Heard v. United States, 3367.

Decision Date28 February 1964
Docket NumberNo. 3367.,3367.
Citation197 A.2d 850
PartiesWillie D. HEARD, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Appellee.
CourtD.C. Court of Appeals

Milton Conn, Washington, D. C., for appellant.

Martin R. Hoffmann, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom David C. Acheson, U. S. Atty., and Frank Q. Nebeker and Gerald Gilbert, Asst. U. S. Attys., were on the brief, for appellee.

Before HOOD, Chief Judge, and QUINN and MYERS, Associate Judges.

QUINN, Associate Judge.

Appellant was convicted of carrying a deadly weapon without a license in violation of our Code Section 22-3204. He contends that the weapon was seized pursuant to an arrest made without probable cause and therefore the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence.

About 2 a. m. on the morning of April 19, 1963, appellant was seen by two police officers entering an automobile in the 100 block of Eye Street, N. W. The officers were then proceeding under a housebreaking lookout for a Negro male, on foot, wearing a blue shirt. The housebreaking had occurred in the immediate vicinity (the 800 block of First Street, N. W.), and the officers had turned on the flashing red light of the police cruiser. One of the officers noted that appellant was wearing a blue shirt. As the police cruiser approached, appellant drove his car from the parking space toward the intersection of First and Eye Streets, N. W. At the corner he began making a U-turn which prevented the police cruiser from continuing through the intersection. The officers stopped and ordered appellant to step out of his car. As he emerged they noticed a bulge in his right front pocket. A subsequent search revealed a loaded revolver. Appellant was then taken to police headquarters where he was charged with making a U-turn at a controlled intersection. He was subsequently absolved from any participation in the housebreaking.

In determining whether there was probable cause to arrest appellant, we must look to the evidence upon which the police officers acted at the time the arrest was made. Gatlin v. United States, D.C.Cir., 326 F.2d 666 (1963).1 As Judge Prettyman has said:

"The sum total of the reams that have been written on the subject is that a peace officer may arrest without a warrant when he has reasonable grounds, in light of the circumstances of the moment as viewed through his eyes, for belief that a felony has been committed and that the person before him committed it. We require police officers to be reasonable; we too must be reasonable." Bell v. United States, 102 U.S.App.D.C. 383, 388, 254 F.2d 82, 87 (1957), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 885, 79 S.Ct. 126, 3 L.Ed.2d 113 (1958).

At trial and upon oral argument the government urged that the officers had probable cause to arrest appellant for a traffic violation committed within their view (the U-turn). The officers' testimony, however, reveals that appellant was arrested in connection with the reported housebreaking. The question before us is whether they had probable cause to arrest appellant for that offense.

Appellant has argued that the case at bar is indistinguishable from Gatlin v. United States, supra. There Judge Wright, speaking for the majority, found:

"* * * The only evidence on which the arrest was predicated was the fact that there was a robbery, that one of the robbers was a Negro wearing a trench coat, that a Negro man fled from a taxi, and that Gatlin, a Negro man, was observed walking down the street a mile and a half from the robbery wearing a trench coat. This is not the type of evidence which would justify deprivation of liberty. * * *" (At pages 670-671 of 326 F.2d.)

While the lookout here is similar to the one which was struck down in Gatlin, the issue presented is how a reasonable, cautious and prudent peace officer would view these circumstances. We are dealing with probabilities, and probabilities deduced from a set of circumstances taken in combination, not singly. Bell v. United States, supra, 102 U.S.App.D.C. at 388, 254 F.2d at 87. We think the case at bar is distinguishable and presents a factual situation more closely resembling that in Ellis v. United States, 105 U.S.App.D.C. 86, 264 F.2d 372 (1959), cert. denied 359 U.S. 998, 79 S.Ct. 1129, 3 L.Ed.2d 986; Bell v. United States, supra, and Teresi v. United...

To continue reading

Request your trial
8 cases
  • Glass v. United States
    • United States
    • D.C. Court of Appeals
    • November 16, 1978
    ...United States, 125 U.S.App. D.C. 43, 365 F.2d 976 (1966). See Clemm v. United States, D.C.App., 260 A.2d 687 (1970); Heard v. United States, D.C.App., 197 A.2d 850 (1964); Daniels v. United States, supra. Compare United States v. Short, 187 U.S.App.D.C. 142, 570 F.2d 1051 (1978). During the......
  • Moore v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
    • September 1, 1986
    ...fact that we are dealing with "probabilities deduced from a set of circumstances taken in combination, not singly," Heard v. United States, 197 A.2d 850, 851 (D.C.1964), we think the observations of the officers, coupled with the information they possessed, rose to the level of probable cau......
  • In re Matter of E.G.
    • United States
    • D.C. Court of Appeals
    • October 24, 1984
    ...fact that we are dealing with "probabilities deduced from a set of circumstances taken in combination, not singly," Heard v. United States, 197 A.2d 850, 851 (D.C. 1964), we think that a reasonable, cautious and prudent police officer was justified in apprehending appellant. We concede that......
  • Randle v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Special Appeals of Maryland
    • July 12, 2017
    ...fact that we are dealing with "probabilities deduced from a set of circumstances taken in combination, not singly," Heard v. United States, 197 A.2d 850, 851 (D.C. 1964), we think the observations of the officers, coupled with the information they possessed, rose to the level of probable ca......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT