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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 9-642 / 08-1918 Filed December 17, 2009 STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. DOUGLAS RAY KNAPP, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Kellyann Lekar (motion to suppress) and George Stigler (trial), Judges.

Douglas Ray Knapp appeals from the judgment and sentence entered following several drug-related convictions. AFFIRMED.

Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and David Adams, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kyle Hanson, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and Brad Walz, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mansfield, J., and Zimmer, S.J.*
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2009).

2 ZIMMER, S.J. Douglas Ray Knapp appeals from the judgment and sentence entered following his convictions of possession of methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture more than five grams of methamphetamine, and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. He contends the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence discovered as a result of a traffic stop. He further contends the court erred in failing to grant his motion for judgment of acquittal. We affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Shortly after midnight on

January 26, 2008, Officer Albert Bovy of the Waterloo Police Department was driving south along Eighteenth Street when he met a truck that was driving north. It was the officer's practice when on patrol at night to check his rearview mirror to make sure the license plate of any vehicle he passed was illuminated. As Officer Bovy looked in his rearview mirror that night, he noticed that the truck's rear license plate was not illuminated. At the time he made his observation, Officer Bovy estimates he was one to two vehicle lengths away from the truck.1 Bovy estimates a vehicle to be seventeen feet in length. The officer turned his patrol car around so he could follow the truck to confirm that the tag light was out. When he first turned around, Officer Bovy was approximately one-half block behind the truck. Bovy caught up to the truck and continued to follow it. After pulling up behind the truck, he turned off his

headlights for a second to see if the license plate lamp was functioning and

1

Because the area was dark and the weather conditions were good, Officer Bovy had a clear view of the unilluminated license plate.

3 confirmed the light was not working. While following the truck, Bovy observed that the truck's license plate was bent in at the bottom, which obscured his view of the numbers and letters on the plate. The bottom part of the plate was also obscured by the truck's bumper and a trailer hitch ball. Officer Bovy was unable to make out the numbers or letters on the license plate. After following the truck for a distance of approximately three and one-half blocks, Officer Bovy initiated a traffic stop. At the time he activated his emergency lights, Bovy was only a half car length, or about nine feet, behind the truck. The driver of the truck identified himself as Douglas Knapp. Officer Bovy checked with the Department of Transportation and learned Knapp's license was suspended. The officer then placed Knapp under arrest. A search of Knapp's person yielded a baggie containing white powder. Knapp identified the powder as crushed "pseudo," short for pseudoephedrine, an ingredient commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine. A search of the vehicle and Knapp's

passenger yielded a small amount of methamphetamine and additional items typically used to manufacture methamphetamine. Knapp admitted to delivering the items to others who made methamphetamine. The white powder discovered on Knapp's person was tested and confirmed to be pseudoephedrine. The bag contained 16.8 grams of pure

pseudoephedrine, which has a theoretical yield of 15.4 grams of pure methamphetamine. A criminologist from the Department of Criminal

Investigations estimated that amount of pseudoephedrine would actually produce between six and seven grams of pure methamphetamine. Because

4 methamphetamine is mixed with other chemicals, the criminologist determined it would produce between 6.5 and 10 grams of final product. Knapp was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine with intent to deliver, and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture. Knapp filed a motion to suppress the evidence discovered after the traffic stop on the grounds Officer Bovy did not have reasonable cause to stop his vehicle. Following a hearing, the district court found the stop was justified and denied Knapp's motion. The case proceeded to a jury trial. The charges were amended to simple possession of methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture more than five grams of methamphetamine, and possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Knapp moved for judgment of acquittal on the grounds the State failed to prove he had the necessary intent to manufacture more than five grams of methamphetamine. The court denied the motion and the jury found Knapp guilty of all three counts. Knapp appeals. II. Motion to Suppress. Knapp first contends the court erred in denying his motion to suppress because Officer Bovy did not have reasonable grounds to stop his vehicle. Because his claim implicates his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, we review this claim de novo. State v. Turner, 630 N.W.2d 601, 606 (Iowa 2001). "We give deference to the district court's fact findings due to its opportunity to assess the credibility of witnesses, but we are not bound by those findings." Id. An officer may stop a vehicle for investigatory purposes when there is a reasonable suspicion that a criminal act has occurred or is occurring. State v.

5 Kreps, 650 N.W.2d 636, 641 (Iowa 2002). The purpose of such a stop is to allow the officer to confirm or dispel suspicions of criminal activity through reasonable questioning. Id. A traffic violation, however minor, gives an officer probable cause to stop a motorist. State v. Aderholdt, 545 N.W.2d 559, 563 (Iowa 1996). Here, the State contends Knapp was in violation of Iowa's traffic laws in two ways. First, the State asserts that Knapp's rear license plate was not

illuminated as required by Iowa Code section 321.388 (2007). Second, the State asserts the plate was obstructed or bent under and therefore not in readable condition as required by section 321.38. Knapp claims he did not commit either of those traffic offenses. Knapp concedes that the State need only prove one such violation occurred in order to prevail. Because we find the issue dispositive, we first address the State's claim that Officer Bovy had reasonable grounds to stop Knapp's truck for a violation of section 321.388. This section reads in part, "Either the rear lamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it clearly legible from a distance of fifty feet to the rear." Iowa Code

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