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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP-21-CR-63-2004COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON : PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND :COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : NO.: CP-21-CR-63-2004 CRIMINAL MATTHEW JAMES WHITE :CHARGE(S) : DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, : FLEEING OR ATTEMTING TO : ELUDE POLICE OFFICER IN RE: OMNIBUS PRE-TRIAL MOTION TO SUPPRESS Before HOFFER, P.J. OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT On August 21,2003, Defendant White was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and fleeing from the police. A preliminary hearing before the District Justice was held on January 9, 2004, and all charges were bound over to Common Pleas Court for trial. Defendant filed this pre-trial Motion to suppress all evidence stemming from his initial stop by Officer James Peterson of the North Middleton Police Department. STATEMENT OF FACTS On August 21,2003 at 11:33 p.m., Officer Peterson was en route to work at the North Middleton Police Department when he noticed a red Chevy Blazer stop several car lengths behind and to the right of him in the middle lane at the intersection of W. Louther and College Sts. in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. (N.T. at 2.) As Officer Peterson waited on his motorcycle in the left turn lane for a green light, he heard the Defendant's tires squeal and observed that the passenger in his vehicle was passed out. (N.T. at 3.) ~ He asked the Defendant if everything was okay, and if he had been drinking. (N.T. at 4.) The Defendant responded that he had two beers in Harrisburg. (Id.) Officer Peterson, in full uniform, got off his personal unmarked motorcycle and approached the Defendant. (Id.) He testified that he smelled alcohol on the Defendant's breath, noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and that "he just looked intoxicated." (Id.) He then asked the Defendant for his driver's license, registration, and insurance cards, which Defendant handed over. (Id.) At the same time, he was calling the Carlisle Police to apprise them of the situation. (Id.) He told the dispatcher that he had someone stopped who was intoxicated, and that they should send a patrol car. (N.T. at 5). Officer Peterson testified that once he asked for Defendant's cards, the encounter became a traffic stop and Defendant was not free to go. (N.T. at 6.) During the phone call, Defendant asked if he could just park his car and walk home, but Officer Peterson told him to wait for the Carlisle Police. (N.T. at 7.) Meanwhile, a Dickinson College public safety officer had arrived and pulled behind the Defendant's vehicle. While they were waiting, Defendant grabbed the registration and insurance cards out of Officer Peterson's hands and left the scene. (Id.) The Dickinson officer put on his overhead lights and pursued him down College St. and then left on Pomfret ~ Refers to Preliminary Hearing Transcript, January 9, 2004. 2 St. foot. (N.T. at 8.) a normal speed. (N.T. at 8.) At that point, Defendant abandoned his vehicle and fled on Officer Peterson, without any emergency lights, followed at Officer Heredia of the Carlisle Police met Officer Peterson at the corner of S. Pitt and Pomfret Sts., and Defendant was apprehended a few seconds later hiding in a bush on Pomfret St. by Officer Mace of the Carlisle Police. (N.T. at 9). Officer Heredia determined that Defendant was too intoxicated and uncooperative for a field sobriety test, and transferred him to the West Shore Booking Center for a blood alcohol test. (N.T. at 10.) DISCUSSION Defendant argues that under the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act, Officer Peterson, being off-duty and outside his jurisdiction, had no authority to detain him.2 Therefore, all evidence resulting from this invalid stop must be suppressed under the exclusionary rule. See Commonwealth v. Bradley, 724 A.2d 351,354 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999). In Bradley, an off-duty police officer was outside his jurisdiction when he observed the defendant driving erratically. 724 A.2d at 352. After the defendant had driven on the wrong side of the road and nearly struck a telephone pole, the officer called the local police and proceeded to follow the defendant, who had turned into a parking lot and stopped. Id. The officer 2 This Act limits police officers' authority to perform police functions and make arrests when outside their jurisdictions; none of the enumerated exceptions apply to the instant case. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8953 (2004). approached the defendant, and took the keys out of the defendant's ignition. Id. He told the defendant that he was an off-duty police officer, and that the local police were coming to the scene. there and wait and not cause trouble. Id. He then told the defendant to sit Id. When the local police arrived, they observed the defendant's intoxication and took him into custody. Id. At the suppression hearing, the trial court determined the defendant had been illegally detained and suppressed all evidence. Bradley, 724 A.2d at 353. Superior Court affirmed, noting that when a police officer acts under color of state law outside his jurisdiction, his actions are unlawful pursuant to the Municipal Police Jurisdiction Act. Id. The officer in Bradley acted under color of state law, not as a private citizen, because his acts were consistent with a person who was trained to deal with intoxicated drivers. Id. at 355. Also, because he took the defendant's keys and told him that he was a police officer and to wait there, it was a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Id~ Therefore, the exclusionary rule applied. See Id~; Commonwealth v. Brandt, 691 A.2d 934, 939 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1997). In the case at bar, Officer Peterson was off-duty but in full police uniform when he approached the Defendant and took his cards. (N.T. at 4.) He told Defendant that he must wait for the Carlisle Police, and testified that this was a traffic stop outside his jurisdiction. (N.T. at 6.) Similar to the Bradley case, because Officer Peterson's actions were consistent with a trained officer dealing with intoxicated drivers and he restricted the 4 Defendant's movement, all evidence stemming from the illegal stop must be suppressed. COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON : PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND :COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA vi. : NO.: CP-21-CR-63-2004 CRIMINAL MATTHEW JAMES WHITE :CHARGE(S) : DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE, : FLEEING OR ATTEMTING TO : ELUDE POLICE OFFICER IN RE: OMNIBUS PRE-TRIAL MOTION TO SUPPRESS Before HOFFER, P.J. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of ,2004, upon consideration of Defendant's pre-trial Motion to Suppress, it is hereby ORDERED that said Motion is GRANTED By the Court, George E. Hoffer, P.J. John A. Aborn, Esquire Aborn & Kutulakis, LLP 36 S. Hanover St. Carlisle, PA 17013 Attorney for Defendant Daniel J. Sodus Senior Assistant District Attorney Office of the District Attorney 6