State v. Mesa

The central issue in this case is whether Lakewood police officers violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and/or Section 14, Article I of the Ohio Constitution, when they conducted an inventory search of appellee’s lawfully impounded vehicle. For the reasons that follow, we find that the officers, in opening the unlocked armrest console of the automobile and finding the loaded handgun, did not violate the Fourth Amendment or Section 14, Article I. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of…