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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Joseph Leon Payne Austin, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Gregory F. Zoeller Attorney General of Indiana ARTURO RODRIGUEZ II Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

In the

FILED
Apr 17 2009, 2:22 pm
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 03S04-0904-CR-166 ERIC D. BANNISTER,

CLERK

Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellees (Plaintiff below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Bartholomew Superior Court, No. 03D02-0701-FC-91 The Honorable Roderick D. McGillivray, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 03A04-0712-CR-749 _________________________________ April 17, 2009

Shepard, Chief Justice.

A police officer on patrol ran a computer check on the license plate of a car that crossed his view at an intersection, and learned that the owners driving license was suspended. The computer check also provided a physical description of the owner, and the officer later testified that this description approximated the characteristics of the driver whom he saw pass his view. The trial court held that the facts available constituted reasonable suspicion to warrant an investigatory stop under the Fourth Amendment. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

On January 3, 2007, at about 10:30 p.m., Officer James Myers of the Columbus Police Department was parked in his squad car, headlights on, facing east on Spear Street at State Road 11 in Bartholomew County. (Appellants App. at 12-13.) A gray Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck passed in front of him, driving northbound on State Road 11. (Appellants App. at 13.) Officer Myers then followed the truck and conducted a license plate check; the computer revealed that Eric D. Bannister was the registered owner, and that Bannisters drivers license was suspended for life because he was a habitual traffic offender. (Appellants App. at 13.) The computer also revealed that Bannister was described as a male, around 5 foot 7, 165 pounds with brown hair. (Appellants App. at 20; Tr. at 40.) Based on this information and Officer Myers view of the driver as he passed, Officer Myers proceeded to stop the vehicle to determine whether the driver was Bannister. (Appellants App. at 11.) The driver presented an Indiana identification card, which revealed that he was in fact Bannister. (Tr. at 48.) Bannister then informed Officer Myers that his drivers license was suspended, and Officer Myers placed Bannister under arrest. (Tr. at 52.) The State charged Bannister with operating a motor vehicle after his drivers license was suspended for life, a class C felony under Ind. Code

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