Tre Ron Smith v. State of Indiana , 121 N.E.3d 669 ( 2019 )


Menu:
  •                                                                          FILED
    Apr 10 2019, 6:07 am
    CLERK
    Indiana Supreme Court
    Court of Appeals
    and Tax Court
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT                                      ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
    Daniel Hageman                                              Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
    Marion County Public Defender Agency                        Attorney General of Indiana
    Indianapolis, Indiana                                       J.T. Whitehead
    Tyler G. Banks
    Deputy Attorneys General
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    Tre Ron Smith,                                              April 10, 2019
    Appellant-Defendant,                                        Court of Appeals Case No.
    18A-CR-1633
    v.                                                  Appeal from the Marion Superior
    Court
    State of Indiana,                                           The Honorable Steven J. Rubick,
    Appellee-Plaintiff.                                         Magistrate
    Trial Court Cause No.
    49G07-1711-CM-45409
    Bailey, Judge.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                           Page 1 of 19
    Case Summary
    [1]   Tre Ron Smith (“Smith”) appeals his conviction of possession of a handgun, as
    a Class A misdemeanor,1 following a bench trial. We address the following
    dispositive, restated issue: whether the trial court erroneously admitted
    evidence obtained following an investigatory stop.
    [2]   We affirm.
    Facts and Procedural History                                    2
    [3]   On November 26, 2017, at approximately 1:15 a.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan
    Police Department Officer Kevin Moore (“Officer Moore”) received a “shots-
    fired” radio run from dispatch indicating that gunshots were fired from a
    vehicle “in the area” of Market Street in downtown Indianapolis. Tr. at 6, 14.3
    Dispatch had received a report4 from an anonymous caller that gunshots were
    fired from a silver or gray Trailblazer in that area. Id. The caller further noted
    that the vehicle had damage “all over” it. Id. at 11. When Officer Moore
    1
    
    Ind. Code § 35-47-2-1
    (e).
    2
    We held oral argument in this case on February 7, 2019, at Seymour High School. We thank the school
    for its hospitality and counsel for their advocacy.
    3
    Officer Moore testified that he detained Smith at the corner of Market and Delaware Streets, Tr. at 6,
    because he had probable cause to believe there was a gun in the vehicle “based on the gray vehicle and the
    run that came out stating that there was [sic] shots fired in the area…,” 
    id. at 14
    .
    4
    At trial, the State did not present a recording or transcript of the 9-1-1 call from the anonymous source.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                                    Page 2 of 19
    arrived at the corner of Delaware and Market Streets soon thereafter,5 he
    observed a vehicle matching the description he had received from dispatch.
    Officer Moore and other officers on the scene stopped the vehicle. Smith was
    in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and there were two passengers.
    [4]   Based on the information from the “shots-fired” report, Officer Moore believed
    there was a firearm in Smith’s vehicle. 
    Id. at 12
    . Therefore, Officer Moore and
    other officers on the scene approached the vehicle with their guns drawn,
    instructed Smith and the passengers to exit the vehicle, and placed them in
    handcuffs while they searched the vehicle. Officer Moore saw a handgun on
    the driver’s side floor of the vehicle in plain view. After they completed the
    search of the vehicle, the police read Smith a Miranda6 warning and asked him if
    the gun belonged to him. Smith admitted that the gun was his; however, he did
    not have a license for it. The police arrested Smith.
    [5]   That same day the State charged Smith with carrying a handgun without a
    license, as a Class A misdemeanor. At his June 14, 2018, bench trial, Smith
    made an oral motion to suppress the handgun found in his vehicle on the
    grounds that the search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the
    United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana
    Constitution. The trial court denied that motion and overruled Smith’s
    5
    Officer Moore testified that the “shots-fired run” came out at 1:15 a.m. and there were “quite a few
    vehicles” and people “on the street” at 1:15 a.m. Tr. at 16-17.
    6
    Miranda v. Arizona, 
    384 U.S. 436
     (1966).
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                                Page 3 of 19
    subsequent objection to Officer Moore’s testimony about the search. The trial
    court found Smith guilty as charged and sentenced him to 361 days of
    probation. This appeal ensued.
    Discussion and Decision
    Standard of Review
    [6]   Smith objected to the admission of the evidence in an oral motion to suppress at
    the beginning of his bench trial and renewed his objection when the State
    offered Officer Moore’s testimony and the handgun evidence. Because Smith
    appeals following his conviction and is not appealing the trial court’s order
    denying his motion to suppress, the question before us is properly framed as
    whether the trial court erred in admitting the evidence. Clark v. State, 
    994 N.E.2d 252
    , 259 (Ind. 2013).
