STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. RICKY BROWN (17-06-1207, ATLANTIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2018 )


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  •                NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
    APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
    SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
    APPELLATE DIVISION
    DOCKET NO. A-3619-17T1
    STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
    Plaintiff-Respondent,            APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION
    v.
    October 17, 2018
    RICKY BROWN,                              APPELLATE DIVISION
    Defendant-Appellant.
    _________________________
    Argued September 12, 2018 – Decided October 17, 2018
    Before Judges Messano, Gooden Brown and Rose.
    On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
    Division, Atlantic County, Indictment No. 17-06-1207.
    Christina M. Naughton argued the cause for appellant.
    Dylan P. Thompson, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the
    cause for respondent (Damon G. Tyner, Atlantic
    County Prosecutor, attorney; Dylan P. Thompson, of
    counsel and on the briefs).
    Steven A. Yomtov, Deputy Attorney General, argued
    the cause for amicus curiae Office of the Attorney
    General (Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney;
    Steven A. Yomtov, of counsel and on the brief).
    Margaret R. McLane, Assistant Deputy Public
    Defender, argued the cause for amicus curiae Office of
    the Public Defender (Joseph E. Krakora, Public
    Defender, attorney; Margaret R. McLane, of counsel
    and on the briefs).
    Alexander R. Shalom argued the cause for amicus
    curiae American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
    (Alexander Shalom, of counsel and on the briefs;
    Edward L. Barocas and Jeanne M. LoCicero, on the
    brief).
    The opinion of the court was delivered by
    ROSE, J.A.D.
    Among other issues, this appeal requires us to decide whether the strip
    search statute (the Statute), N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1 to -10, applies to crimes. We
    granted defendant Ricky Brown's motion for leave to appeal from a January 31,
    2018 trial court order, denying his motion to suppress evidence seized as a result
    of a strip search following his arrest for indictable drug offenses.        After
    reviewing the record in light of the contentions advanced on appeal, we affirm.
    I.
    We derive the salient facts from the evidence adduced at the motion
    hearing.   On April 5, 2017, Atlantic City Vice Detective Darrin Lorady
    conducted surveillance of defendant's residence based on "detailed information"
    Lorady had "fairly recently" received from a confidential informant (CI).
    According to the CI, defendant would drive from his house in Little Egg Harbor
    to the Fox Manor Hotel in Atlantic City, which Lorady described as "a very busy
    A-3619-17T1
    2
    place for vice detectives." The CI claimed defendant would distribute narcotics
    to a particular individual at the hotel. The CI provided Lorady with defendant's
    address in Little Egg Harbor and a description of defendant's vehicle, including
    the license plate number. The CI also stated defendant "always has a gun." 1
    At approximately 10:30 a.m., defendant left his house and drove to a
    Walmart in town. Aided in his surveillance by Detective Brian Hambrecht,
    Lorady followed defendant and observed him engage in a "hand-to-hand
    transaction" in the Walmart parking lot with the driver of another vehicle. The
    detectives then followed defendant into Atlantic City, heading toward the Fox
    Manor Hotel. As defendant approached the hotel, he began circling the block,
    which Lorady explained was a common maneuver "to lose a tail or . . . to see if
    people are following you." Defendant, who Lorady believed had noticed the
    surveillance, then drove out of the city.
    Based on their observations of the hand-to-hand transaction, the accuracy
    of the CI's information, and a tinted window infraction, detectives stopped
    defendant's vehicle on Route 40, described by Lorady as "a major highway."
    1
    Lorady testified on direct examination that the CI told him defendant
    "occasionally [would] be in possession of a weapon[,]" but on cross -
    examination, defense counsel elicited testimony from Lorady that the CI said
    defendant "always has a gun" as documented in Lorady's report.
    A-3619-17T1
    3
    Lorady asked defendant, who "was visibly shaking" and "seemed very upset[,]"
    to exit his vehicle. By that time, other officers had arrived, including a K-9
    partner, who positively alerted for the presence of narcotics in defendant's
    vehicle.
    During the K-9 sniff, defendant "became more nervous as time
    progressed" and continued reaching for a "distinct bulge" in his groin,
    "adjust[ing] it slightly."   Believing defendant "possibly was adjusting a
    weapon," Lorady attempted to perform "a protective pat down for [his] safety."
