Darden v. State

Banke, Judge.

Appellant was charged with burglary, but convicted of theft by taking, based upon evidence seized from his automobile after he was stopped by an officer of the Atlanta Police Department. The principal issue on appeal concerns the legality of the stop and the resulting seizure of evidence.

The record shows that, while driving past an auto parts company on his regular patrol route at approximately 4:30 a.m., on February 9, 1982, Officer Owen noticed a brown station wagon drive out of the business’ parking lot. The vehicle appeared to be heavily loaded, and Officer Owen observed…