State v. Thorn

Pekelis, J. *

— The State appeals a Court of Appeals decision affirming the trial court’s suppression of evidence in a prosecution for possession of a controlled substance. The trial court and Court of Appeals concluded that the *349evidence was obtained pursuant to an illegal seizure. We reverse.

The parties agreed to submit the case on the following stipulated facts. While on routine patrol in a marked patrol car shortly after midnight, Spokane Police Officer K. Peden observed three people seated in a car that was legally parked in the parking lot of Friendship Park in suburban Spokane. The…