    In ruling on admissibility following the denial of a motion to
    suppress, the trial court considers the foundational evidence
    presented at trial. [Guilmette v. State, 
    14 N.E.3d 38
    ,] 40 n.1 (Ind.
    2014)]. It also considers the evidence from the suppression
    hearing that is favorable to the defendant only to the extent it is
    uncontradicted at trial. 
    Id.
     Because the trial court is best able to
    weigh the evidence and assess witness credibility, we review its
    rulings on admissibility for abuse of discretion and reverse only if
    a ruling is “clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and
    circumstances and the error affects a party’s substantial rights.”
    Clark, 994 N.E.2d at 260. But the ultimate determination of the
    constitutionality of a search or seizure is a question of law that
    we consider de novo. McIlquham v. State, 
    10 N.E.3d 506
    , 511
    (Ind. 2014).
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019         Page 4 of 19
    Carpenter v. State, 
    18 N.E.3d 998
    , 1001 (Ind. 2014).
    [7]   Smith raises claims under both the federal and state constitutions. Although the
    Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11
    of the Indiana Constitution contain textually similar language, each must be
    separately analyzed. Marshall v. State, No. 18S-CR-00464, slip op. at 5-6 (Ind.
    Feb. 27, 2019).
    Fourth Amendment
    [8]   Smith maintains that the police violated his Fourth Amendment rights when
    they stopped his vehicle and, therefore, evidence found in the subsequent search
    of his vehicle should have been excluded at trial.7 The Fourth Amendment
    prohibits warrantless searches and seizures unless the State can prove that an
    exception to the warrant requirement existed at the time of the search. See, e.g.,
    Marshall, slip op. at 6. However, police may, “without a warrant or probable
    cause, briefly detain an individual for investigatory purposes if, based on
    specific and articulable facts, the officer has a reasonable suspicion that criminal
    activity ‘may be afoot.’” Edmond v. State, 
    951 N.E.2d 585
    , 588 (Ind. Ct. App.
    2011) (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 
    392 U.S. 1
    , 27 (1968)). “We often call these
    encounters Terry [s]tops,” Marshall, slip op. at 6, and such a stop must be both
    7
    Evidence obtained by an unconstitutional search and seizure is inadmissible. Mapp v. Ohio, 
    367 U.S. 643
    (1961). Smith only challenges the constitutionality of the initial stop, not the subsequent search.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                             Page 5 of 19
    justified at its inception and reasonably related in scope to the circumstances
    which justified it at its inception, Terry, 
    392 U.S. at 18-19
    .
    Justified at Inception
    [9]   An anonymous tip alone is seldom sufficient to provide the reasonable
    suspicion required to initiate an investigatory Terry stop absent evidence of the
    reliability of the tip, such as an accurate prediction of future behavior of the
    suspect. Alabama v. White, 
    496 U.S. 325
    , 329, 332 (1990). However, the United
    States Supreme Court has held that, even where an anonymous tip contained
    no prediction of future behavior, there was nevertheless sufficient indicia of
    reliability to support a Terry stop where an anonymous caller to an emergency
    police number gave eyewitness knowledge of alleged dangerous activity and
    accurate information identifying the suspect. Navarette v. California, 
    572 U.S. 393
    , 399-400 (2014). In Navarette, the Supreme Court clarified that an
    anonymous tip that substantially describes publicly knowable information
    about a suspect but does so through a 9-1-1 emergency system—which often
    “allow[s] for identifying and tracing callers”—and alleges that the suspect is
    “contemporaneous[ly]” engaged in “a specific and dangerous” activity,
    provides a sufficient basis for a Terry stop. See also U.S. v. Jeanes, No. 3:16-CR-
    070 JD, 
    2016 WL 11281168
    , *6 (N.D. Ind. Nov. 29, 2016) (citing U.S. v. Drake,
    
    456 F.3d 771
    , 775 (7th Cir. 2006)) (holding that there was reasonable suspicion
    to conduct a Terry stop where an anonymous caller reported witnessing an
    immediate threat to public safety—i.e., a person waving a gun around on the
    downtown streets—and the caller provided sufficient details to allow the police
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019         Page 6 of 19
    to identify the suspect); Grayson v. State, 
    52 N.E.3d 24
    , 29-30 (Ind. Ct. App.
