Miguel Angel Rogue was charged by accusation with possession of cocaine after the contraband was found in his wallet during a traffic stop of the vehicle in which Rogue was a passenger. Rogue filed a motion to suppress, contending that his consent to the search of his wallet was invalid because it was preceded by an illegal patdown of Rogue’s person. Following a hearing at which both the arresting officer and Rogue testified, the trial court denied the motion. The court found that Rogue voluntarily consented to the officer’s search of his wallet and that his consent was not the product of the officer’s earlier illegal patdown search of Rogue’s person. Rogue was then convicted at a bench trial. On appeal, he challenges the denial of his motion to suppress. Because there is evidentiary support for the trial court’s findings, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. At a hearing on a motion to suppress, the trial judge sits as the trier of fact. And Georgia law has long held that the trier of fact may believe or disbelieve all or any part of the testimony of any witness. Thus, on appellate review of a trial court’s order on a motion to suppress evidence, we never second-guess the trial court’s factual findings where they are based on testimonial evidence. We construe the evidence most favorably to the upholding of the trial court’s findings and judgment and affirm unless the court has committed an error of law.1 Even when only one witness testifies at the suppression hearing and his testimony is not contradicted, the evidence is nonetheless not “uncontroverted,” for the reasons stated above.2 Only when the evidence is stipulated is our review de novo. So construed, the evidence adduced at the suppression hearing shows that Rogue was a passenger in a vehicle that Officer Adam G. Bell of the Gwinnett County Police Department stopped for a window tint violation. Bell asked for and obtained the driver’s consent to a search of the vehicle, and he then asked Rogue to step out of the car so that Bell could conduct the search. Rogue got out of the car, and Bell asked him if he had any weapons or contraband on his person. Bell answered no. Although Rogue seemed nervous and would not make eye contact with Bell, the trial court found that no evidence suggested that Rogue possessed any weapons. Nonetheless, Bell acted in accordance with his standard practice and proceeded to pat Rogue down for weapons to make sure that he was not armed and presented no threat to the officer’s safety. Bell then identified himself and asked Rogue for identification. Bell testified that Rogue “pulled out his wallet and started thumbing through his credit cards and . . . items that he had in his wallet. He appeared to be extremely nervous. His carotid artery in his neck started pulsating a little bit. He apparently had a hard time locating his ID.” Bell then asked Rogue if he could help him look for his ID. In response, Rogue said, “Here,” and handed Bell the wallet. Bell testified that he did not order Rogue by word or gesture to hand over his wallet. As Bell looked through the wallet for identification, he found a clear plastic bag containing a white powdery substance, which, based on Bell’s training and experience, appeared to him to be cocaine.
Rogue argues that Bell’s search of the wallet was not based on valid consent, because the search followed almost immediately after an illegal frisk of Rogue’s person; and that therefore the cocaine evidence found in the wallet should have been suppressed. The trial court found otherwise, and the evidence adduced at the hearing supports the trial court’s ruling.
