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Atkins v. Commonwealth

57 Va. App. 2, 698 S.E.2d 249 (2010)

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Atkins v. Commonwealth

Virginia Court of Appeals
57 Va. App. 2, 698 S.E.2d 249 (2010)

  • Written by Arlyn Katen, JD

Facts

Police stopped a car because its license-plate bulb was burned out. Kentora Delvontae Atkins (defendant) was a passenger in the car’s right rear seat. During the stop, the police determined that a female passenger had outstanding warrants and removed her from the car. The driver refused to consent to a car search, so police decided to have a drug dog sniff the car. Police asked the driver and Atkins to leave the car. The driver fled on foot after struggling with police. Police told Atkins to walk to the back of the police vehicle, but Atkins continued to walk past it, so police grabbed him to prevent him from running. At that point, a pill bottle containing heroin capsules fell out of Atkins’s hand or pocket. Police arrested Atkins and then searched the car and found firearms under the driver’s seat and in the back seat area under the right passenger seat. The trial court denied Atkins’s motion to suppress the gun from the back seat and the heroin, and Atkins was convicted of firearms-possession and heroin-possession offenses. Atkins appealed, contesting that the guns were seized during an illegal search of the car.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Frank, J.)

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