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3 Districts All Have Said The Smell Of Weed Still Justifies A Car Search
People v. Rice, 2019 IL App (3d) 170134 (April). Episode 623 (Duration 7:36)
A strong indication from the 3rd district on what the smell of weed means for a car search.
Charges
Defendant Jeremiah Paige Rice was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 646/60(b)(4) (methamphetamine possession) and was given 11 years.
Facts
Illinois State Police stopped defendant headed west on Interstate 80 for traveling 75 miles per hour in a 70-mile-per-hour zone. Defendant’s car had valid plates and was registered as a rental vehicle out of New Mexico.
When he stopped defendant, the driver of the vehicle had rolled his window down and was showing his hands.
Trooper smelled a strong odor of burnt cannabis when he approached the passenger side window of defendant’s vehicle.
Defendant provided his identification and rental agreement for the vehicle. Defendant was cooperative and handled himself in a calm and collected manner. Trooper took defendant’s documents and returned to his squad car. After running a background check, he reported that defendant’s driver’s license was valid. He then decided to run defendant’s criminal history.
Trooper called for backup because he planned to execute a search of the vehicle.
He did not observe any weapons or drugs in plain view inside the car. Based on the smell of cannabis, he believed that he had probable cause to search the vehicle for drugs. After backup arrived, Trooper asked defendant to exit the vehicle.
The Search
He escorted him to the back of the vehicle and informed him that he was going to conduct a search of his person. Trooper located a bulge in defendant’s right pants pocket, which he believed to be contraband. He pulled out a plastic bag of a leafy substance that looked like cannabis.
Trooper placed defendant in handcuffs and put him in the squad car.
Officers searched defendant’s vehicle and found two sealed envelopes containing $37,000 in U.S. currency. During a second search of the vehicle at the police station, investigators recovered a small shoe care kit. A plastic bag inside the shoe care kit contained 1300 multicolored pills that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Life Goes To Hell In 11 Minutes
The stop lasted approximately 11 minutes from the moment Trooper turned on his emergency lights to the time he ordered defendant out of the car.
Issue
Defendant filed a motion to quash the arrest and suppress evidence. He argued that since possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis was no longer a criminal offense under section 4 of the Act, Trooper did not have probable cause to search defendant’s vehicle based on the smell of burnt cannabis alone.
The issue is whether an officer can form probable cause to believe a crime has been committed in possessing cannabis based solely on the smell of burnt cannabis without some further evidence as to the weight of the cannabis given the change in the law.
Trial Court Ruling
“[I]t appears to the court that it’s still good law that smelling the odor of burnt cannabis gives the officer probable cause to search the vehicle, whether he finds five grams of cannabis or five tons of cannabis.”
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By Police NuggetsPeople v. Rice, 2019 IL App (3d) 170134 (April). Episode 623 (Duration 7:36)
A strong indication from the 3rd district on what the smell of weed means for a car search.
Charges
Defendant Jeremiah Paige Rice was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 646/60(b)(4) (methamphetamine possession) and was given 11 years.
Facts
Illinois State Police stopped defendant headed west on Interstate 80 for traveling 75 miles per hour in a 70-mile-per-hour zone. Defendant’s car had valid plates and was registered as a rental vehicle out of New Mexico.
When he stopped defendant, the driver of the vehicle had rolled his window down and was showing his hands.
Trooper smelled a strong odor of burnt cannabis when he approached the passenger side window of defendant’s vehicle.
Defendant provided his identification and rental agreement for the vehicle. Defendant was cooperative and handled himself in a calm and collected manner. Trooper took defendant’s documents and returned to his squad car. After running a background check, he reported that defendant’s driver’s license was valid. He then decided to run defendant’s criminal history.
Trooper called for backup because he planned to execute a search of the vehicle.
He did not observe any weapons or drugs in plain view inside the car. Based on the smell of cannabis, he believed that he had probable cause to search the vehicle for drugs. After backup arrived, Trooper asked defendant to exit the vehicle.
The Search
He escorted him to the back of the vehicle and informed him that he was going to conduct a search of his person. Trooper located a bulge in defendant’s right pants pocket, which he believed to be contraband. He pulled out a plastic bag of a leafy substance that looked like cannabis.
Trooper placed defendant in handcuffs and put him in the squad car.
Officers searched defendant’s vehicle and found two sealed envelopes containing $37,000 in U.S. currency. During a second search of the vehicle at the police station, investigators recovered a small shoe care kit. A plastic bag inside the shoe care kit contained 1300 multicolored pills that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Life Goes To Hell In 11 Minutes
The stop lasted approximately 11 minutes from the moment Trooper turned on his emergency lights to the time he ordered defendant out of the car.
Issue
Defendant filed a motion to quash the arrest and suppress evidence. He argued that since possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis was no longer a criminal offense under section 4 of the Act, Trooper did not have probable cause to search defendant’s vehicle based on the smell of burnt cannabis alone.
The issue is whether an officer can form probable cause to believe a crime has been committed in possessing cannabis based solely on the smell of burnt cannabis without some further evidence as to the weight of the cannabis given the change in the law.
Trial Court Ruling
“[I]t appears to the court that it’s still good law that smelling the odor of burnt cannabis gives the officer probable cause to search the vehicle, whether he finds five grams of cannabis or five tons of cannabis.”