§ 910-21. Loitering with the Intention of Committing Unlawful Drug Transactions.

(a)

Definitions. As used in this section:

(1)

"Controlled substance" shall have the same meaning as that term has in Ohio Revised Code § 3719.01(C)

(2)

"Loiter" shall mean to sit, stand, lie, pace or otherwise remain in essentially the same place in a manner or at a time not usual for a law-abiding citizen.

(3)

"Public place" means any area of property, either publicly owned or to which the public has access. The term shall specifically include, but not be limited to, a street, sidewalk, alley, park, playground, parking lot or garage, the doorway or entrance to any building that fronts such a location, and a motor vehicle that is parked or idling in such a location.

(4)

"Unlawful drug-related activity" means conduct which constitutes an offense defined in Chapter 2925 of the Ohio Revised Code; conduct which constitutes complicity to commit such an offense by, for example, acting as a lookout; or conduct which constitutes conspiracy to commit such an offense.

(b)

Offense. It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter in a public place with the intention of engaging in unlawful drug-related activity.

(c)

A police officer who observes a person loitering under circumstances which provide the officer with a reasonable basis to believe that the person intends to engage in unlawful drug-related activity may detain the individual for the purpose of investigating whether the person is in violation of (b).

(d)

A police officer may not detain an individual under (c) unless both of the following elements are satisfied:

(1)

The person engages in one or more of the following behaviors:

(A)

The person passes or receives from passers-by, bystanders or persons in motor vehicles money, objects having characteristics consistent with controlled substances, and/or an envelope, bag or other container which could reasonably contain such objects or money.

(B)

The person conceals or attempts to conceal an object having characteristics consistent with controlled substances and/or an envelope, bag or other container which could reasonably contain such objects.

(C)

The person flees or obscures himself upon seeing law enforcement officers.

(D)

The person communicates the fact that law enforcement officers are in the vicinity to another person in a manner which suggests that the communication is a warning.

(E)

The officer observes the person in possession of any instrument or object which is customarily used in the sale, administration or use of controlled substances, and

(2)

One of the following factors applies:

(A)

The officer is aware that, within the preceding three years, the person has been convicted or found delinquent of an offense defined in Chapter 2925 of the Ohio Revised Code, of complicity to commit such an offense, or of conspiracy to commit such an offense within the preceding three years.

(B)

The officer has knowledge of a specific tip concerning unlawful drug-related activity at a specific location, and the person who is loitering is doing so at a time, in a place or in a manner that is otherwise reasonably similar to the details provided in the tip.

(C)

The person is loitering in an area that is notorious for unlawful drug-related activity.

(D)

The person is in an area where he is prohibited by court order from being, and the officer is aware of the court order.

(E)

The officer knows that the person has previously been convicted of loitering with the intention of engaging in unlawful drug-related activity under this section.

(F)

Any vehicle the person has approached or communicated with is registered to an individual who has been convicted of an unlawful drug-related activity in the previous three years, and the officer is aware of that fact.

(e)

Neither the race or ethnic background of the person nor the racial or ethnic makeup of the neighborhood within which the person is loitering shall be considered in determining a person's specific intent under this section.

(f)

Upon detaining a person pursuant to (c), a police officer must afford the person an opportunity to explain his conduct or otherwise to dispel the officer's suspicion. No person shall be convicted upon trial if it appears that the officer failed to do so, and no person shall be convicted upon trial if it appears that the explanation he provided the officer at the scene is true and disclosed a lawful purpose.

(g)

If a police officer who detains a person pursuant to (c) develops probable cause to believe that the person is in violation of (b), the officer shall order the person to immediately leave the location and to remain at least five hundred (500) feet away from the location for five hours. In the event that the person refuses to comply with such an order, the police officer may arrest the person and charge him with a violation of this section.

(h)

Penalty. Whoever violates this section is guilty of loitering with the intention of engaging in unlawful drug-related activity, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If any offender has previously been convicted under this section, violation of this section is a second degree misdemeanor.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 152-2003, § 2, eff. June 20, 2003)