SCHALLER, J.
The defendant, Kyle Peterson, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell in violation of General Statutes § 21a-277 (b). On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress evidence seized from his vehicle by the police. The defendant specifically contends, inter alia, that the police detained him prior to his arrest without a reasonable and articulable suspicion that he was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity, as required by the fourth amendment of the constitution of the United States and article first, §§ 7 and 9, of the constitution of Connecticut. We agree with the defendant and conclude that the totality of the circumstances in this case did not provide the sufficient reasonable and articulable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity to justify the police detaining him. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.
The record and the trial court's findings reveal the following undisputed facts. On March 10, 2010, officers of the New Britain Police Department were conducting surveillance on the residence of Pedro Ayala, a suspected marijuana trafficker. On the same date, the police observed the defendant arrive at Ayala's residence in a Jeep Cherokee, stay for approximately five minutes, and then leave. Once the defendant left Ayala's residence in his vehicle, the police stopped him, searched him, and discovered $4000 in cash on his person. Thereafter, on March 23, 2010, the police executed a search warrant on Ayala's residence and discovered more than two pounds of marijuana, a firearm, and what the police described as "drug proceeds." The police arrested Ayala who, in turn, told the police that the defendant was one of his several sources of marijuana and, on March 10, 2010, he had paid the defendant $4000 in cash for marijuana.
Approximately six months later, on September 29, 2010, the police arrested Eric Cedeno for the sale of marijuana. While in police custody, Cedeno told Officer Joseph Lopa that he regularly purchased marijuana from an individual named Kyle Peterson, whom Cedeno described as an a twenty-five year old male who drove two different Jeep Cherokees. Lopa, on the basis of past investigations involving the defendant, corroborated that Cedeno was describing the defendant.
On the basis of the information received from Ayala and Cedeno that the defendant was selling marijuana in large quantities, the police began conducting surveillance of the defendant's New Britain residence in
On October 13, 2010, Lopa contacted Adrian Arocho, a registered confidential informant for the police who had previously provided reliable information, and requested that he make a controlled purchase of marijuana from the defendant. In addition to agreeing to make the controlled purchase, Arocho indicated that he was familiar with the defendant and knew that the defendant sells marijuana. Lopa provided Arocho with a telephone number that he received from Cedeno. With Lopa seated next to him and the speakerphone activated, Arocho called the number from his cell phone. When an individual answered his call, Arocho told the individual that he wanted to purchase marijuana but his usual supplier, Cedeno, did not have any. The individual responded that he had recently "set up" Cedeno and that he would call Arocho back. Lopa, who was familiar with the defendant's voice, confirmed that the individual to whom Arocho was speaking was the defendant. Approximately two minutes after that call ended, the defendant called Arocho back and told him never to call again.
On October 20, 2010, at approximately 1 p.m., Officer Michael Farrell was conducting surveillance of the defendant's residence when he observed the defendant depart the residence in his vehicle with a white, weighted plastic bag in his possession. Farrell contacted Sergeant Jerry Chrostowski via radio to inform him of his observations. Chrostowski, who was conducting patrol in an unmarked police vehicle, followed the defendant to Thorniley Street in New Britain. When Chrostowski turned on to Thorniley Street, he observed the defendant's vehicle enter the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street and come to a stop. At that point, Chrostowski observed the defendant, from his vehicle's driver's seat, begin speaking to an individual unknown to the police through his passenger side window.
