HELENA, Mont. (NMB) – In a unanimous decision, a five-justice panel of the Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of a man who was convicted on felony charges based on evidence that was uncovered after a traffic stop in Blaine County was expanded.
The Court’s opinion reversed the Blaine County District Court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence. The Court declared that the conviction of Jason Aaron Carrywater on two felony charges must be dismissed with prejudice.
The case stems from a traffic stop that occurred on the morning of April 27th, 2019 by the E Z Mart Casino in Harlem.
Carrywater was in a car alongside a man, identified as Clayburn Grant, with an active warrant for arrest and no valid drivers license. Sergeant Josh Roberge alleged that Carrywater switched seats with Grant prior to the Sergeant speaking to them.
Carrywater did have a valid license, and said that he had switched seats with Grant when they left an ATM to head home.
It was later confirmed through evidence that Carrywater was the driver, according to court documents.
The Sergeant testified that he continued with the stop because he believed they had switched drivers just prior to the stop, and that he had immediate observations that the men may have been involved in criminal activity.
Carrywater conceded that the stop itself had adequate reason to be initiated based on the active warrant tied to the vehicle registration and the fact Grant didn’t have a valid license.
The observations from the Sergeant were the vehicle not immediately stopping when the patrol car engaged its emergency lights, Carrywater’s lower jaw protruding to one side of his face, and Carrywater and the driver appearing “nervous, fidgety and a little uneasy.”
The stop continued, with Carrywater ordered to exit the vehicle. A pat-down search was conducted, and a gun was located under the driver’s seat. In the center console, a baggie that field tested positive for meth was discovered, as well as a handful of pills and a marijuana pipe. Both men were then arrested.
However, the Sergeant conceded on cross-examination that the rate the vehicle stopped was not improper, that a protruding lower jaw is not a “solid” indicator of methamphetamine use, and it is normal for people to be fidgety around law enforcement. Roberge unsuccessfully argued to the Supreme Court that those factors, when combined, show that there was “possibly indicative of criminal activity.”
The question asked of the Supreme Court was whether that particularized suspicion justified extending the traffic stop into a drug investigation. The Supreme Court ruled that it was not justified.
The opinion was delivered by Justice James Jeremiah Shea and four Justices concurred: Mike McGrath, Laurie McKinnon, Ingrid Gustafson, and Dirk M. Sandefur.
The conclusion of the opinion states that “(the Sergeant’s) initial suspicions of Grant’s wrongdoings were dispelled, (so) the investigation should have ended with, at most, a citation to Grant for driving without a license earlier that night, or a warning for him to not do so again in the future.
The Montana Supreme Court ruled that this stop violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution: both of which protect Montanans from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
The Counsel of record for the defendant is Public Defender Jeff N. Wilson. Counsel for the Appellee was Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Assistant Attorney General Cori Losing, and Blaine County Attorney Kelsie Harwood.
Carrywater had pleaded guilty in Blaine County District Court in April 2020 to the felonies of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture. Carrywater retained his right to appeal the court’s denial of his motion to suppress, and his Counsel filed a notice to appeal in August of 2020
More information and documentation regarding this case can be found on the Supreme Court’s website.
Grant was fatally shot by law enforcement in October 2021. Details on the incident remain scarce, and the FBI has said they are conducting an investigation.
