State v. Almanzar

OPINION

GARCIA, Judge.

{1} Defendant appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence removed from his pocket during a pat-down search. The district court found that the evidence was discovered in a legal pat-down search and that in any event, it would have been inevitably discovered in a search incident to arrest for the misdemeanor domestic battery charge. We conclude that the removal of evidence from Defendant’s pocket exceeded the scope of a legal pat-down search for weapons. In addition, the officers were not statutorily authorized to arrest Defendant for misdemeanor…