The denial of a motion to suppress evidence was affirmed where appellant Gomes had no privacy interest in a hotel room she had checked out of prior to the search of the room. Co-appellant Dorais’ privacy interest had expired at checkout time, which was noon, and before the entry at 12:40. The stop of appellants’ rental car was also proper because police officers had received a report that the rental vehicle was “overdue.” Because officers were acting on a reasonable suspicion based on information from the car rental company, their stop of the car was reasonable even if the timing turned out to be questionable. Therefore, the vehicle stop neither tainted the consent to search Gomes’s purse, nor her statements which led to the search of the hotel room.
Case Summaries