VA: Clump of air fresheners hanging from inside mirror justified stop

Defendant was under investigation for drug offenses, and, when he drove off, he had a clump of air fresheners hanging from his rear view mirror which violated state law. Drugs were found in his car. His void for vagueness challenge to that statute fails, too, but that wouldn’t suppress the search. Freeman v. Commonwealth, 2015 Va. App. LEXIS 332 (Nov. 17, 2015).

Based on findings of fact that a third party could come and go as she pleased, that she had the authority to enter defendant’s bedroom, and could have guests over to the home, the appellate court concluded that the third party had a sufficient relationship to the premises to justify a reasonable probation officer to conclude that the third party had authority to take the probation officer into defendant’s bedroom. Because a gun was in plain view in the bedroom, it was immediately apparent that the gun could be evidence of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. McLaughlin v. Commonwealth, 2015 Va. App. LEXIS 328 (Nov. 17, 2015).*