State v. Moralez

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Moritz, J.:

During what began as a voluntary encounter, two law enforcement officers retained Joseph Moralez’ identification card and detained him while conducting a warrants check, all without any reasonable suspicion of criminal activity by Moralez. After discovering an outstanding warrant for Moralez, officers arrested Moralez and seized marijuana from his pocket. The State charged Moralez with felony possession of marijuana, and Moralez sought to suppress the marijuana as the fruit of an unlawful detention. The district court denied the motion and…