On the basis of the information obtained by the police prior to October 20, 2010, as well as Farrell's observation of the defendant carrying a white, "weighted" plastic bag out of his residence, Chrostowski "believed that [the defendant] was making a [marijuana] delivery to ... [33 Thorniley Street]." Chrostowski subsequently drove his vehicle into the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street, blocking in the defendant's vehicle from the rear. Chrostowski exited his vehicle, approached the passenger side of the defendant's vehicle, identified himself as a police officer, and instructed the defendant to turn off his engine. Lopa, who arrived at 33 Thorniley Street shortly after Chrostowski exited his vehicle, approached the driver's side of the defendant's vehicle, ordered the defendant
The state charged the defendant with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell in violation of § 21a-277 (b), one count of possession of a controlled substance within 1500 feet of a school in violation of General Statutes § 21a-278a (b), and one count of possession of a controlled substance in violation of General Statutes § 21a-279 (c). Prior to trial, the defendant moved to suppress evidence seized from his vehicle, claiming, inter alia, that the police did not possess a reasonable and articulable suspicion that he was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity when Chrostowski entered the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street. Following a suppression hearing, in its memorandum of decision dated August 23, 2012, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress. In its decision, the court stated: "Armed with [the] information [from Ayala, Cedeno, Arocho, and Soares] when the police observed the defendant leave his residence with a `weighted' white bag and travel in his vehicle to 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010, they had a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the defendant of criminal activity; specifically the delivery of marijuana to 33 Thorniley Street. Accordingly, the police had an appropriate basis to stop the defendant, by blocking his vehicle, after he entered the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street and investigate further."
Following the court's denial of his motion to suppress, the defendant entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere, pursuant to General Statutes § 54-94a,
On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly denied his motion to suppress on the grounds that (1) the police did not possess a reasonable and articulable suspicion that he was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity when Chrostowski pulled into the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street and detained the defendant, in contravention of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); (2) even if the seizure was appropriate, the police exceeded the bounds of a reasonable Terry stop when Lopa ordered him to exit the vehicle and searched his person; and (3) even if the seizure, the removal of the defendant from
For the reasons that follow, we agree with the defendant that the court improperly denied his motion to suppress because the police did not possess a reasonable and articulable suspicion that he was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity when Chrostowski entered the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street and detained the defendant.
The defendant claims that the court improperly denied his motion to suppress on the basis that the police did not possess a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity when Chrostowski detained him in the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street. In support of his claim, the defendant directs our attention to the absence of any contemporaneous facts indicating that he was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity on October 20, 2010. Specifically, the defendant contends that the police did not have a specific and individualized basis to suspect that either (1) the white plastic bag he carried out of his residence contained marijuana or (2) he traveled to 33 Thorniley Street for the purpose of delivering marijuana. We agree with the defendant because the information available to the police on October 20, 2010, when coupled with their observations of the defendant on the same date, did not provide any specific and individualized basis from which the police reasonably could have concluded that the defendant was engaged in or about to engage in any criminal activity at the time they detained him.
We begin by setting forth the applicable standard of review. "Our standard of review of a trial court's findings and conclusions in connection with a motion to suppress is well defined. A finding of fact will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous in view of the evidence and pleadings in the whole record.... [W]here the legal conclusions of the court
The law governing investigatory detentions is well settled. "Under the fourth amendment to the United States constitution and article first, [§§ 7 and 9]... of our state constitution, a police officer is permitted in appropriate circumstances and in an appropriate manner to detain an individual for investigative purposes if the officer believes, based on a reasonable and articulable suspicion, that the individual is engaged in criminal activity, even if there is no probable cause to make an arrest." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Marti, 89 Conn.App. 241, 247-48, 872 A.2d 928, cert. denied, 274 Conn. 913, 879 A.2d 893, cert. denied, 546 U.S. 1184, 126 S.Ct. 1364, 164 L.Ed.2d 73 (2005). "When considering the validity of [an investigatory detention] ... our threshold inquiry is twofold.... First, we must determine at what point, if any... the encounter between [the police officers] and the defendant constitute[d] an investigatory [detention].... Next, [i]f we conclude that there was such a [detention], we must then determine whether [the police officers] possessed a reasonable and articulable suspicion [that the individual was engaged in criminal activity] at the time the [investigatory detention] occurred." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Benton, 304 Conn. 838, 843, 43 A.3d 619 (2012).