    2016) (noting an immediate response by police was warranted where the
    anonymous tipster “reported witnessing criminal conduct risking serious bodily
    injury to those in the immediate vicinity”), trans. denied.8
    [10]   In Navarette, the Court noted that the facts in that case were in contrast to
    situations in which an anonymous caller accurately describes a person and
    merely alleges criminal activity, without more. 572 U.S. at 399. For example,
    in Florida v. J.L., 
    529 U.S. 266
     (2000), an anonymous caller described a person
    standing at a bus stop and simply alleged that the person was carrying a gun
    without any explanation of how he or she knew the suspect had a gun or any
    expression of special familiarity with the suspect’s affairs. In that situation, the
    police had no basis for believing “that the tipster ha[d] knowledge of concealed
    criminal activity.” 
    Id. at 272
    ; see also Beal v. Beller, 
    847 F.3d 897
    , 904 (7th Cir.
    2017) (holding that an anonymous tip that accurately described a location and
    person still lacked sufficient indicia of reliability where the caller merely
    asserted the suspect was selling drugs without alleging witnessing a drug sale or
    other further “details that corroborated the criminal aspect of the anonymous
    tip”). Sellmer v. State, 
    842 N.E.2d 358
     (Ind. 2006), upon which the dissent
    relies, similarly involved a tip with accurate identifying information but only a
    8
    In Berry v. State, 
    766 N.E.2d 805
    , 810 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied, we determined that there were
    insufficient indicia of reliability of an anonymous tip where the tipster reported witnessing a person waving a
    gun around in public but did not provide any predictions of the defendant’s future behavior. However, we
    note that that case was decided before Navarette.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                                 Page 7 of 19
    bare allegation of criminal activity and no “information that would allow the
    police to corroborate the caller’s claim that criminal activity was afoot.” 842
    N.E.2d at 362.
    [11]   The instant case is more like Navarette than J.L. or Sellmer. While the
    anonymous caller gave no predictions of Smith’s future behavior to indicate the
    reliability of the tip, he or she did provide the following other indicia of
    reliability: the call was placed to an emergency number; the caller gave a
    specific description of the vehicle’s color and model (a gray Trailblazer); the
    caller gave even more specific information that the vehicle had damage “all
    over” it, Tr. at 11, thus distinguishing it from other gray Trailblazers that might
    have been in the specified location; the caller gave a statement that “gunshots
    were coming from that vehicle,” Tr. at 9, thus indicating the caller actually
    witnessed the criminal activity; and the caller gave a specific location (the area
    of Market Street in downtown Indianapolis) where the vehicle was actually
    found (at the corner of Market and Delaware Streets downtown) soon after the
    tip was received (1:15 a.m.). The anonymous tip had sufficient indicia of
    reliability to provide reasonable suspicion of criminal activity justifying the
    Terry stop of Smith’s vehicle at its inception.
    Reasonably Related in Scope
    [12]   Furthermore, the stop of Smith’s vehicle was reasonably related in scope to the
    circumstances which justified the stop at its inception. Terry, 
    392 U.S. at 18-19
    .
    Smith contends that the stop went beyond the permissible scope of the Terry
    stop to become an arrest when the police approached him with weapons drawn,
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019             Page 8 of 19
    ordered him out of the vehicle, and handcuffed him during the search of the
    vehicle.
    [13]   An investigatory Terry stop may be converted to an arrest depending on the
    totality of the circumstances. Wilson v. State, 
    96 N.E.3d 655
    , 658 (Ind. Ct. App.
    2018) (citing Reinhart v. State, 
    930 N.E.2d 42
    , 46 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010)), trans.
    denied. However, “[a]s part of a valid Terry stop, the investigating officer is
    entitled to take reasonable steps to ensure his own safety, including ordering a
    detainee to exit the vehicle.” Reinhart, 
    930 N.E.2d at 46
    . Moreover, although
    handcuffing a suspect during a search for weapons “should be the rare case[,]”
    there are “‘a limited set of circumstances in which handcuffs are appropriate
    without converting a Terry stop into a full arrest.’” U.S. v. Vaccaro, No. 18-1753,
    
    915 F.3d 431
    , 
    2019 WL 473381
    , *3 (7th Cir. Feb. 7, 2019) (quoting Howell v.
    Smith, 
    853 F.3d 892
    , 898 (7th Cir. 2017)). Chief among those reasons is
    “‘officer safety and the possibility of the presence of a weapon.’” 
    Id.
