State of Oregon v. D.C. (a youth)

• Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
• Area(s) of Law: Criminal Procedure
• Date Filed: 03-18-2015
• Case #: A150053
• Judge(s)/Court Below: Sercombe, P.J. for the Court; Hadlock J.; & Tookey J.

Based on victim testimony, furtive movements by Defendant to distance himself from stolen property, and Defendant's consent to search the bag, there was a reasonable basis established for probable cause to search a backpack.

Police were called in to investigate a criminal taking of property, which for an adult would amount to burglary. After victim made an I.D. of the thief, police were able to locate the individual believed to be responsible for the crime. Police approached the Youth, who dropped his backpack, which after an investigation revealed the stolen property. At trial, Youth requested to suppress any evidence of the stolen property, as the search was unlawful. Trial court denied the motion. The Court held, based on the totality of the circumstances known to the officer when he confronted Youth (furtive gestures, the victim I.D., questions), the arresting officer had an objectively reasonable basis to believe the youth had committed the crime and therefore was able to search the backpack. Affirmed.

Share Subscribe