D.Vt.: If the arrest is invalid, the search incident is, too

Defendant’s arrest was without probable cause, so the search incident to his arrest must be suppressed. United States v. Williams, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58067 (D. Vt. Apr. 4, 2019).*

“Here, many factors formed Detective Deshaies’s objectively reasonable basis to believe that Berry may have been armed and potentially posed a threat to officer or public safety. Initially, Berry demonstrated concerning behavior as he was approached by uniformed police. He dropped his beer bottle, backed away, looked side to side, reached his hands down toward his waist, and placed his hands in his pockets. Significantly, the other two men present did not exhibit these behaviors. The fact that the men were congregating in the middle of the street after dark in a high-crime area known for gun violence, murder, and drug activity is also a legitimate factor in the formation of Detective Deshaies’s objectively reasonable basis. Additionally, Detective Deshaies observed a large bulge that appeared as if it could be the outline of a gun handle at the front left side of Berry’s waist.” Berry v. StateBerry v. StateBerry v. State, 2019 Ind. App. LEXIS 144 (Apr. 4, 2019).*

This entry was posted in Reasonable suspicion, Search incident. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.