Com. v. Vanderlinde
| Citation | 534 N.E.2d 811,27 Mass.App.Ct. 1103 |
| Decision Date | 02 March 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-P-545,88-P-545 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Jose A. VANDERLINDE. |
| Court | Appeals Court of Massachusetts |
Newman Flanagan, Dist. Atty., Deborah E. Breen & Carmel Motherway, Asst. Dist. Attys., for the Commonwealth.
Before GREANEY, C.J., and ARMSTRONG and KASS, JJ.
RESCRIPT.
The defendant appeals from his conviction of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. See G.L. c. 94C, § 32A. The sole issue raised is the correctness of a ruling denying a motion to suppress the cocaine as the product of an unlawful search.
The judge made findings which were warranted by the evidence. Two police officers, stopped for a red light at a junction with the McLellan Highway in East Boston, observed a purple Pontiac Trans Am traveling on the highway at a high rate of speed. The officers turned on flashing lights and siren and pursued the vehicle over a course of three to four miles, clocking its speed at seventy-five miles per hour as it wove in and out of traffic. (The posted limits over the course of the pursuit ranged from thirty-five to fifty.) When the vehicle stopped, the officers approached on foot. Three men were in the car. They appeared uneasy. The passenger in the rear seat shifted his position. The police, apprehensive, asked the driver (Vanderlinde) for his license and registration. Vanderlinde said something in Spanish to the front seat passenger (Lopez). Lopez responded. The officers did not understand what was said. Vanderlinde produced a license from his wallet, then a registration (the officers could not see where it came from). The documents seemed to be in order. The officer on the passenger side saw Lopez reach into the well between the driver's and front passenger's seats. He yelled to the other officer to "be careful" or "watch out." Both officers stepped back and drew their guns. They ordered the occupants to keep their hands in front of them and to step out of the vehicle. As one officer guarded the three occupants, the other reached into the well area and found an open brown bag with a clear plastic bag of cocaine inside.
The officers informed the occupants that they were under arrest and searched them. Lopez and Vanderlinde had substantial sums of cash. One officer took the keys from the ignition and opened the trunk. Inside was a closed paper bag which contained a clear plastic bag, also of cocaine.
In his argument the defendant focuses exclusively (as do we) on the events leading to the discovery of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Com. v. Gonsalves
... ... Rivera, 33 Mass.App.Ct. 311, 314-315, 599 N.E.2d 245 (1992) (driver had no license, police officer outnumbered, aluminum bat under front passenger seat, back seat passenger holding object large enough to conceal weapon); Commonwealth v. Vanderlinde, 27 [429 Mass. 665] Mass.App.Ct. 1103, 1104, 534 N.E.2d 811 (1989) (driver had tried to evade capture and passenger reached into well between the front seats during the stop). See also State v. Smith, 134 N.J. 599, 618, 637 A.2d 158 (1994) ("To support an order to a passenger to alight from a ... ...
-
Com. v. Torres
...(once driver produced valid license and registration, he should have been permitted to leave). Contrast Commonwealth v. Vanderlinde, 27 Mass.App.Ct. 1103, 1104, 534 N.E.2d 811 (1989) (where officers chased vehicle before it stopped, and then saw passenger reach into the well between the car......
- Commonwealth v. Rosado
-
Com. v. Stampley
...if to place something on the floor" contributed to officer's justification for exit order and patfrisk); Commonwealth v. Vanderlinde, 27 Mass. App.Ct. 1103, 1104, 534 N.E.2d 811 (1989) (passenger reached into well between seats during stop for speeding; exit order lawful because officers "w......