The state concedes, and we agree, that when Chrostowski pulled into the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street, blocked in the defendant's vehicle with his vehicle, and approached the defendant's vehicle with intent to search it, an investigatory detention occurred. See State v. Martin, 2 Conn.App. 605, 611-12, 482 A.2d 70 (1984) (concluding investigatory detention occurred when police boxed in defendant's vehicle and approached it with intent to search), cert. denied, 195 Conn. 802, 488 A.2d 457, cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1009, 105 S.Ct. 2706, 86 L.Ed.2d 721 (1985). Accordingly, the only issue is whether the police possessed a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity when Chrostowski detained him in the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010. See State v. Scully, 195 Conn. 668, 674, 490 A.2d 984 (1985) (investigatory detention must be justified by objective manifestation that individual is or is about to be engaged in criminal activity).
"Reasonable and articulable suspicion is an objective standard that focuses
"Police have the right to stop for investigation short of arrest where a police officer observes unusual conduct which leads him reasonably to conclude in light of his experience that criminal activity may be afoot.... [I]n justifying the particular intrusion the police officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Milotte, 95 Conn.App. 616, 621-22, 897 A.2d 683 (2006), appeal dismissed, 281 Conn. 612, 917 A.2d 25 (2007).
In the present case, the state contends that the police, on October 20, 2010, had a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the defendant was in possession of marijuana on the basis of the following five factual predicates: (1) on the basis of their March, 2010, observations and interactions with the defendant, as well as the information they obtained from Ayala in March, 2010, the police knew that the defendant utilized "a quick in-and-out" tactic at a dealer's house to exchange marijuana for money; (2) in early October, 2010, the police learned from Soares that an unidentified marijuana dealer may have been operating out of the 33 Thorniley Street residence;
At the outset, we recognize that the precise issue in this case is whether the
In its decision, the trial court, in its own words, found the police to have "reliable information," as a result of their interactions from Ayala, Cedeno, and Arocho, that the defendant was actively engaged in the sale of large quantities of marijuana. In contrast to the "reliable information" obtained from Ayala, Cedeno, and Arocho, the court found the police to have, in its own words, "information" from Soares that he had purchased marijuana from an unidentified male living in the third floor apartment of the 33 Thorniley Street residence and that he had previously witnessed significant quantities of marijuana and cash in that apartment.
On October 20, 2010, however, the police did not observe the defendant engage in any drug activity or substantially similar conduct at 33 Thorniley Street. It is well settled, however, that reasonable suspicion can arise from noncriminal or otherwise innocuous conduct. State v. Hammond, 257 Conn. 610, 625, 778 A.2d 108 (2001). "The issue is not whether the particular conduct is innocent or guilty, but the degree of suspicion that attaches to particular types of noncriminal acts." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Here, the police observed the defendant leave his home in the middle of the day with a "weighted" plastic bag in his possession, travel to 33 Thorniley Street in his vehicle, and enter the driveway of that address.
With respect to the defendant's presence as a factor to be considered, it is well settled that an individual's mere presence at a location known for criminal activity is not in and of itself sufficient to support a reasonable suspicion that the individual is engaged in or about to engage in criminal activity. Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 52, 99 S.Ct. 2637, 61 L.Ed.2d 357 (1979). Rather, an individual's presence in such a location is an articulable fact that may be considered in conjunction with more particularized facts in the reasonable suspicion calculus. State v. Moreland, 23 Conn.App. 495, 497, 582 A.2d 212 (1990). For example, in State v. Turner, 62 Conn.App. 376, 771 A.2d 206 (2001), this court concluded that "the defendant's presence in a known drug area, in combination with the apparent drug activity that preceded his arrival in the [known drug area] and his own questionable behavior thereafter, was sufficient to support the court's conclusion that the officers had a reasonable and articulable suspicion for an investigatory stop." (Emphasis in original.) Id., at 402, 771 A.2d 206. In the present case, by contrast, apart from the defendant's mere presence at a location where he was suspected to have previously engaged in a drug transaction weeks prior, the record does not reveal what more particularized factors, if any, the police utilized to link the defendant's presence at that location on October 20, 2010, with an objective manifestation of criminal activity. