Following a bench trial, Barry Glenn appeals his conviction of possession of methamphetamine,1 contending that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. He argues that the arresting officer discovered the methamphetamine during an allegedly improper seizure of other suspected contraband. We disagree and affirm. When an appellate court reviews a trial court’s order concerning a motion to suppress evidence, the appellate court should be guided by three principles with regard to the interpretation of the trial court’s judgment of the facts. First, when a motion to suppress is heard by the trial judge, that judge sits as the trier of facts. The trial judge hears the evidence, and his findings based upon conflicting evidence are analogous to the verdict of a jury and should not be disturbed by a reviewing court if there is any evidence to support it. Second, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility . . . must be accepted unless clearly erroneous. Third, the reviewing court must construe the evidence most favorably to the upholding of the trial court’s findings and judgment. Citations and punctuation omitted. Tate v. State .2 So viewed, the evidence showed that, while investigating a burglary, police saw Glenn drive by with a 10-inch “starburst” crack in his windshield. The officers activated their emergency lights and followed Glenn into his nearby driveway. As the officer requested Glenn’s driver’s license and registration, the officer noticed that Glenn was “very nervous” and “his hands were shaking violently.” The officer asked Glenn to step to the rear of the vehicle, and a second officer asked Glenn if he had any weapons, to which Glenn replied that he had a knife in his front pocket. As the second officer retrieved the knife and performed a pat-down search, the first officer, looking through the front passenger window of the vehicle, spotted a metal pipe that he believed to be a marijuana pipe. The first officer then requested that the second officer confirm that the pipe looked like a marijuana pipe, and the second officer agreed.
Glenn was placed in handcuffs, and the first officer proceeded to retrieve the object from the front passenger seat of Glenn’s vehicle. As the officer entered the vehicle, he spotted a glass methamphetamine pipe in a knit cap on the parking brake between the front seats of the vehicle. The officers then formally placed Glenn under arrest and searched the vehicle, finding in the glass pipe a rolled up bag containing suspected methamphetamine. The officers subsequently determined that the suspected marijuana pipe was actually a pipe fitting not useable for smoking marijuana.
