Hitchcock v. State

OPINION

Opinion by Chief Justice JOSH R. MORRISS, III.

While patrolling a Riverplace Apartments parking lot in Hooks, Texas, around 1:30 a.m. on October 21, 2001, officers noticed three people sitting in a parked car with the lights out. Having earlier received reports of suspicious activity in the area, the officers decided to investigate. One of the officers, David Gipson, approached the car and knocked on the front passenger’s side window. When the window was lowered, Gipson detected smoke and the burning smell of marihuana. He asked the occupants to step out of the vehicle and, when they…