OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

While conducting a traffic stop, an officer discovered that Shon L. Edmond was driving with only a learner's permit and without anyone accompanying him. Because the officer was going to tow Edmond's vehicle and because the officer smelled burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle and from Edmond's breath, the officer asked Edmond to get out of the vehicle. The officer conducted a pat-down search and removed a bag of marijuana from Edmond's pocket. Edmond was charged with possession of marijuana. At his bench trial, Edmond moved to suppress the marijuana, contending that the search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. The trial court denied his motion, and Edmond was convicted of possessing marijuana. Because the officer had probable cause to arrest Edmond, the search was a valid search incident to arrest, and Edmond's constitutional rights were not violated. Therefore, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On March 23, 2010, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer David Drennan initiated a traffic stop because he saw Edmond disregard a stop sign. Edmond pulled over immediately. When Officer Drennan approached Edmond's vehicle, he smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from Edmond's vehicle and breath. Officer Drennan checked Edmond's identification and learned that he had only a learner's permit. Edmond was not accompanied by licensed driver, so Officer Drennan issued a citation.1

Officer Drennan planned to have the vehicle towed, so he asked Edmond to get out of the vehicle. Edmond was polite and cooperative and did not make any furtive movements or threats. Officer Drennan conducted a pat-down search and felt a bulge in Edmond's pocket, which he believed to be marijuana. Officer Drennan removed a baggie containing material that was later confirmed to be marijuana.

Edmond was charged with possession of marijuana as a class A misdemeanor. Edmond's case was tried to the bench. During the trial, Edmond moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the pat-down. Officer Drennan testified that for officer safety, he conducts a search for weapons on any person who gets out of a car during a traffic stop. Officer Drennan stated that he also conducted a pat-down of Edmond due to the smell of marijuana. Officer Drennan asserted that, based on his training and experience, he believed that the bulge in Edmond's pocket was marijuana, but he acknowledged that he "couldn't be positive." Tr. at 17-18. The trial court denied Edmond's motion to suppress and found him guilty as charged. Edmond now appeals.

Discussion and Decision

Edmond contends that the warrantless search of his person violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution and that the marijuana removed from his pocket should have been excluded. Our standard of review is well settled:

Lindsey v. State, 916 N.E.2d 230, 238 (Ind. Ct.App.2009) (footnote omitted), trans. denied.

I. Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.2 Burkes v. State, 842 N.E.2d 426, 429 (Ind. Ct.App.2006), trans. denied. "Generally, the Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless searches and seizures. When a search is conducted without a warrant, the State has the burden of proving that an exception to the warrant requirement existed at the time of the search." Ratliff v. State, 770 N.E.2d 807, 809 (Ind.2002) (citation omitted). There are two levels of police investigation that implicate the Fourth Amendment:

Overstreet v. State, 724 N.E.2d 661, 663 (Ind.Ct.App.2000) (some citations omitted).

Edmond concedes that he was validly stopped for a traffic violation, nor does he dispute that Officer Drennan had a valid basis for commanding him to exit his vehicle. See Reinhart v. State, 930 N.E.2d 42, 45 (Ind.Ct.App.2010) ("It is well settled that police officers may stop a vehicle when they observe minor traffic violations."). He also concedes that the smell of marijuana coming from his vehicle would have established probable cause to search the vehicle.3 See State v. Hawkins, 766 N.E.2d 749, 752 (Ind.Ct.App.2002) ("[W]e have no hesitation in deciding that when a trained and experienced police officer detects the strong and distinctive odor of burnt marijuana coming from a vehicle, the officer has probable cause to search the vehicle. That is true under both the Fourth Amendment of our federal constitution and under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution."), trans. denied. However, he argues that probable cause to search his vehicle does not extend to his person. See United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 587, 68 S.Ct. 222, 92 L.Ed. 210 (1948) (after seeing one passenger holding counterfeit gasoline ration coupons, police arrested and searched all occupants of the car and found that Di Re also had counterfeit coupons in his pockets; the Supreme Court reversed his conviction stating, "We are not convinced that a person, by mere presence in a suspected car, loses immunities from search of his person to which he would otherwise be entitled."); Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U.S. 295, 303, 119 S.Ct. 1297, 143 L.Ed.2d 408 (1999) (explaining that Di Re "turned on the unique, significantly heightened protection afforded against searches of one's person").

Edmond further argues that the pat-down search was not justified as part of the Terry stop. Because he was cooperative and made no furtive movements, Edmond argues the pat-down search was not justified by concern for officer safety. He also notes Officer Drennan's testimony that he normally pats down anyone who exits a vehicle during a traffic stop and argues that the officer's "[s]tandard practice is not a permissible reason to conduct a pat down." Swanson v. State, 730 N.E.2d 205, 211 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). In the alternative, Edmond argues that even if the pat-down was permissible, seizure of the marijuana was not justified by the "plain feel" doctrine because it was not immediately apparent that the bulge in his pocket was contraband.4 Thus, Edmond argues that the search of his person was not supported by probable cause or reasonable suspicion.