    Defendant "pulled away" stating, "you can't touch me there." Lorady "couldn't
    successfully complete the pat down[,] but [he] was able to feel that there was
    something . . . hard" in defendant's groin, in an area that commonly is utilized
    to conceal weapons.
    The officers then handcuffed defendant and transported him to the police
    station where Lorady obtained permission from his supervisor to conduct a
    warrantless strip search of defendant. The strip search was conducted at noon,
    in a private interview room, and resulted in the seizure of five bricks of heroin
    from defendant's groin "right where [Lorady] had felt [it]."
    Following his arrest, defendant was charged in an Atlantic County
    indictment with third-degree possession of heroin, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1)
    A-3619-17T1
    4
    (count one), and second-degree possession of heroin with the intent to distribute,
    N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(2) (count two). Defendant moved to suppress the evidence
    seized from his person as a violation of the Statute. The trial judge denied the
    motion, finding the Statute did not apply because defendant was under arrest for
    a crime at the time of the search. Further, the judge determined the warrantless
    search was valid because the officers had probable cause to arrest defendant,
    and exigent circumstances existed because the officers believed defendant had
    a weapon concealed in his groin area.
    On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion
    because the Attorney General Guidelines (Guidelines), 2 issued pursuant to
    N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8, extend the protections of the Statute to individuals
    detained or arrested for crimes, and the police violated the Guidelines. The State
    counters the search was justified by probable cause and reasonable exigent
    circumstances.
    During the course of the briefing on appeal, we invited and received
    amicus curiae briefs from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, and
    2
    New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General's Strip Search
    and Body Cavity Search Requirements and Procedures for Police Officers (July
    1995), http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/agguide/3strpsch.pdf.
    A-3619-17T1
    5
    the Office of the Public Defender. We also granted a motion of the American
    Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU) to appear as amicus curiae.
    Although not contending the Statute applies to crimes, the Public
    Defender and ACLU claim the Guidelines delineate the objectively reasonable
    circumstances that justify a strip search. They contend here that defendant's
    constitutional rights were violated because there was no exigency justifying the
    warrantless strip search. The Attorney General claims the Guidelines were
    neither intended to nor did they extend the Statute to defendants detained upon
    reasonable suspicion or arrested on probable cause of committing a crime, but
    even if the Guidelines apply, the search passed constitutional muster.
    II.
    Our review of a trial judge's decision on a motion to suppress is limited.
    State v. Robinson, 
    200 N.J. 1
    , 15 (2009). "An appellate court reviewing a
    motion to suppress evidence in a criminal case must uphold the factual findings
    underlying the trial court's decision, provided that those findings are 'supported
    by sufficient credible evidence in the record.'" State v. Boone, 
    232 N.J. 417
    ,
    425-26 (2017) (quoting State v. Scriven, 
    226 N.J. 20
    , 40 (2016)). We do so
    "because those findings 'are substantially influenced by [an] opportunity to hear
    and see the witnesses and to have the "feel" of the case, which a reviewing court
    A-3619-17T1
    6
    cannot enjoy.'" State v. Gamble, 
    218 N.J. 412
    , 424-25 (2014) (alteration in
    original) (quoting State v. Johnson, 
    42 N.J. 146
    , 161 (1964)). We owe no
    deference, however, to conclusions of law made by trial courts in deciding
    suppression motions, which we instead review de novo. State v. Watts, 
    223 N.J. 503
    , 516 (2015).
    A.
    Evidence seized as a result of a strip search conducted in violation of
    N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1 is subject to suppression. State v. Harris, 
    384 N.J. Super. 29
    , 49-51 (App. Div. 2006); State v. Hayes, 
    327 N.J. Super. 373
    , 385 (App. Div.
    2000). Indeed, the Statute provides "greater protection than is afforded by the
    Fourth Amendment."       Id. at 381.   Originally adopted in 1985 to establish
    statutory guidelines for acceptable parameters of a strip search, the Statute
    presumably was enacted in response to State v. Sheppard, 
    196 N.J. Super. 448
    ,
    455 (Law. Div. 1984), a trial court decision invalidating a police department's
    policy of strip searching all detainees. See L. 1985, c. 70; Hayes, 327 N.J. Super.
    at 381.
