Commonwealth v. D.G.

Police were on routine patrol when they saw D.G. operating a 2006 Black Cadillac, and they pulled the car over because they claimed to have received information regarding a black Cadillac in the same vicinity that had been involved in a shooting earlier in the day. After pulling the car over, the officers claimed that D.G. was acting nervously and disobeying police commands to lower his window. Based on those factors, the officers decided to do a “protective sweep” of the vehicle, and subsequently found a half of a kilo of cocaine in a black duffel bag in the back seat. The defense filed a motion to suppress evidence on the basis that the police lacked reasonable suspicion that D.G. was armed and dangerous and therefore did not have the constitutional authority to conduct a search. At the hearing, the defense presented the judge with the actual “flash information” regarding the details of the vehicle involved in the earlier shooting, which in fact was a 2015 black Cadillac. After hearing all of the evidence, including testimony from the officers as to why they believed they were entitled to search the car, a judge suppressed the narcotics found in the bag, forcing the DA to withdraw all charges against D.G.