Defendant was stopped for a traffic violation and the officer was going to give a warning. After the computer checks came back clean and a drug dog who had been immediately called for went around the vehicle and did not alert, the officers were stymied and conversed about how to get consent. The stop was unreasonably long [and only by two minutes] because the officers didn\u2019t let him go. Instead, they sought consent which was coerced \u201cto make sure there were no drugs in the van.\u201d United States v. Rodriguez, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56456 (D. Utah April 15, 2013):<\/p>\n
After telling Defendants he wanted to make sure there were no drugs or weapons in the van and asking Defendants to exit the van, Nazer asked for consent to search. At that time, Defendants were moved away from the van and each placed with one of the other officers. There were three officers total and a canine at the scene. It was the middle of the night on a dark and secluded street. The officers were all in uniform, armed, and providing the only real light at the scene by holding flashlights. The officer gave no indication that Defendants could refuse consent and, in fact, had prefaced his request by stating that he wanted to make sure Herrada had given a truthful response. Under the circumstances, the court finds that no reasonable person would have felt free to refuse the officer’s request to search. Therefore, the court concludes that Herrada’s consent to the search was not freely given and the search violated Defendants’ Fourth Amendment rights. Accordingly, the court suppresses all evidence seized in the search.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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