People v. McQuown

SUPREME COURT CASES

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People v. McQuown

State: Illinois

Court: 4th District Appellate

Docket No: 4-10-0297 Rel

Case Date: 02/16/2011

Preview:NO. 4-10-0297

Opinion Filed 2/16/11

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ABBY G. McQUOWN, Defendant-Appellee. ) Appeal from ) Circuit Court of ) Macon County ) No. 09CF1255 ) ) Honorable ) Timothy J. Steadman, ) Judge Presiding. ________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE TURNER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Knecht and Justice Pope concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION In August 2009, the State charged defendant, Abby G. McQuown, with the offenses of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of cannabis. October 2009, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence, which the trial court granted. On appeal, the State argues the trial court erred in granting the motion to suppress. We affirm. In

I. BACKGROUND In August 2009, the State charged defendant with three drug-related offenses. In count I, the State charged her with

the offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (720 ILCS 570/401(a)(2)(B) (West 2008)), alleging she knowingly and unlawfully possessed with intent to

deliver 100 grams or more but less than 400 grams of a substance containing cocaine. In count II, the State charged her with the

offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (720 ILCS 570/402(a)(2)(B) (West 2008)), alleging she knowingly and unlawfully had in her possession 100 grams or more but less than 400 grams of a substance containing cocaine. In count III, the

State charged her with the offense of unlawful possession of cannabis (720 ILCS 550/4(b) (West 2008)), alleging she knowingly and unlawfully had in her possession more than 2.5 grams but less than 10 grams of a substance containing cannabis. pleaded not guilty. In October 2009, defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence. Defendant alleged she was pulled over on Interstate 72 After issuing her a written DefenDefendant

for having an obstructed view.

warning, Officer Chad Larner continued questioning her.

dant declined the officer's request to consent, and the officer told her she would have to wait for the canine unit to arrive. Defendant claimed her arrest was unlawful and the contraband found in her vehicle should be suppressed. In March 2010, the trial court conducted a hearing on the motion to suppress. Defendant testified she was pulled over The

on Interstate 72 at approximately 3 p.m. on August 10, 2009.

police officer approached from the passenger side and asked for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. officer indicated defendant had been stopped for having an obstructed windshield based on air fresheners hanging on the - 2 The

rearview mirror.

After taking her documents, the officer asked He then gave her a warning citation, Thereafter, the

her to step out of her car.

which indicated it was completed at 3:12 p.m.

officer asked for permission to search the vehicle "quite a few times," but defendant declined. Defendant stated a second She also stated a She estimated the

officer arrived "probably 30 minutes later." canine unit arrived 15 to 20 minutes later.

traffic stop had taken "at least 45 minutes" before the canine unit arrived. On cross-examination, defendant testified she had three air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. spray air freshener in the car. Decatur police officer Chad Larner testified he was conducting patrol operations on Interstate 72 in Macon County on August 10, 2009. Larner initiated a traffic stop for an obShe also had a

structed windshield and asked defendant for her driver's license and proof of insurance. He then issued her a written warning

citation, which indicated the arrival time as being 3:01 p.m. and the time of completion as 3:12 p.m. After giving defendant a

copy of the warning, Larner requested permission to search the car. Defendant refused. At approximately 3:25 p.m., Larner Larner testified

requested other officers to come to the scene.

the canine unit arrived on the scene less than 30 minutes after the stop occurred. On cross-examination, Officer Larner testified he initially decided to follow defendant's car after noticing the - 3 -

obstructed windshield caused by objects suspended from the rearview mirror. Thereafter, defendant made "an exaggerated lane When Larner pulled up

change" without using a turn signal.

alongside her, defendant's car "quickly decreased" its speed down to approximately 43 miles per hour, "which is a couple of miles below the posted minimum speed." Larner stated he could see When he

defendant "staring" at him in her rearview mirror.

pulled up alongside her, "she refused to make eye contact" with him. He found this behavior inconsistent "with the general Larner also said defendant "ran her fingers

motoring public."

through her hair pretty frequently," which he characterized as a "grooming gesture" that could be an indicator of nervous behavior. After stopping defendant's car, Officer Larner approached the passenger side. When defendant rolled down the

window, Larner stated he was "greeted with the overwhelming smell of an artificial air freshener." nilla. He stated the scent was va-

He noticed at least three air fresheners hanging down Larner also saw air fresheners "susA

from the rearview mirror.

pended from the turn signal" and clipped to the air vents.

large spray bottle of air freshener rested on the front passenger seat. Larner stated drug traffickers often try to overwhelm the

vehicle's interior with an artificial air freshener to prevent a drug canine from detecting the odor of contraband. Officer Larner asked defendant if she liked the smell of vanilla, but she responded in the negative. - 4 When defendant

handed over her driver's license and proof of insurance, Larner noticed her "right hand and arm were significantly trembling and shaking." While a certain level of nervousness is expected

during a traffic stop, Larner stated defendant's nervousness did not subside but "increasingly grew during the course of the stop." Larner took the documents back to his squad car. After preparing a written warning, Officer Larner returned to defendant's car and asked her to step out to the front of his car. Larner asked her where she was coming from, When asked why she was travel-

and defendant responded Danville.

ing to Decatur, defendant stated she was going "to visit a friend named Tommy." She did not know where Tommy lived but stated she Larner stated his

was supposed to call him when she arrived. suspicions were growing at this time.

During this conversation,

Larner noticed defendant looking back over her shoulder several times toward her vehicle. This also increased Larner's suspi-

cions as people transporting contraband are "very concerned" about their vehicle. Larner also stated defendant "had a very She even stated she was "cold."

difficult time standing still."

Larner estimated the asphalt to be 115

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