VI: Man with a gun report alone not RS for stop and frisk without showing a crime was committed

Man with a gun report did not create a presumption that the gun was unlicensed or otherwise criminally possessed, so a stop and frisk was not justified. [Case does not cite the Second Amendment.] People v. Murrell, 56 V.I. 796 (2012):

We agree with Murrell that, if this Court were to apply the Ubiles and Lewis decisions, there is no question that the Superior Court correctly granted Murrell’s motion to suppress. As in Lewis and Ubiles, there is absolutely no evidence in the record that Douglas received any information that Murrell possessed an unlicensed firearm or a firearm with an altered serial number, nor is there any evidence from which Douglas could have inferred that Murrell was engaging in criminal behavior. On the contrary, Douglas unambiguously testified at the suppression hearing that he only had reason to believe that Murrell lacked a license after Murrell told him that he did not have one, which did not occur until after Murrell had been told to place his hands on the hedge and Douglas obtained the loaded firearm out of Murrell’s pocket. (J.A. 53-54.) Therefore, were we to concur with the Third Circuit’s conclusion that local Virgin Islands law does not contain a presumption that an individual lacks a permit to carry a firearm, we would easily conclude that the Superior Court committed no error in granting the motion to suppress the firearm and the ammunition.