     Thus, in
    Vaccaro, for example, given the officers’ concern that Vaccaro might have
    armed himself with a weapon when they observed his furtive movements while
    he was inside the vehicle, the court held it was reasonable for the police to draw
    their guns, order him out of the vehicle, and handcuff him in order to conduct a
    pat-down search as part of a Terry stop. 
    Id. at *1, 3
    ; see also Billingsley v. State,
    
    980 N.E.2d 402
    , 407-08 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012) (holding an officers’ limited use of
    a firearm to detain a suspect is pursuant to an investigatory stop, rather than an
    arrest, if the totality of the circumstances before the officer at the time
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019            Page 9 of 19
    demonstrate a “specific and reasonable belief” that the suspect may be armed
    with a weapon), trans. denied.
    [14]   Here, as already noted, the police had reasonable suspicion to believe a person
    or persons in the vehicle driven by Smith were shooting guns out of the vehicle
    and were, therefore, armed and dangerous. Consequently, the officers’ actions
    in drawing their guns, ordering Smith and the passengers out of the vehicle, and
    handcuffing them while conducting the search of the vehicle were reasonable
    steps the officers took to ensure their safety. Those steps were reasonably
    related to the justification for the Terry stop—i.e., to investigate alleged
    dangerous, criminal activity involving firearms—and did not convert the Terry
    stop into an arrest. Vaccaro, 
    2019 WL 473381
    , at *1, 3.
    Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution
    [15]   The stop of Smith was also constitutional under Article 1, Section 11 of the
    Indiana Constitution. Under a state constitutional analysis, we make
    reasonable suspicion determinations “by looking at the totality of the
    circumstances of each case to see whether the detaining officer has a
    particularized and objective basis for suspecting legal wrongdoing.” State v.
    Renzulli, 
    958 N.E.2d 1143
    , 1147 (Ind. 2011) (citations and quotations omitted).
    [16]   As under the federal analysis, an anonymous tip is generally insufficient to
    provide the reasonable suspicion required to conduct a Terry investigative stop
    absent evidence of the reliability of the tip. 
    Id.
     Such evidence may be in the
    form of accurate predictions of future behavior of the suspect, or other
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019         Page 10 of 19
    “independent indicia of reliability.” 
    Id. at 1148
    . A tip is “deemed reliable
    when an individual provides specific information to police officers such as a
    vehicle description” and a specific location and time of day. 
    Id.
     (quoting Bogetti
    v. State, 
    723 N.E.2d 876
    , 879 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000)). Thus, in Renzulli our
    Supreme Court held that a tip had sufficient independent indicia of reliability to
    support a Terry stop—even when the tipster did not provide predictions of
    future behavior—where the tipster gave the color and make of the vehicle and
    the location where the vehicle was found soon after the tip was given. 
    Id.
    Moreover, the Court noted that the circumstances in that case—i.e., a suspected
    intoxicated driver—“warranted an immediate response by the police for the
    safety of the general public.” Id.; see also Grayson, 52 N.E.3d at 28 (noting
    legitimate state concerns in protecting the public from gun violence and the
    anonymous tipster’s allegations that the suspect was waving a firearm in public
    “warranted an immediate response by law enforcement officers for the safety of
    the general public”), trans. denied.
    [17]   This case is similar to Renzulli. That is, looking at the totality of the
    circumstances, it is clear that the anonymous tip had independent indicia of
    reliability even though the tipster did not predict future behavior. As noted
    above, the anonymous tip gave: a specific description of the vehicle’s color,
    model, and unique, damaged condition; a statement indicating the caller
    witnessed criminal activity; and a specific location where the vehicle was
    actually found soon after the tip was received. Furthermore, the tipster’s
    allegation was that the suspect was engaged in criminal behavior (i.e., firing a
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019          Page 11 of 19
    gun out of a vehicle) that could place the public in grave danger, thus
    warranting an immediate response by law enforcement to ensure public safety.
    Renzulli, 958 N.E.2d at 1148; Grayson, 52 N.E.3d at 28. The stop of Smith did
    not violate his constitutional rights under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana
    Constitution.
    Conclusion
    [18]   Under both the federal and state constitutions, the police had reasonable
    suspicion to conduct a Terry stop of Smith, and they did not exceed the
    permissible scope of such a stop. Therefore, the trial court did not err when it
    allowed into evidence the firearm found in the search conducted after the Terry
    stop.
    [19]   Affirmed.
    Najam, J., concurs.
