IL: Stop of a witness to a homicide led to RS for frisk

Defendant was seized as a witness to a homicide, not as a suspect. Once stopped, however, reasonable suspicion developed that he was in possession of a firearm, and a frisk was permitted. In re Tyreke H., 2017 IL App (1st) 170406, 2017 Ill. App. LEXIS 614 (Sept. 28, 2017).

Just being seen committing a felony in the home, such as drug possession, is not an exigent circumstance for an entry; safety of someone must be at risk. “[T]here is no precise formula since emergency circumstances will vary from case to case and the inherent necessities of each situation must be scrutinized.” Here, a weapon was seen through the cracked door, and the officers were then concerned that defendant, with a history of violence who had just threatened to use it against a neighbor, could use it, and that was exigency enough. United States v. Carlton, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 190145 (E.D. Va. Sept. 25, 2015).