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Related Cases

People v. Conway, 25 Cal.App.4th 385, 30 Cal.Rptr.2d 533

Facts

On October 15, 1992, David McBride observed two men leaving his garage with stolen items and called the police. Shortly after, he saw a brown compact car with the suspects inside and alerted the police. Deputy Sheriff Donald Judd, responding to the burglary report, spotted the vehicle leaving the area and conducted a stop, leading to the discovery of stolen property.

On October 15, 1992, McBride got up shortly before 3 a.m. to go to work. He looked out the bedroom window and saw his garage door was open. Two men were leaving the garage; one was dark and one was White, and each wore distinctive clothing. They were carrying tools and fishing poles. McBride woke up his wife, told her to call the police, and said he was going in pursuit of the burglars.

Issue

Was the investigative stop of the defendant's vehicle justified based on the circumstances known to the officer at the time?

Defendant contends he was detained illegally by Officer Judd. According to defendant, Judd acted upon a mere hunch and lacked facts which would give rise to a reasonable suspicion that defendant had been involved in any criminal activity.

Rule

To justify an investigative stop, the officer must have specific and articulable facts that would lead a reasonable officer to suspect that criminal activity is occurring or about to occur, and that the person to be stopped is involved in that activity.

To justify an investigative stop or detention, the circumstances known or apparent to the officer must include specific and articulable facts which, viewed objectively, would cause a reasonable officer to suspect that (1) some activity relating to crime has taken place or is occurring or about to occur, and (2) the person the officer intends to stop or detain is involved in that activity.

Analysis

The court found that Officer Judd acted reasonably in stopping Conway's vehicle, as it was the only car leaving the area of a reported burglary shortly after the incident. The lack of other traffic and the timing of the stop contributed to the officer's reasonable suspicion that the occupants were involved in criminal activity.

Here, Officer Judd had no description of the suspects and did not know if they had a car. However, the information he received about criminal activity was very current. Less than two minutes after receiving the report of a burglary in progress, he saw a car leaving the area of the reported burglary. The time was approximately 3 a.m., and the officer saw no one else in the area. Under the circumstances, it was objectively reasonable for the officer to suspect the car's occupants were involved in the burglary.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, concluding that the officer's actions were objectively reasonable under the circumstances.

The judgment is affirmed.

Who won?

The People (State of California) prevailed in the case because the court found that the officer had reasonable suspicion to conduct the stop, thus upholding the conviction.

Accordingly, we shall affirm the judgment.

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Hunter v. State, 660 So.2d 244, 20 Fla. L. Weekly S251

People v. Arnold, 96 N.Y.2d 358, 753 N.E.2d 846, 729 N.Y.S.2d 51, 2001 N.Y. Slip Op. 05379

Garcia v. State, 57 S.W.3d 436

Bernal v. State, 647 S.W.2d 699

State v. Blechman, 135 N.J.L. 99, 10 Abbotts 99, 50 A.2d 152