Taylor v. The State

The trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle during a traffic stop because the officer who stopped defendant articulated a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity under the totality of circumstances sufficient to allow him to detain defendant for further investigation.

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Bethel, Judge.Derwin Miles Taylor appeals from the denial of his motion for a new trial following his conviction on a single count of trafficking in marijuana, for which he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. On appeal, as in his motion for a new trial, he contends that the trial court erred in pretrial proceedings by denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle during a traffic stop. Because we agree with the trial court that the law enforcement officer who stopped Taylor articulated a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity sufficient to allow him to detain Taylor for further investigation, we affirm the trial court’s denial of Taylor’s motion to suppress and his motion for a new trial.

On appeal from a denial of a motion to suppress, “this Court must construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the ruling of the trial court.” Jones v. State, 253 Ga. App. 870, 870 (560 SE2d 749) (2002) (citation omitted). The “trial court’s application of law to facts which are undisputed is subject to de novo review.” Id. (citation omitted).Here, the relevant evidence consisted entirely of testimony at a hearing on Taylor’s motion to suppress by the deputy who performed the search on Taylor’s vehicle. The deputy was a canine handler with the county’s uniform patrol division. He testified that he stopped Taylor while driving on Interstate 75 for failure to maintain lane and for having window tint that was too dark. As Taylor was providing the deputy with his license and registration, the deputy observed in Taylor’s car numerous air fresheners and packages that were releasing an “overwhelming” odor of air freshener. The deputy also noticed Taylor’s hands shaking as he provided his license and registration, a reaction the deputy took as a sign of nervousness on Taylor’s part.

Taylor v. The State

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