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981); see also State v. Scully, supra, 195 Conn. at 675, 490 A.2d 984. The presence of a known drug dealer with a plastic bag at a location where he is believed to have previously delivered drugs once before, without more, is insufficient to particularize the general suspicion the police harbored with respect to the defendant on October 20, 2010. Indeed, our case law is legion in holding that an individual's presence at a known drug location,
Instead, it appears that the police harbored a generalized suspicion that the plastic bag in the defendant's vehicle contained marijuana on the basis of their wellfounded, albeit past and similarly generalized suspicions that the defendant was a marijuana trafficker and that he had previously delivered marijuana to 33 Thorniley Street. Without information or observations that would have particularized their general suspicion that the defendant was delivering marijuana to 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010, however, any suspicion of ongoing crime was necessarily founded in conjecture or the police's subjective notions of the defendant's propensity to engage in criminal behavior. "We have consistently stated that a police officer's decision to detain an individual for investigatory purposes must be predicated on more than a mere hunch." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Oquendo, 223 Conn. 635, 656, 613 A.2d 1300 (1992). Whatever the basis of Chrostowski's conclusion that the defendant was transporting marijuana to 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010, our review of the record has revealed that it could not have been more than a hunch. For that reason, we conclude that the court's determination that the police possessed a reasonable and articulable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot when they detained the defendant on October 20, 2010, was legally and logically incorrect.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to vacate the plea of nolo contendere and grant the defendant's motion to suppress.
In this opinion KELLER, J. concurred.
BEAR, J., dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because the trial court properly concluded that on October 20, 2010, the police had a reasonable and articulable suspicion
On April 29, 2011, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the marijuana evidence on the ground that it was the fruit of an illegal search and seizure.
"[O]ur standard of review of a trial court's findings and conclusions in connection with a motion to suppress is well defined. A finding of fact will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous in view of the evidence and pleadings in the whole record.... [When] the legal conclusions of the court are challenged, [our review is plenary, and] we must determine whether they are legally and logically correct and whether they find support in the facts set out in the court's memorandum of decision....
"On appeal, [t]he determination of whether reasonable and articulable suspicion exists rests on a two part analysis: (1) whether the underlying factual findings of the trial court are clearly erroneous; and (2) whether the conclusion that those facts gave rise to such a suspicion is legally correct....
"An investigating officer may briefly stop a motorist if the officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot.... Similarly, [u]nder the fourth amendment to the United States constitution ... a police officer may briefly detain an individual for investigative purposes if the officer has a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the individual has committed or is about to commit a crime.... [I]n justifying [a] particular intrusion the police officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.... Because a reasonable and articulable suspicion is an objective standard, we focus not on the actual state of mind of the police officer, but on whether a reasonable person, having the information available to and known by the police, would have had that level of suspicion.... A recognized function of a constitutionally permissible stop is to maintain the status quo for a brief period of time to enable the police to investigate a suspected crime." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Arokium, 143 Conn.App. 419, 427-28, 71 A.3d 569, cert. denied, 310 Conn. 904, 75 A.3d 31 (2013).
