Opinions of the Colorado Supreme Court are available to the public and can be accessed through the Judicial Branch’s homepage at http://www.courts.state.co.us. Opinions are also posted on the Colorado Bar Association’s homepage at http://www.cobar.org. ADVANCE SHEET HEADNOTE June 22, 2020 2020 CO 65 No. 20SA115, People v. Wheeler—Investigatory Stop—Reasonable and Articulable Suspicion—Seizure—Extrinsic Corroborating Evidence not Required. In this interlocutory appeal, the supreme court considers whether the district court correctly granted the defendant’s pretrial motion to suppress after finding that deputies conducted an unlawful investigatory stop of the Subaru in which he was a passenger. The supreme court holds that the specific facts, considered together with the rational inferences that could have been drawn from those facts, provided the deputies reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that the occupants of the Subaru were committing, had committed, or were about to commit a crime. Accordingly, the suppression order is reversed. The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado 2 East 14th Avenue • Denver, Colorado 80203 2020 CO 65 Supreme Court Case No. 20SA115 Interlocutory Appeal from the District Court Huerfano County District Court Case No. 19CR289 Honorable Leslie J. Gerbracht, Judge ________________________________________________________________________ Plaintiff-Appellant: The People of the State of Colorado, v. Defendant-Appellee: Walter Wheeler. ________________________________________________________________________ Order Reversed en banc June 22, 2020 ________________________________________________________________________ Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant: Henry L. Solano, District Attorney, Third Judicial District Rex B. Delmas, Deputy District Attorney Walsenburg, Colorado Attorney for Defendant-Appellee: Jonathan S. Willett Boulder, Colorado JUSTICE SAMOUR delivered the Opinion of the Court. ¶1 In this interlocutory appeal brought by the People, we consider whether the district court correctly granted Walter Wheeler’s pretrial motion to suppress after finding that deputies with the Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office conducted an unlawful investigatory stop of the Subaru in which he was a passenger. Although this is a close call, we ultimately conclude that the court erred. We hold that the totality of the circumstances, and the rational inferences therefrom, provided the deputies reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that the occupants of the Subaru were committing, had committed, or were about to commit a crime. Therefore, the suppression order is reversed. I. Facts and Procedural History1 ¶2 In early November of 2019, while driving his marked patrol car on the outskirts of Walsenburg at about 3:00 in the morning, Deputy Morgan Chapman observed a Subaru turn left on County Road 525 from Highway 69. County Road 525 is in a remote area; there are no structures, facilities, or buildings around it. In fact, in the eighteen months since joining the Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Chapman had never seen a car on that road “at that time of night.” Because the Subaru’s location at such a late hour raised red flags, Deputy 1This factual recitation is based on the district court’s findings of fact and the uncontroverted evidence introduced during the suppression hearing. 2 Chapman took County Road 525 as well. As he did so, he contacted Captain Craig Lessar and Deputy Bill LaPorte by radio, and they responded ...
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