State v. Coughennower

Defendant appeals his conviction for being an ex-convict in possession of a firearm. ORS 166.270. He assigns as error the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained in the search of an automobile in which he was a passenger.

A police officer stopped an automobile because a check of its license plates disclosed that the car did not match the vehicle described in Department of Motor Vehicle records. Defendant was a passenger in the automobile. Police asked the driver to produce her driver’s license; she admitted that her license was suspended, and she was consequently…