Commonwealth v. J.D.

Narcotics officers on routine patrol in the East Mount Airy section of the City observed J.D. riding a bike on the sidewalk at 1 AM. Believing that to be a violation of a City ordinance, police stopped him, searched him, and found 26 packets of crack cocaine in his pocket. The defense filed a motion to suppress and challenged the legality of the stop and search of J.D. A judge agreed with the top Philly defense attorney’s argument that the defendant’s actions did not justify a stop, and that the police officer failed to articulate a valid reason for the stop. Accordingly, the evidence was suppressed and the DA was forced to withdraw charges.