Com. v. Stokes

• Decision Date: 14 April 1978
• Citation: 389 A.2d 74,480 Pa. 38
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. David STOKES, Appellee (two cases).
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 74

389 A.2d 74

480 Pa. 38

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. David STOKES, Appellee (two cases).

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued April 14, 1978.

Decided July

14, 1978.

[480 Pa. 41] Edward G. Rendell, Dist. Atty., Steven H. Goldblatt, Deputy Dist. Atty. for Law, Gaile McLauglin Barthold, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellant.

[480 Pa. 42] Robert B. Mozenter, Philadelphia, for appellee.

Before EAGEN, C. J., and O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX, MANDERINO and LARSEN, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

EAGEN, Chief Justice.

These appeals ¹ were entered by the Commonwealth ² from an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia granting defendant David Stokes' motion to suppress certain incriminatory statements given to the police following his arrest. The court below ordered suppression of Stokes' statements on the basis that this evidence was the product of an illegal arrest. We agree and, accordingly, affirm the order.

The charges against Stokes arose out of the robbery and fatal shooting of John J. Meehan at 1133 N. 63rd Street, Philadelphia, on July 1, 1976.

On August 14, 1976, Detective Terrence Gibbs was assigned primary responsibility for investigating Meehan's death. That same day Detective Gibbs stopped a youth named Gregory Staulings on a street corner to ask if he knew anything about the Meehan Killing. Staulings told Detective Gibbs that he had been told by another youth, one Anthony Ramsey, that David Stokes had told Ramsey that "he and some other guys had got a body up on 63rd Street." Subsequently, Staulings gave a written statement at homicide headquarters.

On August 15, 1976, Detective Gibbs dispatched Sergeant Richard Strohm to question seventeen-year-old Anthony Ramsey about the Meehan killing. At about 5:00 p. m., in the presence of his mother at their home, Ramsey confirmed Staulings' information and added that Stokes had told him "they had shot the white man on 63rd Street when they were out to rob somebody and that the man died." Further, Ramsey said that Stokes had asked him not to tell anyone. Ramsey and his mother were taken to police headquarters where Ramsey gave a statement which was signed by Ramsey and his mother.

Solely on the basis of the information provided by Gregory Staulings and Anthony Ramsey, Detective Strohm concluded there was probable cause to arrest Stokes. ³ At 5:10 p. m., he radioed Detective Gibbs to make the arrest. At 5:15 p. m., Detective Gibbs and Officer Barlow went to Stokes' residence where they arrested him without a warrant in the presence of his father and sister and, thereafter, transported him to homicide headquarters. Stokes' subsequent oral and written statements admitting participation in the crime were ordered suppressed as the produce of an illegal arrest. ⁴

The law is clear that a warrantless arrest is not lawful unless there is probable cause therefor. McCray v. Illinois, 386 U.S. 300, 87 S.Ct. 1056, 18 L.Ed.2d 62 (1967); Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963); Commonwealth v. Johnson, 467 Pa. 146, 354 A.2d 886 (1976). Whether there is probable cause to arrest without a warrant depends on whether, at the moment a suspect is taken into custody, the facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge, and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution to believe that an offense has been committed and that the person to be arrested has committed the offense. Commonwealth v. Johnson,supra; Commonwealth v. Jones, 457 Pa. 423, 322 A.2d 119 (1974); Commonwealth v. Mackie, 456 Pa. 372, 320 A.2d 842 (1974); Commonwealth v. Norwood, 456 Pa. 330, 319 A.2d 908 (1974).

Thus, in order to arrest without a warrant, the officer must have a reasonable belief in the probability of criminal activity by the person to be arrested. However, that belief need not be grounded in the officer's direct, personal knowledge of the relevant facts and circumstances. It may, instead, rest solely on information supplied by another person where there is a " substantial basis" for crediting that information. United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971); Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960); Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959).

