State v. Aung

If two officers or more are at the scene of a lawful stop, then while one officer is writing a citation or conducting a records check, another officer may investigate matters unrelated to the initial stop without unlawfully extending the stop.

Defendant was stopped for failure to obey a traffic device and making an unsignaled lane change. While the first officer was writing the citation, another officer arrived on the scene and took over writing the citation from the first officer, and the first officer returned to Defendant’s vehicle. The officer asked for, and received Defendant’s consent to search Defendant’s person and vehicle where the officer found oxycodone pills illegally possessed by Defendant, and arrested Defendant. Defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained through the search, arguing that the officer unlawfully extended the duration of the stop. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion. Defendant appealed the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a consensual search pursuant to a traffic stop.The Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, reasoning that when there are two officers on the scene of a lawful stop, that while one officer is writing a citation or conducting a records check, the other officer may investigate matters unrelated to the initial stop without unlawfully extending the stop. Affirmed.