In Arokium, the defendant was stopped by the police after he left a hotel room
As in the present case, Arokium also involved reliable informant information, police confirmation of some of that information, the observations of police officers, the police blocking a vehicle, the defendant's use of a plastic shopping bag to carry contraband, and the discovery of that contraband in plain sight: "While waiting for the issuance of a search warrant [for the hotel room], Broems observed another black male exit room 273 whom he had not seen enter. This man, later identified as the defendant, was carrying a plastic shopping bag. Broems exited his vehicle and followed the defendant on foot to determine whether he matched the confidential informant's description of Charlie. At that moment, Broems notified [Officer] Byxbee, who had parked his police cruiser on a nearby side street, that he was pursuing a suspect near the front of the hotel. Standing about two feet from the defendant, Broems determined that he matched the informant's description of Charlie. Broems then told Byxbee: `[T]his is Charlie. This is the person we [are] looking for.' Shortly thereafter, the defendant entered a taxicab (cab). As the Cabdriver was beginning to drive away, Broems quickly alerted Byxbee and requested that he enter the hotel parking lot and cut off the cab to prevent the defendant from leaving. Attempting to stall the defendant's departure, Broems approached
Even if Arokium is distinguishable in some respects, as the majority has set forth, and even if the evidence there of sale and of criminal activity was stronger than that in this case, it does not mean that there was not a valid basis for the reasonable and articulable suspicion by the police found by the court in this case. Federal constitutional law governs whether the police had a reasonable and articulable suspicion when they stopped the defendant. See Navarette v. California, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1683, 1687, 188 L.Ed.2d 680 (2014);
Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
In Arokium, a reliable informant provided a very specific tip to the police that a man named Charlie was then selling cocaine from a particular room in a particular hotel. Id., at 422, 71 A.3d 569. The police corroborated that an individual named Charles Arokium had been renting the particular hotel room for fifteen weeks. Id. In addition to providing the police with a physical description of Charlie, the informant successfully executed a controlled purchase of cocaine from the hotel room. Id. On the same date of the controlled purchase, the police began conducting surveillance of the hotel room. Id. On that date, the police observed an individual enter the room empty-handed, stay for approximately five minutes, and then leave the room carrying a plastic bag. Id., at 423, 71 A.3d 569. Shortly thereafter, the police observed another individual enter the room carrying an empty folded bag underneath his arm. This individual emerged from the room fifteen minutes later with the previously empty bag now containing a package. Id. Once this individual left the hotel, the police stopped this individual's vehicle and observed a shoebox containing two bundles of money in plain view in the back seat of the vehicle. Id. The police subsequently began the process of applying for a warrant to search the hotel room. Id., at 423-24, 71 A.3d 569. With the issuance of the search warrant pending, the police observed another individual leave the hotel room carrying a plastic bag. Id., at 424, 71 A.3d 569. The police had not seen this individual enter the hotel room. Id. Upon closer observation by an officer on foot, the police confirmed that this individual matched the informant's description of Charlie. Id. Shortly after the police identified Charlie, he entered a taxicab. Id. Believing that Charlie was the individual who had been selling cocaine out of the hotel room, the police stopped the taxicab and asked him to exit. Id., at 427, 71 A.3d 569. On the basis of the foregoing, this court concluded that the police possessed a reasonable and articulable suspicion that Charlie was engaged in ongoing criminal activity at the time the police stopped him in the taxicab. Id.
In the present case, by contrast, the police did not possess any reliable information that an individual living at 33 Thorniley Street was actively selling marijuana on October 20, 2010. Rather, they harbored a generalized suspicion, based on past observations and information, that the defendant was actively selling marijuana and that a marijuana sale involving the defendant had taken place at 33 Thorniley Street on one occasion in the past. Notwithstanding this generalized suspicion, the police did not execute a controlled purchase from the defendant or any individual at 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010. Moreover, the police did not observe any conduct consistent with drug activity at either 33 Thorniley Street or the defendant's residence on that date. No search warrant was pending for either 33 Thorniley Street or the defendant's residence as of that date. This case is distinguishable from Arokium by virtue of the absence of any explanation founded in specific and individualized facts as to why the police believed that the defendant was carrying marijuana in a white plastic shopping bag, notwithstanding the fact that they had never observed him carry a shopping bag before. The only explanation provided by the state is that the plastic bag must have contained marijuana because the defendant, a known marijuana dealer, had traveled with it to a location where the police suspected him of delivering marijuana on one prior occasion, notwithstanding that their prior suspicion was wholly grounded in the fact that he quickly entered and exited the residence on the prior occasion. Because the police observed no such conduct on October 20, 2010, the police had no reason based in fact to suspect that the plastic shopping bag contained marijuana.
