Commonwealth v. B.G.

Philadelphia Police were patrolling in the area of 1500 J.F.K. when they observed an Audi Sedan illegally parked in a bus zone. As officers approached the car they saw B.G. stuffing a large amount of money into his pockets. In the meantime, Septa intelligence officers were monitoring the stop on surveillance cameras and believed the same car had been observed in narcotics transactions on prior occasions. Those officers went to the scene of the stop and joined in the investigation of the vehicle. Officers claimed that B.G. was acting nervously and refused to provide identification. When one of the officers tried to open his door, B.G. allegedly shut it on the officers arm. Ultimately, B.G. was forcefully removed from the car, and another officer testified that during the struggle he saw a firearm in plain view under the driver’s seat. A K-9 was called to the scene and alerted for the presence of narcotics. Police then got a search warrant and recovered the gun, narcotics, blank prescription pads, fraudulent septa passes and over $6,000 in cash. The defense filed a motion to suppress evidence challenging the constitutionality of the stop of the car, the arrest of B.G. as well as the search. At the motion, the defense produced surveillance videos from nearby businesses that showed the car was not parked in a bus zone, B.G. did in fact produce identification, and that he never shut the door on an officer. A judge found that the officers did not testify credibly and granted the motion to suppress evidence, forcing the DA to withdraw all charges against B.G.