Ruling limits extensions of traffic stop to ID a passenger

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A court ruling in an Arizona case says law enforcement officers may not extend a lawful traffic stop because a passenger refuses to identify himself unless there's reasonable suspicion the passenger committed a crime.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Friday overturns a trial judge's refusal to suppress evidence found when Alfredo Enos Landeros was searched after being arrested.

A police officer arrested Landeros after he refused to identify himself and exit a car that the officer stopped on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation.

The officer found bullets in Landeros' pockets, and he was eventually convicted of possession of ammunition by a felon.