Joshua Baker appeals from his conviction and sentence for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress and in sentencing him as a recidivist. We disagree, and affirm. 1. In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress, we construe the evidence in a light most favorable to upholding the trial court’s findings and judgment. When the trial court’s findings are based upon conflicting evidence, we will not disturb the lower court’s ruling if there is any evidence to support its findings, and we accept that court’s credibility assessments unless clearly erroneous. The trial court’s application of law to undisputed facts, however, is subject to de novo review.1 So viewed, the evidence showed that on December 14, 2007, Baker was a passenger in a car stopped by a county sheriff’s deputy for a tag violation. The deputy recognized Baker and the driver. He ran a check on the driver’s license and Baker’s identification. He then returned to the car and explained the tag problem. He also asked the men a few questions about, among other things, their status as parolees and whether they had any drugs in the car, and he indicated that he wanted them to step out of the car. They complied, and the deputy performed a pat-down search of them. The deputy then asked the driver for consent to search the car, and the driver told him to “go ahead.” At that point, approximately six minutes had passed since the initiation of the traffic stop. In the course of searching the car, the deputy found several baggies of marijuana that Baker admitted belonged to him.
Baker moved to suppress the marijuana on the ground that the deputy began a drug investigation without articulable suspicion of drug activity, resulting in unreasonable detention beyond that which could be expected for a normal stop for a tag violation. This detention, Baker argued, violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure and tainted the evidence found in the ensuing search.2 The court denied Baker’s motion, however, finding that the traffic stop was valid, that the accompanying detention of Baker was valid, and that Baker lacked standing to challenge the search of the driver’s car.