Alfonso Villanueva v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Villanueva’s motion to suppress, holding that a windshield crack extending across the driver’s field of vision could constitute a safety defect under Arkansas’s vehicle-safety statute and supplied probable cause for the stop. The court also rejected Villanueva’s profiling claim because the record contained no evidence that the stop was based on race or national origin, and the circuit court credited the officer’s testimony. Justice Danielson, joined by Justice Corbin, dissented, concluding that the statute did not encompass a simple cracked windshield and that probable cause was lacking.