Com. v. Cunningham, M.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 16, 2025
Docket2560 EDA 2024
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Cunningham, M. (Com. v. Cunningham, M.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. v. Cunningham, M., (Pa. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

J-A27024-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : MAURICE CUNNINGHAM : No. 2560 EDA 2024

Appeal from the Order Entered September 17, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0003605-2023

BEFORE: BOWES, J., MURRAY, J., and BECK, J.

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED DECEMBER 16, 2025

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the Commonwealth) appeals from

the suppression court’s order granting the omnibus pretrial motion

(suppression motion) filed by the defendant, Maurice Cunningham

(Cunningham), and suppressing evidence seized from his person following an

investigative detention.1 After careful review, we reverse the order of the

suppression court and remand for further proceedings.

The suppression court summarized the testimony presented at the

suppression hearing:

____________________________________________

1 The Commonwealth has properly certified that the order will “terminate or

substantially handicap the prosecution.” Pa.R.A.P. 311(d); see Notice of Appeal, 9/19/24. J-A27024-25

Philadelphia Police Officer Brendan McCauley [(Officer McCauley)] was the sole witness to testify at the suppression hearing. Officer McCauley, who had 14 years of experience as an officer, conducted approximately 150 firearms arrests in the past three years.

In the past year[,] 5 to 10 of [Officer McCauley’s] arrests involved individuals under [the age of] 21. Officer McCauley has been assigned to the 25th police district for the past 12 years. Officer McCauley has personal knowledge of the district as a very dangerous area.

He described the Kensington area of Philadelphia, where the incident took place, as [] very violent and in the top five areas for shootings every year. On April 4, 2023[,] as the sun was setting[,] Officer McCauley[,] with his partner[,] Office[r] Lane[, 2] were patrolling in a marked vehicle in the area of the 200 block of [W]est Allegheny Avenue.

Officer McCauley observed [Cunningham] walking on the sidewalk. The officer testified that he saw a bulge on the right side of [] Cunningham. And that he looked to be aged 18 to 20.

Officer McCauley made a U-turn[, and] pulled to the side of the highway. [] Officer Lane exited the patrol vehicle. Officer Lane approached [] Cunningham on foot. Body-worn camera video admitted into evidence showed Officer Lane say to [] Cunningham, yo guy. That’s not a gun in your pocket is it[?]

[] Cunningham removed an item from his left pocket, showed it to Officer Lane[,] and said that there was nothing in his pocket. 3 After this initial interaction, Officer Lane said to [] Cunningham that he was good to go[,] explaining that [Cunningham showed him a charging device,] [a]nd it was shaped like a gun. [] Cunningham turned and walked away.

2 Officer Lane’s first name is not provided in the notes of testimony.

3 When Officer Lane approached, Cunningham bladed his body to the side to

avoid showing his right side to the officers. N.T., 8/22/24, at 19.

-2- J-A27024-25

Officer McCauley yelled out the window from within his [vehicle’s] right side to communicate to his partner that he had seen the bulge on [] Cunningham’s right side. Officer McCauley also yelled to [] Cunningham[,] you’re young as shit.

Officer Lane continued to follow [] Cunningham on foot. Officer McCauley drove to the end of the block and stopped his vehicle on the sidewalk in front of [] Cunningham.

After the patrol car pulled up in front of him, [a]nd as Officer Lane was walking towards him from behind, [] Cunningham ran.

[] Cunningham was apprehended and a firearm was recovered. At the suppression hearing Officer McCauley testified that he believed [] Cunningham to be between the age of 18 and 20[,] because he had a young face and appearance.

Neither officer asked [] Cunningham how old he was nor did they ask for his ID….

N.T., 9/17/24, at 2-4 (footnote added).

On April 5, 2023, the Commonwealth charged Appellant, by criminal

complaint, with carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm on a

public street in Philadelphia, and evading arrest or detention on foot. 4

On September 12, 2023, Appellant filed his suppression motion seeking,

inter alia, suppression of statements and evidence seized while in police

custody. Suppression Motion, 9/12/23, ¶¶ 7-13. Appellant averred that the

seizures were “the result of an illegal arrest—an arrest without legally

efficacious warrant for probable cause[.]” Id. ¶ 6.

4 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6106(a)(1), 6108, 5104.2.

-3- J-A27024-25

The trial court conducted a suppression hearing on September 17, 2024.

After the hearing, the suppression court concluded that the officers had

engaged Cunningham in a mere encounter up until the time that “Officer Lane

told [Cunningham] that he was good to go.” N.T., 9/17/24, at 5. The

suppression court further concluded that at the time the police vehicle blocked

Cunningham, the encounter escalated into an investigative detention. Id. at

6. The suppression court opined that

Officer McCauley’s testimony that [] Cunningham had a young face and appearance does not identify specific and articulable facts to justify his conclusion that [] Cunningham was aged 18 to 20, and therefore, was unlawfully carrying a firearm.

Id. at 6. For this reason, the suppression court concluded that the

investigative detention was not supported by reasonable suspicion. Id.

Consequently, the suppression court granted Cunningham’s suppression

motion. Suppression Court Order, 9/17/24.

The Commonwealth timely appealed and filed a court-ordered concise

statement of matters complained of on appeal. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(1).

Although the suppression court filed an opinion, the court’s opinion disagreed

with its prior ruling, and recommended that we reverse the grant of

Cunningham’s suppression motion. Suppression Court Opinion, 3/4/25, at 7-

8. The suppression court now concludes that under the totality of the

circumstances, Cunningham’s “furtive movements, the blading of his body,

his youthful appearance, and the observation of a bulge prompted officers to

reasonably suspect illegal firearm possession.” Id.

-4- J-A27024-25

On appeal, the Commonwealth identifies the following issue for our

review:

Did the lower court improperly grant [Cunningham’s] motion to suppress—as that court now concedes it did in its Rule 1925(a) opinion—where police possessed reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory detention after an officer observed a bulge in [Cunningham’s] pocket[;] [Cunningham] appeared too young to be lawfully armed[;] [Cunningham] behaved evasively prior to any interaction with the officers[;] and [Cunningham] engaged in unprovoked flight?

Commonwealth’s Brief at 3.

The Commonwealth argues that the interaction between officers and

Cunningham “escalated beyond a mere encounter once the officers chased the

fleeing [Cunningham].” Id. at 10. The Commonwealth directs our attention

to evidence that, after telling Cunningham he could leave, Officer Lane asked

a follow-up question regarding a bulge on his right side. Id. Soon thereafter,

Officer McCauley observed Cunningham crouching near a car, then fleeing.

Id. at 11. According to the Commonwealth, the following factors established

reasonable suspicion of criminal activity:

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Com. v. Cunningham, M., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-cunningham-m-pasuperct-2025.