Post by WaTcHeR on May 25, 2006 14:15:04 GMT -5
05.25.2006 - DES MOINES --- The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a Waterloo police officer exceeded his authority by searching a man seen loitering in a high-crime neighborhood, and that the resulting drug conviction must be overturned.
Court records said officer Steven Bose was on patrol when he spotted Antonio Ragsdale loitering at a convenience store and acting suspiciously. Confronting Ragsdale, Bose noted a bulge in his pocket, and a search yielded bags of marijuana.
The Appeals Court said the officer went beyond his authority and overturned Ragsdale's conviction on drug charges.
We do not believe Ragsdale's apparent nervousness and his daytime presence on a high drug-trafficking area, without more, can together transform a simple hunch into reasonable suspicion," the court said.
The court also ruled there was no evidence that police had seen Ragsdale take part in a drug exchange, nor did they have a tip from an informant that he was a drug dealer. Instead, they said, Bose acted solely because he was leery of Ragsdale's behavior and suspicious about the bulge in his pocket.
That's not enough to warrant a full search, the court said.
Ruling in a Polk County case, the court upheld a police search of a van stopped after officers noted it had no license plates. When the occupants acted suspiciously, police summoned a canine, and the dog focused on a duffel bag inside the van. Searching the bag, police found money and drugs.
The court said that search was reasonable.
"Iowa has adopted the long-standing viewpoint that having the trained dog sniff the perimeter of the vehicle which had been lawfully stopped in a public place does not of itself constitute a search," the court said. "All that is required under Iowa law is that the dog sniff be conducted within a reasonable amount of time from the initial lawful stop and that the stop is not unduly prolonged without a sufficient basis."
In another case, the Appeals Court upheld the murder and arson convictions of Kenny Hemm, charged in a gruesome Wapello County case. In his second trial, Hemm was convicted in the slaying of Larry Pippenger, a paraplegic whose body was found in a burned car outside Eldon.
Pippenger had been decapitated, dismembered and his genitals placed in his mouth. Hemm argued that prosecutors hadn't offered enough evidence of his guilt, but the Appeals Court rejected that argument.
"The record includes sufficient evidence supporting his conviction," the court said.
Court records said officer Steven Bose was on patrol when he spotted Antonio Ragsdale loitering at a convenience store and acting suspiciously. Confronting Ragsdale, Bose noted a bulge in his pocket, and a search yielded bags of marijuana.
The Appeals Court said the officer went beyond his authority and overturned Ragsdale's conviction on drug charges.
We do not believe Ragsdale's apparent nervousness and his daytime presence on a high drug-trafficking area, without more, can together transform a simple hunch into reasonable suspicion," the court said.
The court also ruled there was no evidence that police had seen Ragsdale take part in a drug exchange, nor did they have a tip from an informant that he was a drug dealer. Instead, they said, Bose acted solely because he was leery of Ragsdale's behavior and suspicious about the bulge in his pocket.
That's not enough to warrant a full search, the court said.
Ruling in a Polk County case, the court upheld a police search of a van stopped after officers noted it had no license plates. When the occupants acted suspiciously, police summoned a canine, and the dog focused on a duffel bag inside the van. Searching the bag, police found money and drugs.
The court said that search was reasonable.
"Iowa has adopted the long-standing viewpoint that having the trained dog sniff the perimeter of the vehicle which had been lawfully stopped in a public place does not of itself constitute a search," the court said. "All that is required under Iowa law is that the dog sniff be conducted within a reasonable amount of time from the initial lawful stop and that the stop is not unduly prolonged without a sufficient basis."
In another case, the Appeals Court upheld the murder and arson convictions of Kenny Hemm, charged in a gruesome Wapello County case. In his second trial, Hemm was convicted in the slaying of Larry Pippenger, a paraplegic whose body was found in a burned car outside Eldon.
Pippenger had been decapitated, dismembered and his genitals placed in his mouth. Hemm argued that prosecutors hadn't offered enough evidence of his guilt, but the Appeals Court rejected that argument.
"The record includes sufficient evidence supporting his conviction," the court said.