The State argues that when Officer Drennan smelled marijuana on Edmond's breath, he had probable cause to arrest Edmond for possession of marijuana, and therefore, the search was permissible as a search incident to arrest. Probable cause to arrest exists when the officer has knowledge of facts and circumstances that would warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that a suspect has committed or is in the process of committing a criminal act. Jackson v. State, 597 N.E.2d 950, 956-57 (Ind.1992), cert. denied. "The United States Supreme Court has held that once a lawful arrest has been made, authorities may conduct a `full search' of the arrestee for weapons or concealed evidence." Edwards v. State, 759 N.E.2d 626, 629 (Ind. 2001) (quoting United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973)).

The State relies on Sebastian v. State, 726 N.E.2d 827 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied. In that case, officers observed Sebastian swerving in and out of his lane. Believing that Sebastian was intoxicated, the officers initiated a traffic stop. After smelling burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle, the officers asked Sebastian to step out of his vehicle. Because it was cold outside, the officers intended to allow Sebastian to sit in the patrol car during questioning. One of the officers conducted a pat-down search before allowing him into the patrol car. The officer felt something that he believed was a pocketknife, but it turned out to be a metal pipe with marijuana residue in the bowl. Sebastian was handcuffed and placed in the patrol car, and the officers proceeded to search his vehicle, where they found additional marijuana. Sebastian moved to suppress the evidence found in the search of his person and his vehicle.

We held that the pat-down search was legal, and that the evidence obtained from the pat-down, as well as the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, established probable cause to arrest Sebastian. Id. at 830. We then concluded that the search of the vehicle was a lawful search incident to arrest.5 Id. We rejected Sebastian's argument that the search of his vehicle was not a search incident to arrest because he was not under arrest at the time:

Id. (citations and quotation marks omitted).

Edmond contends that Sebastian is distinguishable because the pat-down search in that case was justified by safety concerns, whereas Officer Drennan did not have any particular reason to believe that Edmond was armed or dangerous. The Sebastian court did not state its basis for concluding that the pat-down was lawful, but the conclusion was apparently based on safety concerns or consent. See id. at 829 ("Because it was very cold outside and because [Officer] Williams was going to allow Sebastian to sit in the patrol car for questioning, [Officer] Caplinger told Sebastian that he wanted to perform a pat-down search of his outer clothing, and Sebastian allowed [Officer] Caplinger to do so."). We also note that Sebastian's erratic driving caused the officers to believe that he was impaired, which also heightened their level of suspicion. Officer Drennan, however, did not testify that he observed any signs of impairment.

Although we have previously held that the odor of burnt marijuana establishes probable cause to search a vehicle, Hawkins, 766 N.E.2d at 752, it appears that we have never determined whether the smell of burnt marijuana alone may constitute probable cause to support an arrest and search incident to arrest. See Sebastian, 726 N.E.2d at 830 (noting that we have never expressly decided that issue, but suggested in Shinault v. State, 668 N.E.2d 274, 278 n. 5 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), that the odor of marijuana coming from the defendant's person might establish probable cause for arrest and search incident thereto). Because the odor of burnt marijuana might linger in a vehicle for a period of time, that odor does not necessarily indicate illegal activity by a current occupant; however, we note that Officer Drennan specifically smelled marijuana on Edmond's breath in addition to the odor coming from his vehicle. Furthermore, Edmond was alone in the vehicle. Under these circumstances, we conclude that a person of reasonable caution would be warranted in the belief that Edmond possessed marijuana; therefore, Officer Drennan had probable cause to arrest him and had a lawful basis to search his person.6

II. Article 1, Section 11

Edmond also argues that the pat-down search violated his rights under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.

Hathaway v. State, 906 N.E.2d 941, 945 (Ind.Ct.App.2009), trans. denied.

While the evidence against Edmond may not have been as strong as that in many other cases involving drugs, the evidence was nevertheless sufficient to establish probable cause for arrest; therefore, we conclude that the degree of suspicion weighs in the State's favor. Although the search of a person's body is a substantial intrusion, a police officer is authorized to conduct a thorough search of an arrestee. Officer Drennan conducted only a pat-down search of Edmond's clothing; thus, the degree of intrusion was minimal under the circumstances. See Powell v. State, 898 N.E.2d 328, 336 (Ind.Ct.App. 2008) (where, during pat-down search of arrestee, officer felt an object in arrestee's underwear but could not figure out how to access the object, it was not unreasonable for officer to cut open the arrestee's underwear), trans. denied. A search incident to arrest serves important purposes, such as ensuring that the arrestee is unarmed, preventing the arrestee from bringing contraband into jail, and preventing the destruction of evidence. Andrews v. State, 588 N.E.2d 1298, 1303 (Ind.Ct.App.1992). Therefore, we conclude that law enforcement needs also weigh in the State's favor. As all three factors support the officer's action in this case, we conclude that Edmond's rights under Article 1, Section 11 were not violated.7

Because Edmond's rights under the Fourth Amendment and Article 1, Section 11 were not violated, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the marijuana found in his pocket into evidence. Therefore, we affirm his conviction.

Affirmed.

ROBB, C.J., and NAJAM, J., concur.