Defendant was charged with 1 count of unlawful possession of a cocaine. Court erred in granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence. Officer stopped vehicle after he observed it quickly decelerate to well below the speed limit, causing traffic to back up, and observed passenger was reclined in the car with his head mostly obstructed, and believed passenger to be a person wanted on a traffic warrant. Officer's suspicions were reasonable under the circumstances, and court's decision to grant motion to suppress due to a lack of certainty as to identity of passenger or lack of other corroborative facts was erroneous as it placed additional burden on officer. Once officer smelled odor of cannabis, probable cause for the search existed, and search was then clearly justified. (HOLDER WHITE, concurring; TURNER, specially concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Motion to Suppress