After being detained for parking in the middle of a residential street, Jeffery Stafford was arrested for a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act after crack cocaine was discovered in his vehicle. Prior to trial, Stafford filed a motion to suppress the cocaine, arguing that the stop was invalid because no crime had been committed pursuant to OCGA § 40-6-202.1 The trial court granted Stafford’s motion to suppress, but, in State v. Stafford , 288 Ga. App. 309 653 SE2d 750 2007, the Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the stop was proper because “the officer reasonably believed that parking in the middle of a residential street was a crime, and particularized and objective facts gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that the crime had been committed.” Id. at 313 1. We granted certiorari to determine the propriety of this ruling. The record reveals that, around 1:30 a.m. on the morning of January 9, 2006, Officer O. S. Bruton pulled up behind Stafford’s car parked in the middle of the street in a high crime area.2 Several people standing on both sides of Stafford’s car fled when Officer Bruton pulled up behind Stafford, and Stafford attempted to drive away without turning on his headlights.3 Officer Bruton then activated his blue lights and stopped Stafford. Officer Bruton repeatedly testified that he stopped Stafford for the crime of parking in the middle of the street, although Officer Bruton could not remember the section of the Georgia Code which criminalized this activity. During the ensuing stop, Officer Bruton discovered crack cocaine in Stafford’s car along with drug paraphernalia.4
At the motion to suppress hearing and before the Court of Appeals, Stafford argued that parking in the middle of the street in a residential neighborhood is not a crime, and, as a result, Officer Bruton had no basis for detaining Stafford. Below, both the State and Stafford focused on OCGA § 40-2-202, with Stafford arguing that its provisions applied only to rural roads and not to city and residential streets. Stafford continues this argument on appeal. Whether this argument is sound or misplaced, however, is not dispositive of Stafford’s motion to suppress.
