Beckwith v. State
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained after law enforcement forced open a lacked box during an inventory search of Defendant's vehicle, holding that the district court did not err.
During an inventory search of Defendant's vehicle, the police forced open a locked box and discovered suspected illegal drugs. The State charged Defendant with felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of heroin. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the box, arguing that opening the box exceeded the scope of a permissible inventory search in violation of the Wyoming Highway Patrol's (WHP) inventory policy, thus violating his Fourth Amendment rights. The district court denied the motion, after which Defendant entered a conditional plea of guilty to felony possession of methamphetamine. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant's argument that the inventory search violated WHP policy was unavailing.
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