State v. Torkelsen

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Steven Arthur Torkelsen appealed from a criminal judgment entered on a conditional plea of guilty to class AA felony murder. Because we conclude the initial stop of Torkelsen’s vehicle was illegal, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I

[¶ 2] On the morning of June 27, 2004, Tom Belzer, a local farmer, discovered a human body burning in a ditch east of Cando in Towner County. Belzer told his hired hand to call emergency personnel. Before law enforcement officers arrived, Torkelsen, a resident of the area, drove up to the scene in a 1980s model red Ford…