Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Randolph VANCE
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1994-02-25
Citations: 633 So. 2d 819
Docket Number: No. 93-KA-1389
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Randolph VANCE.
Judges: Before CIACCIO, ARMSTRONG and JONES, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 633
Pages: 819–822

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Randolph VANCE.
No. 93-KA-1389.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
Feb. 25, 1994.
Harry F. Connick, Dist. Atty., Jack Pee-bles, Asst. Dist. Atty., New Orleans, for plaintiff/appellee.
Dwight Doskey, Orleans Indigent Defender Program, New Orleans, for defendant/appellant.
Before CIACCIO, ARMSTRONG and JONES, JJ.

Opinion:
ARMSTRONG, Judge.
Defendant, Randolph Vance, and his co-defendant, Louis Martin, were arrested and charged by bill of information with possession of cocaine, a violation of La.R.S. 40:967(C). Martin pled guilty. Defendant Vance entered a plea of not guilty. The trial court denied defendant's motion to suppress the evidence and, following a jury trial, defendant was found guilty as charged. Defendant was subsequently adjudicated a second felony habitual offender under La.R.S. 15:529.1 and sentenced to serve three years at hard labor. Defendant now appeals.
The record reveals no errors patént. Defendant raises one assignment of error, that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence. Sergeant Steven Gaudet of the New Orleans Police Department testified at the motion to suppress hearing. Sgt. Gaudet stated that on December 19, 1992, at approximately 5:55 P.M., he and Sgt. Timothy Bayard were patrolling in an unmarked police unit when they observed defendant and Martin standing on the uptown river corner of the intersection of General Ogden and Olive Streets. The officers were in an unmarked vehicle but were in uniform. Sgt. Gaudet said he had a perfect side view of the two men. He noticed that defendant had his right hand out, palm up, facing Martin. Martin appeared to be looking at an object in defendant's hand. Martin then picked up something out of defendant's hand. At that point someone whistled, apparently warning the two men of the officers presence.
Sgt. Gaudet testified that the two men looked at the officers and both started to walk away towards Hollygrove Street. Defendant clenched his hand and placed it into his right rear pants pocket. Martin was still holding the object he had taken out of defendant's hand. He had it clenched in his right hand. Sgt. Gaudet, who testified that he had almost twenty years experience working with narcotics, said he believed that he and Sgt. Bayard had interrupted a drug transaction. The officers decided at that point to stop the men. Sgt. Gaudet called out for Martin to stop. Martin refused to stop and Sgt. Gau-det exited the unit to pursue him. Martin then threw a piece of crack cocaine down to the ground which Sgt. Gaudet recovered. After Sgt. Gaudet notified Sgt. Bayard that he had recovered cocaine thrown down by Martin, Sgt. Bayard searched defendant and removed the object which the officers had seen defendant place in his pocket. The object was a matchbox containing two pieces of crack cocaine packaged in the same identical manner as the piece of crack cocaine thrown to the ground by Martin.
Pursuant to La.C.Cr.P. art. 215.1(A), a police officer may stop a person in a public place whom the officer "reasonably suspects is committing, has committed, or is about to commit an offense and may demand of him his name, address, and an explanation of his actions." State v. Ganier, 591 So.2d 1328 (La.App. 4th Cir.1991). See also Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Reasonable suspicion required for an investigatory stop is something less than probable cause required for an arrest. State v. Lightfoot, 580 So.2d 702 (La.App. 4th Cir.1991).
Whether there was reasonable cause must be determined under the facts of each case. The officer must have sufficient knowledge of facts and circumstances to justify an infringement on the individual's right to be free from governmental interference. State v. Ossey, 446 So.2d 280 (La.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 916, 105 S.Ct. 293, 83 L.Ed.2d 228 (1984); State v. Barra, 572 So.2d 1187 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1990), writ denied, 575 So.2d 822 (La.1990). The detaining officers must have knowledge of specific, articulable facts which, if taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant the investigatory stop. State v. Flowers, 441 So.2d 707 (La.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 945, 104 S.Ct. 1931, 80 L.Ed.2d 476 (1984); State v. Gervais, 546 So.2d 215 (La.App. 4th Cir.1989).
The totality of the circumstances must be considered in determining whether reasonable cause exists. State v. Belton, [441 So.2d 1195 (La.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 953, 104 S.Ct. 2158, 80 L.Ed.2d 543 (1984)]. While flight, nervousness, or a startled look at the sight of a police officer is, by itself, insufficient to justify an investigatory stop, this type of conduct may be highly suspicious and, therefore, may be one of the factors leading to a finding of reasonable cause. State v. Belton, supra; State v. Preston, 569 So.2d 50 (La.App. 4th Cir.1990).
State v. Noto, 596 So.2d 416 (La.App. 4th Cir.1992).
In the instant case a police officer with almost twenty years experience working with narcotics cases testified that he observed what in his opinion was a narcotics transaction. One subject transferred something to the other subject. The officer heard someone whistle, warning the two subjects who then noticed the presence of the two officers and immediately began walking away, attempting to conceal the objects they had been handling. At that point the officers had reasonable cause or suspicion to believe the men had been engaged in a narcotics transaction. The officers thus lawfully attempted to make an investigatory stop of the subjects. One, Martin, threw a piece of crack cocaine to the ground. This object was considered abandoned and was lawfully seized by Sgt. Gaudet. State v. Britton, — So.2d -, 93-K-1990 (La. January 27, 1994). Upon recovering this object, which the officer had probable cause to believe was the object he had seen Martin remove from defendant's hand, the officers had probable cause to arrest both Martin and defendant. Defendant was searched incidental to a lawful arrest and the matchbox with two more pieces of crack cocaine was lawfully seized from his back pocket. State v. Williams, 398 So.2d 1112 (La.1981); State v. Hampton, 508 So.2d 135 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987).
All of the evidence seized as a result this street encounter was lawfully seized by the officers. We find no error in the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress the evidence.
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
AFFIRMED.
JONES, J., respectfully dissents.