VI: Matching description of robber and near the scene with money sticking out of pocket was reasonable suspicion

There was reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop of defendant when the officers knew that suspects in a robbery and shooting were still at large, likely on foot, and presumably armed, when defendant matched the description given by a citizen informant, when he was found walking near the scene of the shooting, which had occurred several hours earlier, and when he gave a questionable explanation as to why he was at the residence where he was found. There was also reasonable suspicion to frisk defendant based on the officer’s observation of the money in his pocket when he approached him, the close proximity of defendant to the shooting, his torn and dirty clothes, which were consistent with him spending the night in the bush to elude police, and his failure to cooperate when instructed to place his hands on a fence. People v. Butler, 2014 V.I. LEXIS 83 (Super. Ct. October 3, 2014).

The officer here had a valid basis to perform a pat down search of defendant’s person where, during a traffic stop, the officer became suspicious of defendant’s exaggerated immobility. The officer accessed defendant’s criminal history by cell phone and learned that defendant was currently on probation for a possession of a handgun in a vehicle charge. When the officer reached for defendant’s right hand, defendant, perhaps instinctively, moved it to his right front pants pocket. Underwood v. State, 2014 Md. App. LEXIS 120 (October 7, 2014).*