The Appellant, Demontre Lamont Boyd, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence found during the search of his vehicle following a traffic stop. On October 1, 2022, a law enforcement officer initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle after he observed the driver, later identified as Boyd, reach toward the passenger side center console in the vehicle and then saw the car drift across the fog line into the emergency lane. During the traffic stop, the officer requested a K-9 unit, and Officer Susan Woodward and her K-9 partner, Officer Blitz, arrived approximately ten minutes later. Officer Blitz alerted to the presence of narcotics while sniffing the exterior of the vehicle. The law enforcement officers then searched the vehicle and found cocaine under the front passenger side floor mat and marijuana in the center console and the side compartment of the driver’s door.

After Boyd was charged with Level 6 felony possession of cocaine and Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Boyd filed a motion to suppress the cocaine and marijuana found in his vehicle. Citing both the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution, Boyd argued that the canine sniff and the subsequent vehicle search violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. After the trial court denied his motion to suppress, Boyd requested and was granted permission to file an interlocutory appeal. Our court accepted jurisdiction of this appeal to consider whether the warrantless vehicle search violated Boyd’s rights under the federal and state constitutions.

The scheduled panelists are Judge May, Judge Mathias, and Judge Felix.