Nevada Supreme Court overturns 2008 pedestrian arrest conviction
CARSON CITY — A unanimous Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the conviction of a pedestrian for being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm after determining he was illegally detained during a routine police stop in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
Ralph Torres was stopped by Elko police officer Jeremy Shelley just after midnight on Feb. 10, 2008, while he was walking near the Fifth Street Bridge near downtown.
Shelley said he stopped Torres because of his small stature, thinking he might be a minor out past curfew.
Shelley asked for identification which Torres provided. After determining Torres was an adult, Shelley kept his ID and ran his information through dispatch, finding that Torres had an active warrant in California.
After being told he was under arrest, Torres said he had a gun in his pocket.
Torres sought to suppress the evidence of the weapon, which the District Court denied. He pleaded guilty but reserved the right to appeal the court’s decision. He was sentenced to 12 to 48 months in prison.
Torres then appealed.
The state Supreme Court, in the opinion written by Chief Justice James Hardesty, determined that Torres was illegally seized once Shelley determined that he was of legal age.
“Once Torres produced his ID card verifying he was not a minor and over the age of 21, the suspicion for the original encounter was cured and Officer Shelley no longer had reasonable suspicion to detain Torres,” Hardesty wrote. “We conclude that under (Nevada law), this continued detention of Torres transformed the investigative stop into an illegal seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”
The later discovery of a warrant “cannot purge the taint from an illegal seizure,” the court said.
As a result, the evidence of the gun should have been suppressed as “fruit of the poisonous tree,” the court said.
The court reversed Torres’ conviction and sent the case back to District Court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea.
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.
