v. State , 281 Ga. App. 101, 101 635 SE2d 388 2006, and we accept its findings on questions of fact and credibility unless they are clearly erroneous and there is no evidence to support them. Alex v. State , 220 Ga. App. 754 1 470 SE2d 305 1996. So viewed, the record in this case shows that, late on the evening of August 5, 2009, a DeKalb County Police officer, who was on patrol and accompanied by an officer trainee, observed a conversion van and a Nissan Altima, both parked outside a stereo store and next to a locked, fenced enclosure in which a number of other cars were parked. The rear of the van was adjacent to the fence, its back doors were open, and the officer saw two men standing near the rear of the van. The stereo store was closed at the time, as were the other businesses in the area, and the officer knew that there had been a number of burglaries and thefts in the area recently. Among other incidents, someone recently had broken into a fenced enclosure at a neighboring business, had broken into the vehicles that were parked inside, had stolen some vehicles, and had entered the store and stolen some equipment inside. The officer had been instructed to be on the lookout for possible burglars and thieves in the area.
Concerned that the two men at the rear of the van might be up to no good, the officer approached the two men, who later were identified as Culpepper and his friend, who is identified only as “Mr. Irby” in the record. Irby told the officer that his father operated the paint shop located behind the stereo store, that his father was working late in the shop, and that he and Culpepper were just waiting for his father. The officer then asked Irby to call his father, so that his father could verify his story. Irby claimed, however, that he could not contact his father, and both his story and demeanor then began to change.
