Thomas Sinclair Davis and Sylvester Smith were indicted for trafficking in cocaine based on evidence of cocaine seized from Davis’s person when police conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle driven by Smith and occupied by Davis as a passenger. These appeals arise from the trial court’s pre-trial order granting motions to suppress evidence of the cocaine filed by Davis and Smith asserting that the State violated their Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. In granting the motions, the trial court found 1 that the police officer had no legal basis to stop the vehicle for a license plate violation, and 2 that even though none of the officer’s actions during or after the stop violated the Fourth Amendment, the illegal stop tainted and rendered invalid the officer’s seizure of cocaine from Davis’s person. In the State’s appeal in Case No. A06A1963, we find that the traffic stop was valid and reverse the trial court’s ruling to the contrary. In the cross-appeals in Case Nos. A06A1964 and A06A1965, Davis and Smith contend that, even if the traffic stop was valid, the trial court should have suppressed evidence of the cocaine because the officer violated their Fourth Amendment rights after the stop when he illegally seized the cocaine from Davis’s person. Because we find no Fourth Amendment violations occurred after the valid stop, we affirm the trial court’s ruling that none of the officer’s actions taken after the stop was an independent basis for suppression of the cocaine. It follows that the trial court erred by granting the motions to suppress because the cocaine was legally seized after a valid traffic stop. 1. Evidence at the suppression hearing showed that the officer had a valid basis to stop the vehicle driven by Smith because the officer observed that the vehicle’s South Carolina license plate was partially obscured by a license plate cover, and that the word “Carolina” was not legible because of a gouge on the plate. OCGA § 40-2-41 provides in relevant part that: “It shall be the duty of the operator of any vehicle to keep the license plate legible at all times. No license plate shall be covered with any material unless the material is colorless and transparent.” The officer’s observations gave him probable cause to stop the vehicle for violation of OCGA § 40-2-41 because the license plate expiration date was partially covered in violation of the statute, and a portion of the tag was not legible in violation of the statute. Nelson v. State , 247 Ga. App. 455 544 SE2d 189 2001. The trial court erred by ruling that the above-quoted provisions of the statute did not apply to the out-of-state license plate. Although certain portions of OCGA § 40-2-41 apply only to vehicles registered in Georgia, the above-quoted portions of the statute apply to any vehicle whether registered in Georgia or out-of-state. Nelson , 247 Ga. App. at 456. The trial court also erred by ruling that, even though the word “Carolina” on the license plate was not legible, there was no violation of the statute because the police officer testified he was able to recognize it as a South Carolina license plate. The statute plainly required that the license plate be kept “legible at all times” and it was not legible. OCGA § 40-2-41.
2. The trial court correctly found that nothing the officer did subsequent to stopping the vehicle violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Davis or Smith. The officer’s testimony at the suppression hearing and a police videotape of the stop showed that the officer stopped the vehicle Smith was driving because of the license plate violation, checked Smith’s driver’s license and proof of insurance, explained to Smith why he stopped the vehicle, and then walked with Smith to the rear of the vehicle to show him the problems with the license plate. During this process, the officer became suspicious that there might be contraband in the vehicle when he noticed that Smith and Davis acted nervous and avoided eye contact. The officer informed Smith that he was going to issue him a warning citation for the violation, and then questioned Smith about whether there was contraband in the vehicle as he wrote the warning citation. Smith denied there was any contraband. The officer testified that he completed the warning citation, gave it to Smith, and that despite his suspicions, the traffic stop was concluded at that point and Smith was free to leave. Nevertheless, after giving Smith the warning citation, the officer immediately asked Smith for consent to search the vehicle, and Smith consented to a search of the vehicle. After Smith consented to the search, the officer asked him to remain standing near the front of his patrol vehicle, but when the officer turned to put his warning book back in the patrol vehicle, he observed that Smith walked over to the passenger side of the stopped vehicle and signaled to Davis, who had remained seated in the front passenger seat, to put on his coat. The officer immediately approached the passenger-side window, knocked a couple of times on the window and tried to get Davis to roll down the window, but Davis did not immediately comply. The officer testified that, instead, “Davis was putting on his coat real hurriedly like and wouldn’t look at me or make any eye contact until he got his jacket all the way zipped up.” When Davis finally rolled down the window, the officer told him that Smith had given consent to a search of the vehicle, and he asked Davis to step out of the vehicle. The officer’s testimony and the videotape showed that outside the vehicle Davis turned away from the officer and reached into one of his pockets. Based on Davis’s movements prior to and after exiting the vehicle, the officer stated that he was concerned Davis might be armed. The officer testified that he asked Davis not to put his hand in his pocket, and then asked for and received consent from Davis for permission to search his pockets. The officer further testified that “when somebody gives me consent to search their pockets like that, I still always pat the outside of the pocket down to make sure I don’t feel anything . . . that’s going to poke me or stick me. . . .” As shown by the officer’s testimony and the videotape, while the officer was patting the outside of the second pocket he received consent to search, he felt a solid brick-shaped object on Davis’s person. The officer testified that, based on his training and experience in cases involving the transportation and packaging of illegal drugs —especially cocaine and marijuana —he immediately recognized the object as having the same shape, dimensions, and feel of cocaine or marijuana he had previously found compressed into brick-shaped packages. At that point, the officer seized the object, which he described as an apparent “kilo of cocaine” shaped like a brick and wrapped in tape. The apparent cocaine field tested positive for the presence of cocaine.
