Appeals court upholds drug bust tied to bad light on SUV

COLDWATER (AP) — A man busted in southern Michigan with 28 pounds of cocaine will stay in prison after an appeals court said a broken light was enough for a trooper to stop him in Branch County.

Steve Dent claimed police had no reason to pull him over in 2007 because the defective light was not a headlight.

It also was daytime.

But an appeals court recently said seizures can be legal even if an officer makes a “reasonable factual mistake.”

It affirmed an earlier decision by Detroit federal Judge Avern Cohn.

And Dent? He’ll have much time to think about the light on his SUV. Cohn sentenced him to 20 years in prison.