State v. Perea

Bridgewater, A.C.J.

Marcos Perea appeals his conviction of unlawful possession of a short firearm. The firearm was found during a search of his locked car after his arrest for driving with a suspended license. We hold that an arrest may be made for this offense based upon week-old information known to the officer who observed him operating his car. But we hold that because Perea lawfully exited and locked his car, the officers had no justification for entry into Perea’s car to conduct a search incident to arrest. Thus, we reverse. 1

Perea drove a car while his license was suspended in the third…