Chalker v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Chalker v. State

251 S.E.2d 391, 148 Ga. App. 372, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 3161

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedDecember 5, 1978

Docket56873

StatusPublished

Cited by1 cases

This text of 251 S.E.2d 391 (Chalker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Chalker v. State, 251 S.E.2d 391, 148 Ga. App. 372, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 3161 (Ga. Ct. App. 1978).

Pincite

Opinion

Bell, Chief Judge.

Defendant was convicted of violating the Controlled Substances Act by possessing phencyclidine (Count 1) and marijuana (Count 2). The defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence because of an unlawful search and seizure was overruled. The correctness of this ruling is the sole question raised on appeal. Held:

Submitted October 30, 1978 Decided December 5, 1978. Nicholson & Nicholson, Chris G. Nicholson, for appellant. Richard E. Allen, District Attorney, Steven L. Beard, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Police officers were conducting a surveillance of a motel room in Augusta, Georgia. One of the officers, Sanders, testified that he had received "information” that a large supply of drugs would be delivered that afternoon to the motel by a drug dealer "known” to Sanders. Defendant was observed driving into the motel parking lot and he proceeded to and entered the motel room that was being watched by the officers. Sanders testified that he recognized the defendant but did not testify that he knew that he was a drug dealer. After a second entry into the room, defendant again left and drove off in his car. Sanders pursued in a marked police car, and he arrested defendant. A search of defendant’s person and the car followed and Sanders found the contraband which formed the basis for the indictment.

This evidence shows a total lack of probable cause to arrest defendant and to conduct a search as incident thereof. At the most, it only revealed suspicion of the commission of a crime which is not sufficient. Kelly v. State, 129 Ga. App. 131 (198 SE2d 910). It was error to deny the motion to suppress.

Judgment reversed.

Shulman and Birdsong, JJ., concur.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Bell, Chief Judge.

Defendant was convicted of violating the Controlled Substances Act by possessing phencyclidine (Count 1) and marijuana (Count 2). The defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence because of an unlawful search and seizure was overruled. The correctness of this ruling is the sole question raised on appeal. Held:

Submitted October 30, 1978 Decided December 5, 1978. Nicholson & Nicholson, Chris G. Nicholson, for appellant. Richard E. Allen, District Attorney, Steven L. Beard, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Police officers were conducting a surveillance of a motel room in Augusta, Georgia. One of the officers, Sanders, testified that he had received "information” that a large supply of drugs would be delivered that afternoon to the motel by a drug dealer "known” to Sanders. Defendant was observed driving into the motel parking lot and he proceeded to and entered the motel room that was being watched by the officers. Sanders testified that he recognized the defendant but did not testify that he knew that he was a drug dealer. After a second entry into the room, defendant again left and drove off in his car. Sanders pursued in a marked police car, and he arrested defendant. A search of defendant’s person and the car followed and Sanders found the contraband which formed the basis for the indictment.

This evidence shows a total lack of probable cause to arrest defendant and to conduct a search as incident thereof. At the most, it only revealed suspicion of the commission of a crime which is not sufficient. Kelly v. State, 129 Ga. App. 131 (198 SE2d 910). It was error to deny the motion to suppress.

Judgment reversed.

Shulman and Birdsong, JJ., concur.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

251 S.E.2d 391, 148 Ga. App. 372, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 3161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chalker-v-state-gactapp-1978.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack