Appeal from the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Idaho, Ada County. Deborah A. Bail, District Judge
Eric D. Fredericksen, State Appellate Public Defender, attorney for Appellant.
Lawrence G. Wasden, Idaho Attorney General, Boise, attorney for Respondent.
This appeal arises from a conditional guilty plea to one count of possession of methamphetamine entered after the district court denied a motion to suppress evidence. Aaron Shane Tower was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine. Tower moved to suppress, asserting that he was unlawfully arrested for trespassing without probable cause or a warrant and that the methamphetamine was discovered only after he was searched pursuant to this unlawful arrest. On appeal, the State maintains there was reasonable suspicion to justify a stop and that Tower was lawfully arrested for resisting and obstructing officers after he resisted the initial detention. The district court denied Tower's motion to suppress, but the conditional plea preserved his right to appeal. Tower appealed to the Idaho Court of Appeals, which affirmed his conviction. Tower then petitioner the Idaho Supreme Court for review, which was granted.