| Defendant Miguel Perez was convicted by jury on two counts of possessing a controlled drug with the intent to distribute, subsequent offense. On appeal, he argued the Superior Court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a search of his rental car following a motor vehicle stop. Prior to the stop at issue, officers observed defendant driving a rented car with Colorado license plates, tailgating a tractor trailer. Defendant twice failed to properly signal as he changed lanes to pass the truck. The officer observed multiple cell phones in the passenger seat, and smelled the odor of fresh or burnt marijuana emanate from the passenger compartment. After checking defendant's ID, the officer learned defendant was on parole for murder and there were no active warrants for his arrest. Defendant consented to a search of his vehicle; the officer noted defendant was being "overly cooperative." From this search, the officer discovered two small plastic bags containing drugs. Defendant argued in his motion to suppress evidence that the officer did not have a reasonable, articulable suspicion to expand the scope of the initial stop, his questioning impermissibly prolonged the detention and changed its fundamental nature., and the subsequent consent to search the vehicle was “tainted” by this unconstitutional detention. After review of the trial court record, the New Hampshire Supreme Court disagreed with defendant's contentions and affirmed conviction. |
