TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A court ruling in an Arizona case says law enforcement officers may not extend a lawful traffic stop because a passenger refuses to identify himself unless there’s reasonable suspicion the passenger committed a crime.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday overturns a trial judge’s refusal to suppress evidence found when Alfredo Enos Landeros was searched after being arrested.
A police officer arrested Landeros after he refused to identify himself and exit a car that the officer stopped on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation.
People were interested in these podcasts
The officer found bullets in Landeros’ pockets, and he was eventually convicted of possession of ammunition by a felon. But the appeals court’s ruling said the evidence couldn’t be used because the stop no longer was valid by the time the search was conducted.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.