    May, J., dissents with opinion.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019        Page 12 of 19
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    Tre Ron Smith,                                              Court of Appeals Case No.
    18A-CR-1633
    Appellant-Defendant,
    v.
    State of Indiana,
    Appellee-Plaintiff.
    May, Judge, dissenting.
    [20]   Because I believe the search of Smith’s vehicle violated his rights against illegal
    search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States
    Constitution,9 I respectfully dissent.
    Reasonable Suspicion
    [21]   The majority opinion relies primarily on the United States Supreme Court case
    Navarette v. California, 
    572 U.S. 393
     (2014). As the majority notes, Navarette
    “held that, even where an anonymous tip contained no prediction of future
    behavior, there was nevertheless sufficient indicia of reliability to support a
    9
    Smith also argues the search violated his rights under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
    However, as I would hold his Fourth Amendment rights were violated, I need not address that argument.
    See Reinhart v. State, 
    930 N.E.2d 42
    , 45 n.2 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (when case is reversed on Fourth
    Amendment grounds, no state constitutional analysis required).
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                              Page 13 of 19
    Terry stop where an anonymous caller to an emergency police number gave
    eyewitness knowledge of alleged dangerous activity and accurate information
    identifying the suspect.” Slip op. at ¶9. However, I believe an examination of
    the facts distinguishes Navarette from the case before us.
    [22]   In Navarette, the Court found the following scenario to contain sufficient
    information from which a traffic stop could be justified based on an anonymous
    call:
    The Humboldt County dispatcher relayed a tip from a 911 caller,
    which the Mendocino County team recorded as follows:
    “‘Showing southbound Highway 1 at mile marker 88, Silver Ford
    pickup. Plate of 8-David-94925. Ran the reporting party off the
    roadway and was last seen approximately five [minutes] ago.’”
    The Mendocino County team then broadcast that information to
    CHP [California Highway Patrol] officers at 3:47 p.m.
    Navarette, 572 U.S. at 395 (internal citations omitted).
    [23]   Approximately fifteen minutes after the dispatch, a CHP officer observed a
    truck matching that description and initiated a traffic stop. When the officer
    approached the vehicle, he noted an odor of marijuana. A search of the truck
    revealed thirty pounds of marijuana. The defendants were charged with
    transporting marijuana and moved to suppress the evidence from the stop,
    arguing the officer lacked reasonable suspicion of criminal activity as required
    to effectuate a traffic stop. The motion to suppress was denied. Id. at 396.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019      Page 14 of 19
    [24]   In examining whether the officer had reasonable suspicion, the Navarette Court
    examined the reliability of the anonymous call based on three factors: (1) the
    reliability of the information given; (2) the amount of time which passed from
    the call to the location of the vehicle; and (3) the use of a 911 system. Id. at
    398-401. The Court determined the information given by the anonymous caller
    was reliable because she gave the type of vehicle, the color of the vehicle, and
    the license plate number of the vehicle that ran her off the road, which
    “necessarily implies that the informant knows the other car was driven
    dangerously.” Id. at 399. The contemporaneous nature of the call also
    bolstered the reliability of the anonymous tip, as the Court observed:
    Police confirmed the truck’s location near mile marker 69
    (roughly 19 highway miles south of the location reported in the
    911 call) at 4:00 p.m. (roughly 18 minutes after the 911 call).
    That timeline of events suggests that the caller reported the
    incident soon after she was run off the road. That sort of
    contemporaneous report has long been treated as especially
    reliable.
    Id.
    [25]   Finally, the Court recognized the ability to trace and identify anonymous callers
    through the 911 system. Id. at 400-1. The Court reasoned the ability to track
    911 calls provided “safeguards against making false reports with immunity[,]”
    id. at 1689, which was a concern in earlier cases. The Court stated: “As this
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019         Page 15 of 19
    case illustrates, see n. 110 supra, 911 calls can be recorded, which provides
    victims with an opportunity to identify the false tipster’s voice and subject him
    to prosecution[.]” Id. at 400 (footnote added). After considering the factors
    enumerated, the Navarette Court concluded there existed sufficient reasonable
    suspicion to conduct a Terry stop of Navarette’s vehicle, but acknowledged it
    was a “close case.” Id. at 404 (quoting Alabama v. White, 
    496 U.S. 325
    , 332
    (1990)).