This Court has held that information provided by certain classes of persons may be sufficient to establish probable cause. It is well-settled that the uncorroborated confession of an accomplice which implicates the suspect will supply the probable cause for a warrantless arrest. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 467 Pa. 146, 354 A.2d 886 (1976); Commonwealth v. Rush, 459 Pa. 23, 326 A.2d 340 (1974); Commonwealth v. Kenney, 449 Pa. 562, 297 A.2d 794 (1972); Commonwealth v. Bradley, 449 Pa. 19, 295 A.2d 842 (1972). See also Commonwealth v. Matthews, 446 Pa. 65, 285 A.2d 510 (1971). Similarly, the statement of a victim, identifying the perpetrator of a crime, has been found sufficient to establish probable cause for that person's arrest. Commonwealth v. Hall, 456 Pa. 243, 317 A.2d 891 (1974). Further, information provided by an eyewitness whose identity is known has also been deemed sufficient. Commonwealth v. Carter, 444 Pa. 405, 282 A.2d 375 (1971); Commonwealth v. Crawley, 209 Pa.Super. 70, 223 A.2d 885 (1966). Cf. Commonwealth v. Mamon, 449 Pa. 249, 297 A.2d 471 (1972). Thus, in determining whether probable cause exists, we have tended to credit information supplied by one who has some direct personal knowledge of the crime.

In the instant case, the arresting officer relied on information supplied by an informant who was neither an accomplice, nor an eyewitness, nor a victim of the crime. The information provided by Ramsey amounted to hearsay by one who had no first-hand knowledge of the crime.

It is well-settled that even hearsay information is sometimes sufficient to establish probable cause. See Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). However, before an officer may conclude there is probable cause to arrest based on hearsay information, he must satisfy the two-pronged test of Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964), as explicated in Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969): (1) he must know the underlying circumstances from which the informer concluded the suspect participated in the crime; and, (2) he must have some reasonable basis for concluding that the informant is credible or that his information is reliable. See also Commonwealth v. Brooks, 468 Pa. 547, 364 A.2d 652 (1976). The Aguilar-Spinelli requirements are exacted in order "to assure that the tip is not merely an unsupported rumor" and "to reduce the possibility that (it) is merely a well-constructed fabrication." In re Betrand, 451 Pa. 381, 386, 303 A.2d 486, 488 (1973).

The court below applied the Aguilar-Spinelli Standard to the facts of this case and concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish fulfillment of the requirements of that test. We agree.

There is no indication in the record that Ramsey had any personal knowledge of the crime. Ramsey told Detective Gibbs that Stokes had admitted his participation to him. However, the story was conclusory and contained no detailed description of Stokes' criminal activity. Moreover, the record is silent as to the circumstances under which Stokes' admission was made and as to Ramsey's relationship with Stokes which might have explained why Stokes would have divulged such self-incriminating information to him. But, even assuming that the first requirement of the Aguilar-Spinelli test was met, the record is clearly deficient in regard to the requirements of the second prong of that test.

The record is devoid of evidence which could justify a reasonable belief that Ramsey himself was a credible person. Ramsey was not previously known to Sergeant Strohm or Detective Gibbs, and he had never before given information to the police. He did not come forward to report the crime as a disinterested citizen complainant, but, rather, he was sought out by the police more than six weeks after the crime to corroborate a story he had told to Gregory Staulings. Under these circumstances we cannot assume that he had no reason to falsify information or mislead the police.

Further, the record fails to include facts to support a reasonable belief that Ramsey's information was reliable. Detective Strohm testified on direct examination that he asked Ramsey "what knowledge he had of the white man that was shot and killed on N. 63rd Street back in July, namely July 1st." Ramsey responded that "David Stokes had told him that they had shot the white man on 63rd Street when they were out to rob somebody and that the man died." Thus, the question posed by Detective Strohm partially suggested the answer which Ramsey gave. Therefore, the information cannot be considered reliable on the basis that it independently corroborated information already possessed by the police.

Accordingly, the second Aguilar-Spinelli requirement, viz., the credibility of the informant or the reliability of his information, was not met.

The Commonwealth contends the suppression court should not have applied the Aguilar-Spinelli standard in determining whether Detective Gibbs had probable cause to arrest Stokes. It argues, instead, the court should have used a "substantial basis" approach. See United States v. Harris, supra. Regardless of which methodology is employed, the object of a probable-cause analysis remains the same, viz., to determine if the informant was trustworthy or his information reliable.

Using the proposed alternative approach, the Commonwealth maintains that Detective Gibbs had a substantial basis for crediting Ramsey's information for the following reasons: (1) the informant was named and thus, amenable to process; (2) the information amounted to an...