Commonwealth v. L.S.

Client charged with gun charges in Philadelphia (VUFA) after a Police Officer testified that he was on routine patrol in his police car when he saw L.S. standing in the middle of the street. As he got closer he could smell an odor of marijuana coming from his general area. According to the Officer, when he got out of his car to investigate, L.S. turned and fled but dropped a firearm that had been concealed in his waistband. The defense filed a pre-trial motion to suppress, arguing that the facts the officer was alleging to support the stop of L.S. were fabricated and in fact the Officer conducted an illegal search and seizure. Defense investigation revealed that an astonishing fifteen of the Officer’s last nineteen arrests occurred under a similar fact pattern, an anomaly that the Officer could not explain on cross examination. After hearing his testimony, the trial judge found the Officer to be NOT CREDIBLE and granted the defense motion to suppress evidence. All charges were dismissed.