NCJ Number
173260
Journal
Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook (April 1997) Volume: Issue: Dated: Pages: 1-14
Editor(s)
J C Coleman
Date Published
1997
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A motor vehicle in which a suspect was a passenger was stopped by the Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, based on a tip by a confidential informant, and the suspect was arrested and convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Abstract
Police officers received a detailed tip from a confidential informant that the suspect carried a gun each day to his place of employment and kept the gun in his knapsack while he worked. Police officers monitored his placement of employment and subsequently made an investigatory stop of the vehicle after observing the suspect putting the knapsack in the trunk. The defendant appealed his sentence and filed a motion to suppress evidence, a motion for disclosure of the confidential informant and exculpatory information, and a motion to bifurcate the trial, but these motions were denied by the court. The court found the police had probable cause to stop the car and search the knapsack on the basis of the confidential informant's detailed tip. The court also held the defendant lacked standing to challenge the search of the knapsack because he disclaimed ownership of it and therefore had no privacy interest. Further, the court found police officers did not need a search warrant prior to stopping the car since they did not have probable cause to search the defendant until they corroborated details of the confidential informant tip. The case is analyzed based on reasonableness of the vehicle stop and search and seizure procedures. 3 photographs