    We, therefore, begin our analysis with a de novo review of the trial court's
    initial determination that the protections of the Statute do not apply here.      In
    doing so, we consider the plain language of the Statute. See State v. Brannon,
    A-3619-17T1
    7
    
    178 N.J. 500
    , 505-06 (2004); State v. Thomas, 
    166 N.J. 560
    , 567 (2000); State
    v. Butler, 
    89 N.J. 220
    , 226 (2006) (recognizing the well-settled rule of statutory
    construction that courts "look first to the language of the statute"). Thus, "If the
    statute is clear and unambiguous on its face and admits of only one
    interpretation, [courts] need delve no deeper than the act's literal terms to divine
    the Legislature's intent." Butler, 89 N.J. at 226.
    Pursuant to the Statute:
    A person who has been detained or arrested for
    commission of an offense other than a crime shall not
    be subjected to a strip search unless:
    a. The search is authorized by a warrant or consent;
    b. The search is based on probable cause that a weapon,
    controlled dangerous substance, . . . or evidence of a
    crime will be found and a recognized exception to the
    warrant requirement exists; or
    c. The person is lawfully confined in a municipal
    detention facility or an adult county correctional
    facility and the search is based on a reasonable
    suspicion that a weapon, controlled dangerous
    substance, . . . or contraband, as defined by the
    Department of Corrections, will be found, and the
    search is authorized pursuant to regulations
    promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department
    of Corrections.
    [N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1 (emphasis added).]
    A-3619-17T1
    8
    Clearly, as the motion judge recognized, the plain language of N.J.S.A.
    2A:161A-1 limits its application to non-indictable offenses. Indeed, none of the
    parties or amici contend otherwise.
    At issue, however, is whether the Guidelines extend the protections of the
    Statute where, as here, a suspect is arrested based on probable cause of having
    committed an indictable offense.3         In deciding this issue, we review the
    Guidelines in conjunction with the legislative history of the Statute to give
    context to its breadth and application.
    On February 3, 1993, the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice
    issued a memorandum to all county prosecutors pertaining to the Guidelines
    with the following prefatory statement (emphasis added):
    Enclosed for dissemination to all county and local law
    enforcement agencies within your jurisdiction are the
    Attorney General's Strip Search and Body Cavity
    Search Requirements and Procedures for Police
    Officers. These guidelines are being promulgated
    pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8b, which authorizes the
    Attorney General to issue guidelines governing the
    performance of strip and body cavity searches, as well
    as guidelines for the release and confinement of persons
    arrested for offenses other than crimes. While the
    [S]tatute addresses non-indictable offenses, the
    Attorney General's guidelines cover strip search and
    body cavity search procedures for crimes as well.
    3
    Although the motion judge recognized defendant's argument that the
    Guidelines applied here, she did not expressly rule on their applicability.
    A-3619-17T1
    9
    Because the Guidelines apply to crimes and non-indictable offenses, they
    deviate from the explicit provisions of the statutory mandate pursuant to
    N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8(b).       The Guidelines also "establish more exacting
    requirements for a strip search than those established by N.J.S.A. 2A:161A -1."
    State v. Evans, 
    449 N.J. Super. 66
    , 88 (App. Div. 2017), rev'd on other grounds,
    ___ N.J. ___ (2018). For example, where a suspect is arrested without custodial
    confinement, "N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1(b) would permit a strip search upon a
    finding of probable cause and a recognized exception to the warrant
    requirement, [whereas] the Attorney General Guidelines [Section II(A)(1)(a)]
    completely eliminate subsection (b) as a basis for permitting a strip search in the
    absence of exigent circumstances." Id. at 89.
    Preliminarily, we have recognized, "As the chief law enforcement officer
    of this State, the Attorney General is authorized to provide for 'uniform and
    efficient enforcement of the criminal law and the administration of criminal
    justice throughout the State,' N.J.S.A. 52:17B-98, and explicitly authorized to
    issue guidelines applicable to [a strip search conducted on a person arrested for
    commission of an offense other than a crime,] N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8(b)." Id. at
    87-88. "The Guidelines are 'binding and enforceable on local law enforcement
    A-3619-17T1
    10
    agencies.'" Id. at 88 (quoting O'Shea v. Twp. of W. Milford, 
    410 N.J. Super. 371
    , 383 (App. Div. 2009)).
