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State v. Dukes

The defendant's exercise of his right to leave a first-tier encounter with officers by fleeing did not constitute obstruction.

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The dispositive issue in this case is whether police officers had probable cause to arrest Timothy Dukes for obstruction. Because the officers did not have probable cause to arrest Dukes, the trial court correctly granted Dukes’ motion to suppress evidence of suspected cocaine found after the unlawful arrest. “In reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress, we construe the evidence most favorably toward upholding the trial court’s findings and judgment. We apply a de novo standard of review to the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts.”1 In the instant case, the facts are not in dispute.

On October 21, 2004, a patrol officer with the Whigham Police Department received a report from somebody that some people, including Dukes, were dealing drugs near the Whigham Country Store. The officer, who said he had previously received similar reports, drove to the store and saw Dukes and others there. The officer saw a man approach Dukes, someone point to the officer’s patrol car across the street, and Dukes and the man then walk in opposite directions. After seeing this happen twice, the officer called the Southwest Georgia Drug Task Force for assistance.

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