Foranyic

Having pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine, Robert Francis Foranyic contends the court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence against him. He argues there were not suspicious circumstances justifying his detention, and that the methamphetamine subsequently found on his person should have been suppressed. Thus are we called upon to decide whether police may detain a man with an ax riding a bicycle at 3 a.m.

A Huntington Beach patrolman approached Robert Francis Foranyic when he saw him standing astride his bicycle, to which was attached a large ax, at 3 in the morning. The officer ordered him to dismount, explaining that he “wanted to put some distance between him and the ax.” Foranyic had difficulty following this direction and showed classic symptoms of intoxication. In fact, the officer found him to be highly intoxicated (Foranyic was reasonably sure he was either in Long Beach or Bakersfield, but unable to narrow it down more than that, and he could hardly stand without the support of his bicycle). Another officer evaluated Foranyic’s symptoms and arrested him for a violation of Penal Code section 647, subdivision (f). During booking,…