Following a stipulated bench trial, Edward St. Fleur appeals his felony conviction of possession of marijuana,1 contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a vehicle search during a traffic stop. Specifically, St. Fleur argues that 1 the search ensued during an unlawfully prolonged traffic stop, and 2 a pat-down search of his person rendered a subsequent “free-air sniff” by a drug dog illegal. We disagree and affirm. While the trial court’s findings as to disputed facts in a ruling on a motion to suppress will be reviewed to determine whether the ruling was clearly erroneous, 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.2 So viewed, the record shows that two officers in a K-9 patrol unit observed St. Fleur driving on I-75 with a broken tag light and windows that appeared to be illegally tinted.3 The officers executed a traffic stop, requested St. Fleur’s driver’s license, and asked him to step to the rear of his vehicle. The officers immediately noticed a strong smell of cologne and air freshener emanating from the vehicle. The officers confirmed with a measuring device that the window tint was too dark, and one officer began writing a warning for the broken tag light and checking St. Fleur’s identity against a dispatch computer. While the warning was being written, the second officer asked St. Fleur about his destination, why he seemed nervous, and whether he would consent to a search of his vehicle. St. Fleur refused to consent to a search, and the officer informed him that he would perform a free-air sniff with his drug dog. Prior to retrieving his drug dog from the patrol vehicle, the officer quickly patted down the outside of St. Fleur’s clothing, finding nothing. The drug dog approached the exterior of St. Fleur’s car and twice immediately “alerted” on St. Fleur’s trunk. The officer put the drug dog back into the patrol car, requested St. Fleur to remain standing in front of the patrol car, and opened St. Fleur’s trunk, which contained 3.9 pounds of marijuana in a plastic shopping bag. Eight minutes after initially pulling over St. Fleur, the officer arrested him.
St. Fleur was charged with felony possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and illegal window tint. Following the denial of his motion to suppress the marijuana, St. Fleur was convicted in a stipulated bench trial of possession of more than one ounce of marijuana, and this appeal followed.4
