{"id":1312,"date":"2008-01-03T14:34:35","date_gmt":"2007-09-02T11:57:14","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-02T11:57:14","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=1312","title":{"rendered":"Shoplifting arrest that left defendant’s car in a shopping center parking lot did not support its impoundment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shoplifting arrest led to impoundment of defendant’s vehicle, but there was no legal justification for doing so, so the inventory search under the impoundment was unconstitutional. State v. Huddleston<\/a>, 2007 Ohio 4455, 173 Ohio App. 3d 17, 877 N.E.2d 354 (10th Dist. 2007):<\/p>\n

[*P18] Regarding the unwritten procedure of the Gahanna Police Department as testified to by Officer Engram, we find that simply because the police department may have a procedure that calls for the impoundment of a vehicle under the circumstances found in this case, that does not render the impoundment constitutionally reasonable.<\/p>\n

[*P19] According to the state, the impoundment was reasonable under the cirumstances. In support of this contention, the state points to the fact that the police unsuccessfully attempted to contact the rental company regarding the vehicle, as well as the fact that there was no evidence that any authorized person was with defendant at the time of the arrest who could have driven the vehicle from the parking lot. …<\/p>\n

[*P21] In the case at bar, the state fails to direct this court to, and our independent research fails to reveal, any statute or ordinance authorizing the impoundment under the facts found in this case. Moreover, while the issue of whether another person was available and authorized to drive the vehicle off the parking lot is relevant to determining whether the impoundment was reasonable, it does not change the fact that defendant was in the store, and away from the vehicle, when she was arrested for misdemeanor shoplifting. After obtaining the keys to the vehicle as a result of the search incident to defendant’s arrest for misdemeanor shoplifting, an officer took the keys from the police station to the store parking lot to locate the vehicle and impound it. Furthermore, there is no indication that the vehicle was potential evidence in a criminal case, that the vehicle was used to commit a crime, that the vehicle was obtained with funds derived from criminal activity, or that the vehicle was unlawfully parked or impeding traffic. In view of these facts, we resolve that the seizure of the vehicle in this case was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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