HomeMy WebLinkAbout91-1812 CriminalCOMMONWEALTH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
V. 1812 CRIMINAL 19911
CHARGE: DUI
BRIAN EVERETT PLATT AFFIANT: JAMES q. MCNAUGHTON, III
IN RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS
BEFORE OLER, J.
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this 3rd day of April,11992, upon
consideration of Defendant's Omnibus Pretrial Notion, following
a hearing and for the reasons
stated in the Opinion of the
Court, the Defendant's motion to suppress is DENIED.
Timothy L. Clawges, Esquire
Assistant Public Defender
By the Court,
J. esley Ole Jr.,J. .
William I. Gabig, Esquire
Senior Assistant District Attorney
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F/RECOPY
COMMONWEALTH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTYI, PENNSYLVANIA
V. 1812 CRIMINAL 199111
CHARGE: DUI
BRIAN EVERETT PLATT AFFIANT: JAMES 6. McNAUGHTON III
IN RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS
BEFORE OLER, J.
OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT
In the present criminal case in 1'which the
Defendant is charged with driving under the infllluence,1 a motion
to suppress has been filed on behalf of Defendant seeking
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exclusion of all evidence resulting from his contact with the
affiant, a police officer of the Borough of Camp Hill. An
evidentiary hearing, in which the Commonwealth 1'presented all of
the testimony, was held on the matter on April 1112, 1992.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. On June 25, 1991, at approximately 12:30 a.m., the
affiant, Patrolman James D. McNaughton, III, a (Camp Hill Borough
police officer, was on duty, in uniform, on routine patrol in a
marked police car within the borough.
2. At the aforesaid time, the officelr was traveling
on Creek Road, which borders a certain public park maintained by
the borough.
1
Act of June 17, 1976, P.C. 162, Sec.
75 Pa. C.S. Sec. 3731 (1991 Supp.).
2
1, as amended,
3. By borough ordinance, the park is closed to the
public after 11:00 p.m.
4. The area in question has a history of littering
problems.
5. At the aforesaid time and place, the officer
noticed a motor vehicle approximately 30 to 40 yards off the
cartway, in an area of the park utilized for parking during
normal hours.
6. The vehicle appeared to be unoccupied.
7. Upon further observation, an individual within the
vehicle "popped up" into view, and the officer,�having
approached on foot, made inquiry of this individual through an
open window on the driver's side.
8. The apparent condition of the individual was such
that the officer eventually placed him under arrest for driving
under the influence.
9. This individual was the Defendant'
DISCUSSION
"Encounters between the public and the police that do
not involve a formal arrest may be categorized is mere
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encounters, non-custodial detentions, and custodial detentions.
Commonwealth v. Ellis, 379 Pa. Super. 337, 353, ,549 A.2d 1323,
1331 (1988). The term 'mere encounter' refers to certain
non -coercive interactions with the police that 4o not rise to
the level of a seizure of the person under the fourth amendment.
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For example, a 'mere encounter' occurs if the police simply
approach a person on a public street in order to make inquiries.
See Commonwealth v. Hall, 475 Pa. 482, 488, 380,A.2d 1238, 1241
(1977)." Commonwealth v. Brown, 388 Pa. Super., 187, 189-90, 565
A.2d 177, 178 (1989); see Commonwealth v. Bennett, Pa.
Super. , A.2d (No. 1120 Pittsburgh 1990) (March 3,
1992) .
Because it appears to the Court that the contact
initiated by the officer in the present case is,properly
categorized as a mere encounter - a non -coercive interaction
which was appropriate under the circumstances and did not rise
to the level of a seizure - it is unable to agree with Defendant
that the "intrusion was in violation of his constitutional
rights."2 For this reason, the following orderlis entered:
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this 3rd day of April, 1992, upon
consideration of Defendant's Omnibus Pretrial Motion, following
a hearing and for the reasons stated in the Opinion of the
Court, the Defendant's motion to suppress is DENIED.
By the Court,
Ls/ J. Wesley Oher, Jr.
J.
2 Defendant's Omnibus Pre-trial on
tri 1 Moti �, paragraph 15.
4
Timothy L. Clawges, Esquire
Assistant Public Defender
William I. Gabig, Esquire
Senior Assistant District Attorney
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