    In O'Shea, we reiterated that "consistent with [N.J.S.A. 52:17B-98], the
    [Attorney General] issues guidelines, directives and policies concerning
    appropriate application of the State's criminal laws." 
    410 N.J. Super. at 383
    .
    Further, "Our Supreme Court has acknowledged the validity of various
    guidelines issued by the Attorney General." In re Carroll, 
    339 N.J. Super. 429
    ,
    439 (App. Div. 2001). These guidelines pertain to plea offers, sex offender
    registration, drug screening and drug testing. 
    Id. at 439-40
    . But see State v.
    Henderson, 
    208 N.J. 208
    , 278 (2011) (recognizing that the Attorney General's
    guidelines for preparing and conducting identification procedures were a series
    of "recommended best practices").
    When the Statute initially was enacted, there was no provision
    empowering the Attorney General to promulgate regulations or to issue
    guidelines governing the performance of strip searches.         Rather, N.J.S.A.
    2A:161A-8 (prior to amendment) provided, in pertinent part:
    Nothing in this act shall prohibit a strip search or body
    cavity search of a person unable to post bail after a
    reasonable opportunity to do so, who is lodged by court
    order or pursuant to an arrest authorized by law, in a
    lockup, detention facility, prison, jail or penal
    institution. The Administrative Office of the Courts
    A-3619-17T1
    11
    shall promulgate a bail schedule for all offenses, other
    than crimes, and bail may be fixed and accepted by the
    law enforcement officer in charge of the station house.
    The Legislature explained that "[t]he provisions of this bill are not to apply to
    any search of a person who is lodged by court order or to a person arrested and
    authorized by law to be in a lockup, detention facility, prison, jail or penal
    institution." A. Comm. Statement to A. 701 (March 5, 1984).
    Thereafter, in Ernst v. Borough of Fort Lee, 
    739 F. Supp. 220
    , 225 (D.N.J.
    1990), the District Court held that the provisions of the Fort Lee Police
    Department Operations Manual, and N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8 (prior to amendment)
    upon which it was based, did "not pass muster under the Constitution to the
    extent that they permit the indiscriminate strip search of an arrestee on a minor
    offense without requiring a reasonable suspicion that the arrestee is concealing
    a weapon or harboring contraband or drugs." Courts also found that mandatory
    policies requiring a strip search of every arrestee, regardless of the offense
    charged, were unconstitutional. See O'Brien v. Borough of Woodbury Heights,
    
    679 F. Supp. 429
    , 433-34 (D.N.J. 1988); Davis v. City of Camden, 
    657 F. Supp. 396
    , 400 (D.N.J. 1987). See also State v. Sheppard, 196 N.J. Super. at 455 (strip
    searches cannot be routinely performed on defendants charged with non-
    criminal offenses who have not yet posted bail).
    A-3619-17T1
    12
    As a result, in 1991, the Legislature amended the Statute to its present
    form. N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8, as amended, now provides, in pertinent part:
    a.      The Commissioner of the Department of
    Corrections, after consultation with the Attorney
    General, pursuant to authority granted in sections 6 and
    10 of P.L.1976, c. 98 (C. 30:1B-6 and 30:1B-10) and
    this section shall promulgate regulations governing
    strip and body cavity searches of persons detained in
    municipal detention or adult county correctional
    facilities. These regulations shall give full recognition
    to the rights of persons confined granted under the
    constitutions of the United States and this State.
    b. The Attorney General shall issue guidelines or
    directives for police officers governing the release and
    confinement of persons who have been arrested for
    commission of an offense other than a crime and such
    guidelines governing the performance of strip and body
    cavity searches as he deems necessary to promote
    compliance with this act, the regulations promulgated
    by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections,
    and with the constitutions of the United States and this
    State.    The Attorney General may require law
    enforcement agencies to submit periodic reports
    providing data on all strip searches and body cavity
    searches conducted.