    [26]   A “close case” also exists here; however, I do not believe the information given
    by the anonymous caller rose to the same level of reliability that the Navarette
    Court found sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion. Officer Moore testified
    he received a dispatch at approximately 1:15 a.m. on November 26, 2017,
    indicating an anonymous caller reported “shots-fired” from a “gray or silver
    TrailBlazer . . . [with] moderate damage on it. . . .in the area” of Market Street
    in downtown Indianapolis. (Tr. Vol. II at 7, 14.) Officer Moore testified the
    dispatch indicated the Trailblazer had damage “all over” it. (Id. at 11.) Unlike
    the information given in Navarette, Officer Moore did not testify the dispatch
    gave him a license plate number and Officer Moore did not indicate when the
    anonymous call came in to dispatch.
    10
    Footnote 1 in the Navarette opinion indicates that although there existed a recording of the 911 call in
    which the tipster identified herself, the recording was not admitted into evidence because neither the tipster or
    the 911 dispatcher testified. Thus, the “prosecution proceeded to treat the tip as anonymous, and the lower
    courts followed suit.” Navarette, 592 U.S. at 396 n.1.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019                                 Page 16 of 19
    [27]   Further, what seems to distinguish Navarette from earlier cases is the Court’s
    conclusion that anonymous information gleaned from a 911 call was more
    reliable because the caller could be traced and identified if need be. Navarette,
    572 U.S. at 400-1. However, information gleaned from modern 911 systems is
    not always inherently reliable.
    [28]   For example, the 7th Circuit Court distinguished Navarette on that basis in
    United States v. Watson, 
    900 F.3d 892
     (2018). The Watson Court considered the
    factors set forth in Navarette when analyzing an anonymous call reporting
    “seeing ‘boys’ ‘playing with guns’ by a ‘gray and greenish Charger’” in a
    parking lot near the caller. 
    Id. at 893
    . The 7th Circuit determined the
    anonymous tip was not sufficient to provide reasonable suspicion based on the
    Navarette factors partially because the Court felt the call was less reliable than
    the call in Navarette. The Court noted:
    First and most significantly, Navarette’s rationale for deeming 911
    calls reliable has much less force here. The Supreme Court
    concluded that 911 calls are more dependable because their
    features “provide some safeguards against making false reports
    with immunity.” Specifically, the calls are recorded, so a victim
    of a false report may be able to identify the anonymous caller’s
    voice later, and the calls can be traced back to a particular phone
    number and geographic location. But here, the caller borrowed a
    stranger’s phone, limiting the usefulness of the system’s tracing
    ability. Any phone number identified would not lead back to the
    caller because he had no permanent connection to the phone,
    and the phone’s geographic location at the time of the call would
    be useful only so long as the caller remained near the phone.
    Under these circumstances, it is not obvious that the young caller
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019         Page 17 of 19
    would be worried about getting caught providing false
    information and therefore “think twice” before doing it.
    
    Id. at 895
     (internal citations omitted). The same is true here - the record does
    not contain information about the 911 call - whether it came from a cell phone
    or a landline, if the caller owned the phone from which the call came, and
    where the caller and the phone were when making the report.
    [29]   As a final point, I note the factual disparity between the case before us and one
    of the cases the majority cites to bolster its reliance on Navarette, that is, United
    States v. Jeanes, 
    2017 WL 74766
    , at *1 (N.D. Ind. Jan. 9, 2017). Most notably,
    in Jeanes, in which the Indiana District Court affirmed a traffic stop based on
    reasonable suspicion, the recording of the 911 call was admitted into evidence
    and the anonymous caller provided “‘play-by-play’ eyewitness commentary as
    she was following the subject vehicle.” Jeanes, slip op. at *6. Here, it is not clear
    what the anonymous caller said or when the call was received. The record does
    not contain a transcript or recording of the 911 call. The only evidence that we
    are permitted to review - and all the trial court relied on for this issue - is Officer
    Moore’s testimony, the contents of which I do not believe provide evidence of
    reasonable suspicion to effectuate a Terry stop.
    [30]   I cannot agree that an anonymous tip of shots fired from a grey SUV with
    moderate damage all over it somewhere near Market Street with an
    indeterminate time frame, unknown location of the shots, unknown location of
    the caller, and lack of additional information regarding the vehicle or the
    vehicle’s occupants gave Officer Moore reasonable suspicion to stop Smith’s
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019          Page 18 of 19
    vehicle, order the occupants out of the vehicle at gunpoint, handcuff the
    occupants, move them to the rear of the car, and conduct a search of Smith’s
    vehicle without Smith’s consent. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 18A-CR-1633 | April 10, 2019     Page 19 of 19