OH6: Defendant transported 15 miles to police station for interrogation was seized without probable cause

Defendant was transported from the scene of his stop 15 miles to the police station, and the state actually argued that he was not under arrest, probably because there was no probable cause. His detention was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. State v. Massenburg, 2013 Ohio 324, 2013 Ohio App. LEXIS 250 (6th Dist. February 1, 2013):

[*P19] The same conclusion must be reached in this case. Here, appellant was placed in the back of Myerholtz’s cruiser, and then transferred to the back of Santibanez’s cruiser. Neither deputy told him that he was free to leave. During that time, a search of the vehicle was conducted, but no drugs were found. At that point, probable cause did not exist to arrest appellant. Nevertheless, he was detained in the back of Santibanez’s cruiser for an indeterminate amount of time between when the roadside search was concluded and when the tow truck arrived. Appellant was then transported approximately 15 miles to the sheriff’s station, where he was placed in an interrogation room in the interior of the police station. Although the state maintains he was not arrested, appellant remained in the interrogation room, with a jail staff member standing outside in the hallway, for approximately another 15 to 20 minutes before Myerholtz and Santibanez entered following the inventory search.

[*P20] Like the court in Royer, we conclude that the officers’ conduct in this case was more intrusive than reasonably necessary to effectuate an investigative detention as contemplated by Terry; rather, it constituted a de facto arrest. … Our conclusion is further bolstered by the United States Supreme Court’s comments, following Royer, that,

There is no doubt that at some point in the investigative process, police procedures can qualitatively and quantitatively be so intrusive with respect to a suspect’s freedom of movement and privacy interests as to trigger the full protection of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. *** And our view continues to be that the line is crossed when the police, without probable cause or a warrant, forcibly remove a person from his home or other place in which he is entitled to be and transport him to the police station, where he is detained, although briefly, for investigative purposes. We adhere to the view that such seizures, at least where not under judicial supervision, are sufficiently like arrests to invoke the traditional rule that arrests may constitutionally be made only on probable cause. Hayes v. Florida, 470 U.S. 811, 815-816, 105 S.Ct. 1643, 84 L.Ed.2d 705 (1985).