State v. Ellwood

The State of Washington appeals the trial court's order suppressing evidence obtained from a search incident to the arrest of Steven Ellwood. We affirm.

I

On October 7, 1986, at around midnight, Detective William Deckard was patrolling in his car when he noticed the defendant, Steven Ellwood, and a companion near an alley in an area of Everett with a history of burglaries and assaults. Detective Deckard testified that even though he observed nothing suspicious about the pair, he intended to detain them to conduct a field interview or to call backup units in the event that they continued…