TX: Resolving standing unnecessary where third party clearly consented

The question of defendant’s standing to contest the search of the apartment he allegedly was staying in was not the point. The apartment could legitimately be searched under the tenant’s consent because, regardless of defendant’s standing, she consented to its search. Luna v. State, 268 S.W.3d 594 (Tex. Crim. App. October 29, 2008).*

Defendant was observed by an officer with another in a car pull up next to a woman walking, and they asked her if she wanted to get into the car and smoke crack. She declined. The officer talked to the woman, and she was frightened by the experience and related what happened. That was sufficient showing of reasonable suspicion for a stop of the car under Terry. State v. Lee, 2008 Wash. App. LEXIS 2962 (December 29, 2008):

In sum, the trial court in this case properly considered the totality of the circumstances known to the officers at the time of the investigatory detention. Those circumstances, as established by evidence that is not disputed on appeal, were as follows: Stevens reported that two individuals in a specific car pulled over and told her to get in the vehicle to smoke crack cocaine while showing her that they possessed both crack and a crack pipe. Furthermore, Officer Haines corroborated much of Stevens’s report in that he saw the car pull up to her in a high-crime area, saw the occupants speak with her briefly and saw her then walk quickly away, appearing frightened. The undisputed facts support the trial court’s conclusion that the Terry stop was justified by the informant’s statements and the circumstances corroborated by the officer’s own observations.