Crime & Justice

Conviction reversed after court finds improper search by Anchorage police

JUNEAU -- An appeals court has reversed a man's drug conviction after determining an Anchorage police officer improperly searched his car.

During a 2007 traffic stop, Kyle Adrian Rogers was briefly detained in a patrol car after an officer confirmed Rogers had a suspended license and no insurance.

A second officer, who had seen Rogers moving his hands toward the console and passenger side of his car, searched Rogers' vehicle.

Court documents say the second officer, William Geiger, assumed the car would be impounded and decided to begin what he characterized as an inventory search. He found cocaine in the partially opened console.

Rogers was convicted on a drug misconduct charge.

In reversing the conviction, the Court of Appeals found Geiger's actions suggested an evidence search, not a cataloging of valuables.

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