Published on: Friday, March 4, 2022
Two Richmond, Va. police approached a man walking on the street whom they believe match the description of a suspect. Cops: "Yo! Let me talk to you real quick" and motioned man to come over. Man: "Nah" and kept walking. Cop: Yo! Hey! And continued towards man. Man: about to take off running but immediately trips and fall. Cops tackle and arrest man, then searched the bag the man had on him, which contained a gun and box of ammunition. Man: firearm and un-Mirandized statements made after gun found should be suppressed. District court: no, cops had reasonable suspicion. Fourth Circuit: Cops did not have reasonable suspicion. Firearm suppressed. Conviction vacated.
The case is United States v. Buster, 21-4101 (4th Cir. Feb. 22, 2022).