    The Legislature explained that the Statute
    authorizes the Department of Corrections, in
    consultation with the Attorney General, to promulgate
    regulations governing strip and body cavity searches.
    The Attorney General is also authorized to issue
    directives to police officers governing the performance
    of strip and body cavity searches.
    A-3619-17T1
    13
    [S. Judiciary Comm. Statement to A. 1182 (May 13,
    1991) (emphasis added).]
    Pertinent to this appeal, the Legislature empowered the Attorney General
    to issue regulations and directives concerning how a strip search is performed,
    i.e., basic procedures for privacy and sanitary conditions. 4 Absent from the
    Statute or legislative history, however, is any provision authorizing the Attorney
    General to extend the same search requirements to individuals who are detained
    or arrested for crimes.    In that respect, the Guidelines are not statutorily
    authorized or otherwise a rational implementation of the Attorney General's
    delegated power pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8(b).5 We, therefore, reject the
    4
    The Guidelines specifically provide that strip searches "[i]n custodial
    confinement [are to be] conducted in accordance with Department of
    Corrections regulations." In turn, the regulations adopted by the Department of
    Corrections pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-8(a), governing strip searches of
    individuals detained in municipal detention or adult correctional facilities, are
    different for individuals detained for the commission of an offense other than a
    crime, N.J.A.C. 10A:34-3.4 and N.J.A.C. 10A:31-8.4, than for persons lawfully
    confined for the commission of a crime, N.J.A.C. 10A:34-3.5 and N.J.A.C.
    10A:31-8.5.
    5
    The Attorney General's amicus brief candidly concedes that because the
    Guidelines, which were last revised in 1995, "are well over two decades old and
    do not incorporate case law decided during that time span, [they] will need to be
    revised and updated accordingly." In addition, we urge that any revised
    Guidelines comply with the statutory authority set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1
    to -10.
    A-3619-17T1
    14
    arguments of defendant, and those presented in a more nuanced version by the
    Public Defender and ACLU. Neither the legislative history nor the plain terms
    of the Statute authorized the Attorney General to promulgate Guidelines that
    extend the "more exacting requirements for a strip search than [even] those
    established by N.J.S.A. 2A:161A-1" to those detained or arrested for crimes.
    Evans, 449 N.J. Super. at 88.
    B.
    We next turn to defendant's constitutional challenge, focusing on whether
    exigent circumstances existed to justify the warrantless strip search. 6          In
    particular, defendant challenges the trial court's determination that his actions
    in resisting the pat-down search at the side of the highway created exigent
    circumstances justifying the warrantless strip search at the police station.
    The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Article I,
    Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution, "protect citizens against
    unreasonable police searches and seizures by requiring warrants issued upon
    probable cause." State v. Rodriguez, 
    172 N.J. 117
    , 125 (2002). Warrantless
    searches and seizures are "presumptively invalid." State v. Pineiro, 
    181 N.J. 13
    ,
    6
    Defendant does not challenge the motion judge's determination that the police
    had "[p]robable cause to believe the evidence of a crime would be found."
    A-3619-17T1
    15
    19 (2004). When the State does not seek a warrant, the State bears the burden
    to demonstrate the search "falls within one of the few well-delineated exceptions
    to the warrant requirement." Rodriguez, 
    172 N.J. at 125
     (quoting State v.
    Maryland, 
    167 N.J. 471
    , 482 (2001)).
    Our Supreme Court has recognized the exigent circumstances doctrine as
    one exception to the warrant requirement. State v. Cassidy, 
    179 N.J. 150
    , 160
    (2004) abrogated on other grounds by State v. Edmonds, 
    211 N.J. 117
     (2012).
    Proof of both exigent circumstances and probable cause "may excuse police
    from compliance with the warrant requirement." State v. Walker, 
    213 N.J. 281
    ,
    289 (2013) (quoting State v. Bolte, 
    115 N.J. 579
    , 585-86 (1989)).
    The focus of the exigent circumstances inquiry is whether the police
    conduct was objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.
    State v. DeLuca, 
    168 N.J. 626
    , 634 (2001). "Generally stated, circumstances are
    exigent when they 'preclude expenditure of the time necessary to obtain a
    warrant because of a probability that the suspect or the object of the search will
    disappear, or both.'" 
