State v. Ellis

This is a state’s appeal of a pretrial order granting defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. ORS 138.060(1)(c). Defendant was stopped after Portland police officers, some of whom were on the ground in patrol cars and another of whom was conducting aerial surveillance of the area, became suspicious that defendant had just committed a “car prowl.”1 Defendant was ultimately charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (UUMV), possession of a stolen vehicle, and first-degree theft, based on evidence obtained during the stop and the ensuing search of defendant’s backpack. The sole issue on…