OH12: Plain smell came from patdown that squeezed bag of MJ that gave off odor

Plain feel supported seizure of marijuana baggie which gave off an odor when pressed during defendant’s otherwise valid patdown. Plain feel did not support seizure of cash in another pocket. However, it was not suppressed because discovery was inevitable by search incident after finding the marijuana. State v. Rodriguez, 2015-Ohio-571, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 532 (12th Dist. February 17, 2015).

Eyewitness to a discharged firearm inside was entitled to credibility because he waited for the police to arrive and directly spoke to the officer who could assess his credibility as a CI. “Zimmerman also contends that the eyewitness’s statement that ‘[y]ou owe me, [Off.] Greco’ actually undermines his credibility because it suggests that he is involved in ‘some criminal dealings’ and sought to curry favor from law enforcement. But the fact that the eyewitness referred to Officer Greco by name could fairly indicate that he did not believe his report to be fully ‘anonymous’ and free from repercussions. Rather, it suggests he believed that law enforcement could, if so inclined, track him down and charge him appropriately if his report were false.” United States v. Zimmerman, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20277 (W.D. N.Y. February 17, 2015).*