    Id. at 632
    . "[T]he term 'exigent circumstances' . . . is
    incapable of precise definition because, by its nature, the term takes on form and
    shape depending on the facts of any given case." 
    Ibid.
     Accordingly, "the
    A-3619-17T1
    16
    application of the doctrine of exigent circumstances demands a fact-sensitive,
    objective analysis." 
    Ibid.
    Courts consider various factors in assessing exigency.          
    Ibid.
       The
    following factors are relevant to our inquiry in this case: "the degree of urgency
    involved and the amount of time necessary to obtain a warrant"; "the possibility
    of danger to police officers guarding the site of contraband while a search
    warrant is sought"; "the gravity of the offense involved"; "the possibility that
    the suspect is armed"; and "the strength or weakness of the facts establishing
    probable cause[.]" State v. DeLuca, 
    325 N.J. Super. 376
    , 391 (App. Div. 1999),
    aff'd as modified, 
    168 N.J. 626
     (2001).
    Having considered the totality of the circumstances as they unfolded after
    Detective Lorady stopped defendant's vehicle, we are satisfied exigent
    circumstances existed to justify the warrantless strip search.      Specifically,
    following the K-9 dog's detection of narcotics in defendant's vehicle, his nervous
    demeanor and evasive actions while Lorady attempted to perform a protective
    pat down,7 heightened the officer's suspicions that defendant "possibly was
    7
    Following oral argument, with our permission, the State and the Public
    Defender filed supplemental briefs addressing State v. Evans, ____ N.J. ____
    (2018), which was decided by the Supreme Court after the initial briefs were
    filed. The Court in Evans applied the plain feel exception to the Statute,
    A-3619-17T1
    17
    adjusting a weapon" in his groin area. Although defendant prevented Lorady
    from completing the pat down at the side of a busy highway, Lorady felt a hard
    object and was cognizant of the CI's information that defendant was "known to
    be armed during the course of these narcotics investigations and the fact that so
    far the information that was provided to [Lorady] all added up."
    Moreover, having lawfully arrested defendant, Lorady had "the right and
    duty to search him for weapons and contraband before placing him in a patrol
    car." State v. Gibson, 
    218 N.J. 277
    , 299 (2014). "It also follows that the police
    have the authority to ensure, at headquarters, that a person under arrest is not
    armed with a weapon." 
    Ibid.
    Nonetheless, defendant argues there was no exigency here to justify the
    strip search because he could have remained handcuffed and under police
    surveillance while the officers applied for a warrant to strip search him. That
    position fails to appreciate the potential danger to the officer charged with
    recognizing "'tactile discoveries of contraband' may justify a warrantless search
    . . . if the officer 'feels an object whose contour or mass makes its identity
    immediately apparent.'" 
    Id.
     at ___ (slip op. at 17-19) (citing Minnesota v.
    Dickerson, 
    508 U.S. 366
    , 375 (1993)). Because we find defendant's conduct
    prevented the officer from completing the pat down, here, we need not reach the
    plain feel exception to the search warrant requirement recently approved by the
    Court.
    A-3619-17T1
    18
    guarding defendant in some area of the police station, or to other prisoners or
    members of the public at large. Rather, as the Office of the Attorney General
    noted in its amicus brief, had the officers applied for a warrant, defendant "most
    likely [would] have [been] placed in a holding cell at the police station, thereby
    triggering . . . the detention provision of the . . . [S]tatute." See N.J.S.A.
    2A:161A-1(c). We agree that under those circumstances, it was untenable to
    delay the search to obtain a warrant.
    In sum, defendant's actions in resisting the pat-down search created
    exigent circumstances justifying the warrantless strip search, and it was not
    reasonable to expect the officers to apply for a search warrant. Because Lorady
    believed defendant was concealing a weapon, the officer reasonably removed
    defendant from the side of a busy highway to the police station, and obtained
    his supervisor's permission to conduct a strip search in accordance with accepted
    procedures. We therefore conclude that the motion record supports the judge's
    conclusion that exigent circumstances properly justified the warrantless strip
    search.
    Affirmed.
    A-3619-17T1
    19