"When discussing how reviewing courts should make reasonable-suspicion determinations, we have said repeatedly that they must look at the totality of the circumstances of each case to see whether the detaining officer has a particularized and objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing. See, e.g., [United States v. Cortez, supra, 449 U.S. at 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690]. This process allows officers to draw on their own experience and specialized training to make inferences from and deductions about the cumulative information available to them that might well elude an untrained person. Id., [at 418, 101 S.Ct. 690; see] also Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 699 [116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911] (1996) (reviewing court must give due weight to factual inferences drawn by resident judges and local law enforcement officers). Although an officer's reliance on a mere hunch is insufficient to justify a stop, Terry [v. Ohio, supra, 392 U.S. at] 27 [88 S.Ct. 1868], the likelihood of criminal activity need not rise to the level required for probable cause, and it falls considerably short of satisfying a preponderance of the evidence standard, [United States v.] Sokolow, supra [490 U.S. at] 7 [109 S.Ct. 1581]." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273-74, 122 S.Ct. 744, 151 L.Ed.2d 740 (2002).
Additionally, "[a] determination that reasonable suspicion exists, however, need not rule out the possibility of innocent conduct. See Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 125 [120 S.Ct. 673, 145 L.Ed.2d 570] (2000) (that flight from police is not necessarily indicative of ongoing criminal activity does not establish Fourth Amendment violation)." United States v. Arvizu, supra, 534 U.S. at 277, 122 S.Ct. 744.
"First, the police had reliable information from three different sources that the defendant was engaged in the ongoing sale of significant quantities of marijuana. On March 23, 2010, Pedro Ayala told the police that the defendant supplied him with marijuana. Ayala also told the police that he had purchased $4000 worth of marijuana from the defendant on March 10, 2010. This information was corroborated by the police as they had stopped the defendant on March 10, 2010 and found $4000 in cash on him.
"In addition, on September 29, 2010, Eric Cedeno told the New Britain police that he regularly buys marijuana in quantities of one to two pounds from the defendant. Cedeno provided identifying information regarding the defendant, such as his age, race and the vehicles he drove, which was corroborated by the police. Finally, on or about October 13, 2010, Adrian Arocho, a confidential informant for the New Britain police department who had previously provided reliable information to them that led to multiple arrests and convictions, told the police that he was familiar with the defendant and that the defendant sells marijuana. The police unsuccessfully attempted to make a controlled purchase of marijuana from the defendant using Arocho. But during a telephone conversation with Arocho, overheard by Officer Lopa, the defendant admitted that he had recently supplied marijuana to Cedeno.
"Second, the police had information that 33 Thorniley Street was an address where large amounts of marijuana and cash were stored. On October 7, 2010, Leonardo Soares told the New Britain police that he had purchased marijuana at 33 Thorniley Street in New Britain and that on several occasions he had witnessed several pounds of marijuana and large amounts of cash in the third floor apartment. The police had also observed the defendant, in October 2010, drive to 33 Thorniley Street, park in the driveway, and enter the building for five minutes; [these were] actions [that] the police believed to be consistent with drug activity.
"Armed with this information, when the police observed the defendant leave his residence with a `weighted' white bag and travel in his vehicle to 33 Thorniley Street on October 20, 2010, they had a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the defendant of criminal activity; specifically the delivery of marijuana to 33 Thorniley Street. Accordingly, the police had an appropriate basis to stop the defendant, by blocking his vehicle, after he entered the driveway of 33 Thorniley Street and investigate further.
"The New Britain police lawfully seized the large quantity of marijuana found in the defendant's vehicle when it came into plain view before any search of the vehicle. Officer Lopa observed the marijuana in a zip lock bag in the rear of the defendant's vehicle when he looked through the vehicle's open front door after the defendant exited. Police officers are entitled to seize evidence revealed in `plain view' during the course of a lawful `Terry stop.' United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 235 [105 S.Ct. 675, 83 L.Ed.2d 604] (1985)."
With respect to the weighted white Walmart bag, and the defendant's claim that it was not suspicious, the state commented in its brief that "[b]ased on the totality of the circumstances under which the October 20 stop was effectuated, which included information that the defendant was an active marijuana wholesaler who dealt in pound quantities of product, the police had reason to suspect that the Walmart bag was visibly weighted with a pound or more of marijuana...." The police observed the defendant leave his home with the weighted Walmart bag, and place it in his vehicle.