Supreme Court of Missouri / Sep 3, 2019
Cletus Greene, Appellant, vs. State of Missouri, Respondent.
Cletus Greene appealed the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion for postconviction relief, arguing his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to suppress methamphetamine found in a cigarette pack. The cigarette pack was seized from his person during a lawful arrest but searched approximately 30 minutes later in a separate room. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the motion court's judgment, holding that the delayed search of an item immediately associated with an arrestee's person is a lawful search incident to arrest and does not require contemporaneous execution or immediate control by the arrestee.