A hunch is not enough!

Ron Lyon won in State v. Montes-Mata, No. 97,155 (Kan. App. March 30, 2007) (unpublished), affirming Judge Wheeler's suppression order in a Lyon County drug prosecution. The COA framed the issue as follows:

We must determine if it is proper for a driver and passenger to be arrested and returned 30 miles based upon the hunch of a trooper that the car the defendant was driving was acting as a decoy for a vehicle that was transporting marijuana.

The issue pretty easily leads to the conclusion that the extended detention was illegal and that the officer did not have probable cause until long after the detention became illegal. As a result, the COA affirmed the suppression order.

[Update: the state did not file a PR and the mandate issued on May 3, 2007].