Com. v. Edwards, B.

• Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: September 18, 2014
• Docket: 2183 MDA 2013
• Status: Published

Opinion

J-S48025-14

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellant

v.

BASHEIR FAKHA EDWARDS,

Appellee No. 2183 MDA 2013

Appeal from the Order Entered October 25, 2013 in the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County Criminal Division at No.: CP-40-CR-0000294-2013

BEFORE: DONOHUE, J., JENKINS, J., and PLATT, J.*

DISSENTING STATEMENT BY PLATT, J.: FILED SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Because I believe that there was sufficient reasonable suspicion to

justify the motor vehicle stop at issue, I respectfully dissent. I would

reverse the grant of suppression and remand for trial.

Sergeant Dale Binker, an experienced police officer, was parked in a

deserted parking lot at 1:17 a.m.; none of the businesses who used the lot

were open. (See N.T., 10/22/13, at 4-6, 18). Sergeant Binker observed a

car, driven by Appellant, traverse the parking lot at a higher than average

speed and then pull onto a dirt access road leading to land owned by

Canadian Pacific Railway and a wooded area. (See id. at 5-6). Areas

surrounding the access road and the woods are private property. (See id. ____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S48025-14

at 5-6; 21-22). The area is a high-crime area. (See id. at 6, 25).

Specifically, Sergeant Binker testified that, in the area at issue, it was

common to have numerous stolen cars, illegal dumping, poaching. (See id.

at 6, 15). Sergeant Binker also stated that, because of the wooded location,

he was concerned about the possibility of a girl being in the car and being

raped. (See id. at 15-16).

I believe that this evidence is sufficient to establish reasonable

suspicion. See Commonwealth v. Downey, 39 A.3d 401, 406 (Pa. Super.

2012), appeal denied lity of

the circumstances, courts must also afford due weight to the specific,

experience and acknowledge that innocent facts, when considered

collectively, may permit the investigative d

Commonwealth v. Brown, 23 A.3d 544, 551 (Pa. Super. 2011) (en banc)

(combination of experienced police officer and suspicious, although not

illegal behavior of appellant was sufficient to justify automobile stop);

Commonwealth v. Hayes, 898 A.2d 1089, 1094 (Pa. Super. 2006)

innocent behavior, that alone does not make the investigatory detention

I would conclude that here, based upon the totality of the

circumstances, the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence of

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suspicious activity for Sergeant Binker, based on his training and experience,

to establish reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot. Therefore,

I would reverse the decision of the trial court granting suppression and

remand for trial.

Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

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