Wilford v. State
Annotate this CasePolice impounded Defendant’s car from a parking lot because he was arrested for driving while suspended, the car’s windshield and bumper were damaged, and the registered owner was not present. When police inventoried the car, they found a handgun inside. Defendant was ultimately convicted of carrying a handgun without a license. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s handgun conviction, holding that, as required by Fair v. State, the State failed to prove an established departmental procedure or regulation that authorized the discretionary impound under the community-caretaking function, and therefore, the State failed to prove that the impoundment was reasonable.
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