State v. Reid

Citation255 S.E.2d 71,149 Ga.App. 685
Decision Date20 June 1979
Docket NumberNo. 57466,57466
PartiesThe STATE v. REID.
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals (Georgia)

Lewis R. Slaton, Dist. Atty., Joseph J. Drolet, Richard E. Hicks, Asst. Dist. Attys., for appellant.

Cohen, Mackin & Pollock, Dennis S. Mackin, Atlanta, for appellee.

BANKE, Judge.

The defendant was charged with violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. A motion to suppress was filed by counsel. After a hearing, the trial judge granted defendant's motion to suppress. The state appeals.

An agent for the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, was on surveillance duty at the Atlanta Airport in the early morning hours of the day in question. He observed the defendant and another man arrive on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Both carried identical large men's purses. Each maintained a distance from the other as they exited the arrival area with the defendant in the lead, looking back occasionally as if to determine the location of the other. Both continued separated, past the baggage claim area toward the front door of the terminal. As they reached the main lobby of the airport, the defendant's companion caught up with him and spoke a few words. The two picked up their pace and hurried toward the front door.

As they exited the terminal through the front door, the agent caught up with them, identified himself, and asked to see their airline tickets and identification. Both produced the tickets, which indicated they had both been purchased with the defendant's credit card and that their trip from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale and return encompassed just slightly more than one full day. During this time both appeared nervous. The agent asked the two men if they would cooperate with him by returning inside the terminal and consenting to a quick pat-down search and a look into their purses. The defendant nodded affirmatively, and his companion replied, "Yeah, okay."

Just as they re-entered the terminal, the defendant began running, still in possession of his purse. After receiving the aid of an Atlanta police officer to secure the companion, the agent pursued and captured the defendant, who no longer was in possession of his purse. After retracing the route of the defendant, an apparently identical purse was found about 100 feet from the place where the defendant was caught.

The trial judge in granting the motion based his ruling on the lack of an "articulable suspicion" on the part of the agent for his decision to stop the defendant. Held:

1. The decision to stop the defendant and his partner was obviously based on the fact that they, in a number of respects, fit a "profile" of drug couriers compiled by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Fort Lauderdale, the agent testified, is the leading distribution point for cocaine in the United States. The early morning flights offer lowest chances for detection because of decreased law enforcement activity. Couriers traveling together often wish to disguise that fact, and the lack of baggage is also a factor. These factors constituted an " articulable suspicion" sufficient to justify a brief stop for questioning, although certainly not sufficient to justify arrest or search. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). "The Fourth Amendment does not require a policeman who lacks the precise level of information necessary for probable cause to arrest to simply shrug his shoulders and allow . . . a criminal to escape." Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 145, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 1923, 32 L.Ed.2d 612 (1972). Accord, Brisbane v. State, 233 Ga. 339, 211 S.E.2d 294 (1974); Allen v. State, 140 Ga.App. 828, 232 S.E.2d 250 (1976); Anderson v. State, 123 Ga.App. 57, 179 S.E.2d 286 (1970).

2. In its ruling on the motion,...

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5 cases
  • McAdoo v. State, 64375
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • September 8, 1982
    ...upon an "articulable suspicion" that the defendant was carrying illegal narcotics was first considered by this court in State v. Reid, 149 Ga.App. 685, 686, 255 S.E.2d 71, which held that because Reid's behavior fit the drug courier profile compiled by the DEA in a number of respects and he......
  • State v. Reid
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • April 9, 1981
    ...provide probable cause for the subsequent apprehension and search of the purse discarded in defendant's flight." Reid v. State, 149 Ga.App. 685, 687, 255 S.E.2d 71 (1979). After this court denied certiorari, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the Court of Appeals op......
  • Reid v. Georgia
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • June 30, 1980
    ...448 U.S. 438 ... 100 S.Ct. 2752 ... 65 L.Ed.2d 890 ... Tommy REID, Jr ... State of GEORGIA ... No. 79-448 ... June 30, 1980 ...           PER CURIAM ...           The petitioner was indicted in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Ga., for possessing cocaine. At a hearing before trial, he moved to suppress the introduction of the cocaine as evidence ... ...
  • McQueen v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • October 22, 1987
    ...probable cause for McQueen's apprehension, the search of his jacket pocket, and the seizure of the ninja claw. State v. Reid, 149 Ga.App. 685, 255 S.E.2d 71 (1979). There is no merit in this enumeration of 2. It is error for the trial court to fail to charge on lesser included crimes if the......
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