State of Louisiana v. Melvin Miguel

*874 Defendant was the driver of a vehicle that was stopped because it had a cracked windshield. Defendant was driving with a suspended driver's license and a fraudulent license plate. In addition, defendant admitted he had been smoking marijuana. Before asking defendant to exit his vehicle, a detective scanned the interior and noticed an orange prescription bottle, with the name on the label peeled off, sitting in the broken driver's side door handle. Defendant and his passengers disclaimed ownership of the bottle.

Defendant exited the vehicle, was handcuffed and Mirandized , and placed inside a…