Dupre

INTRODUCTION

In 2023, an officer initiated a traffic stop and arrested the passenger in that vehicle, petitioner Edward Eugene Dupre. Petitioner was arrested based on an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant. Methamphetamine was discovered in his possession. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that petitioner had a suspended driver’s license. The officer had earlier seen petitioner driving a Dodge with expired registration tags. Petitioner had parked his Dodge in a shopping center parking lot just before riding away in the second vehicle as a passenger. After arresting petitioner, the officer went back to that shopping center and impounded the Dodge. During an inventory search, additional methamphetamine and other paraphernalia were discovered. The superior court denied petitioner’s motion to suppress. Petitioner filed a writ of mandate and/or prohibition in this court. We previously upheld the denial of petitioner’s motion to suppress as to the evidence found on petitioner’s person, but we issued an alternative writ concerning the warrantless search of the Dodge. Having now received full briefing, we conclude the superior court did not err. Law enforcement was…