Facts
Smith and McDonald were patrolling an area known for narcotics and witnessed Graham sitting on a park bench with a paper bag. During their observation, five people approached Graham, he took something out of the bag, and exchanged for money. Smith and McDonald approached Graham and found crack vials in the bag.
Procedural History
Graham moved to suppress the evidence and the trial court denied the motion to suppress.
Issue(s)
Did the trial court err in finding that Smith and McDonald had probable cause to conduct the search based on exchanging unidentified objects for money in a drug-infested area?
Holding(s)
No.
Reasoning/Analysis
The Court found that observation of a drug package is not a sine qua non for the existence of probable cause is a drug sale. Street sellers should not enjoy an immunity from arrest or search merely because they are able to conceal their wares during the exchange. If money is passed in exchange for the envelope, probable cause almost surely would exist. By placing his bag near the fence, Graham was obviously distancing himself from the contents of the bag and taking caution to conceal whatever he was selling. Considering the totality of the circumstances, any experienced police officer would reasonably have concluded that what he had observed were five drug sales.
Judgment/Outcome
The Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment