State v. Long

Following a traffic stop, an officer with the Kennesaw Police Department found marijuana inside a car driven by Jordan Taylor Long and in which Harrison Hunter Irvin was a passenger. After Long and Irvin were charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, they filed separate motions to suppress the evidence found in the search of the vehicle. The trial court granted the motions, finding that the police officer did not have legal authority either to initiate the traffic stop or to expand the traffic stop and subject Long and Irvin to a continued detention. The state appeals from the grant of the motions, but we find no trial court error and affirm. In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress, we construe the evidence most favorably to upholding the findings of fact and judgment of the trial court.1 We must accept the trial court’s findings on disputed facts and credibility unless those findings are clearly erroneous, and the trial court’s findings will not be disturbed if there is any evidence to support them.2

Viewed in this light, the record shows that on November 28, 2007, a police officer was stationed in a marked car in an area known for drug activity. At approximately 8:00 p.m., the officer observed a Toyota Avalon decreasing in speed as it approached his squad car. As the Toyota passed by, the officer saw the occupants, who were later identified as Long and Irvin, “slump down” and avoid eye contact with him. The officer also noticed that a black “HomeBanc” tag cover obscured a portion of the vehicle’s license plate so that the county of issuance was not legible.