Case involving drug checkpoint goes to trial today

Case involving drug checkpoint goes to trial today

December 11, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narcotics checkpoints are unconstitutional, a local case involving a search conducted during a controversial local drug checkpoint is going to trial today in Dove Creek.

Stephen Roth, 58, of Olathe, is charged with Class 3 felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and littering, in connection with a July 15, 2000, drug-task-force "ruse" operation near Rico.

Although it had been commonly billed as a narcotics checkpoint, District Court Judge Sharon Hansen ruled that the operation was legally conducted and therefore a motion to suppress evidence seized during a search of Roth’s car, based on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of narcotics checkpoints, was not applicable.

"The defendant’s motion to suppress evidence is denied," Hansen wrote in a court order. "The Court finds that the ‘ruse’ stop was not an illegal checkpoint; that there was reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant’s vehicle and that there was probable cause to search the vehicle pursuant to the automobile exception to the requirement of a warrant. There was no prosecutorial or law enforcement misconduct that would cause the suppression of the evidence seized."

According to a police report, Roth was traveling north on Colorado Highway 145 approximately six miles from Rico — a popular route for travelers on their way to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. A passenger in Roth’s vehicle had reportedly thrown something out the window of the vehicle after passing road signs that stated "Narcotics Checkpoint, one mile ahead" and "Narcotics Canine Ahead."

An officer witnessed the disposal of the object, recovered a marijuana pipe in the bushes and radioed ahead to other officers, who pulled Roth over.

The passenger claimed she had tossed out a pop can and officers asked for permission to search the car. Although the two travelers refused, a search of the vehicle was conducted anyway. The search revealed two marijuana pipes as well as psilocybin mushrooms wrapped in foil packages in a cooler.

Thirty-one people were charged as a result of the overall operation — eight for drug-related felonies, 13 for misdemeanors, and 10 for traffic violations.

The site was chosen based upon traffic patterns, including the upcoming festival, the other statistical road use and the fact that a safe pullout area, a campground and snowmobile pullout were nearby, law officers stated at a suppression hearing last spring.

At the hearing, officers testified that only people violating traffic or littering laws were stopped and the stops were brief unless illegal drugs were found. Because only vehicles violating the law were stopped, the checkpoint was not a "classic" narcotics checkpoint, thus dismissing the defense’s primary argument for suppression, Hansen ruled.

Additionally, warantless searches, such as the one conducted of Roth’s vehicle, are allowed according to a federal law that provides a vehicle exemption if police believe that the automobile contains evidence of a crime, she wrote.

"In the case of a search, probable cause means reasonable grounds to believe that contraband or evidence of criminal activity is located in the area to be searched," Hansen wrote in the court order.

While Hansen wrote that the operation was deceptive, her ruling gave full support to the drug-task-force team.

"While the use of deception by police agencies undermines the public trust and confidence that citizens should place in law enforcement, the use of the deceptive signs were inadequate to support suppression of the contraband seized. Although deception by the police is not condoned by the courts, the limited use of ruses is supported by the overwhelming weight of authority," Hansen wrote, citing case law.

Jury selection was to begin at 8 a.m. today and the trial is scheduled to last two days.

A civil lawsuit on behalf of Telluride Bluegrass Festival-goers was filed just before the annual event took place this year. The suit is pending.

This year, the task force did not conduct a "ruse" operation, having a DUI checkpoint instead.