Opinion ID: 1158944
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: was defendant arrested without probable cause?

Text: Officer Ledward testified as follows: I pulled the car over and I asked the driver to stop, and I came right out. As I got up to the car I did see the rifle on the back seat of the car. Q (By Mr. Campbell) Was any part of the weapon exposed when you walked up to the car? A The butt part of the rifle was sticking out of this leather or the OD case. Q Did you see anything else in the car? A That I wasn't able to see. I saw that and I was putting my attention on both parties.       Q What happened after that? A Well  I went on the left side, the driver's side  Q What did you observe? A  and Detective Kamakea went on the right side, and there was Officer DeCosta who pulled up when we told him we were going to stop this car. Right there we ordered the two out and they were placed under arrest by Detective Kamakea for possession firearms. Further, Officer Ledward on cross examination stated: Q You mean you had come out Oneawa and driven up Kailua Road? A No, we hadn't touched Kailua. This is all on Oneawa. Detective Kamakea and I decided that we would stop them in that general area. In the event that we did, should they try to abandon and flee on foot, we would be able to catch. In the open area, why, they could go most any direction. Q Directing your attention at the arrest, how did you actually make the arrest? A I came out, like I said, from the passenger side of Detective Kamakea's car, and I approached the driver. First, I told him to stop and he came to an abrupt stop. So I got out there and Detective Kamakea got out, and I went to the driver's side and he went around to the passenger side.       Q Did you have your guns drawn when you pulled them over to the side? A Yes, sir, as I got off the car I had my gun drawn and I think Detective Kamakea had his  Q Were there other police there as well? A Yes, there was another uniformed officer. That was Officer Melvin DeCosta who pulled up right in back of the car in which Mr. Goudy was riding in.       Q Prior to the arrest you said you pulled up alongside, you stopped the automobile, you ordered them out of the car and you placed them under arrest immediately? A Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Like I said, Detective Kamakea placed both of the occupants under arrest. The other officer, Detective Kamakea testified as follows: A couple of minutes later I saw this same person come back to the car carrying a rifle case in his right hand. I then observed him place the rifle in the back seat of the car and went back into this lane or driveway. And then a few minutes later he came with a brown paper bag under his arm, got in the car, conversed with the driver for a little while. Then the car started out, drove into another lane where they backed up and continued back on Oneawa Street in the Waimanalo direction, and Sgt. Ledward and I pulled them over fronting 43 Oneawa Street. When I approached the car I noticed the butt end of the rifle sticking out of the case which was on the back seat. I also noticed a package on the floor with some papers in it and the butt end of a pistol sticking out. I then placed both occupants of the car under arrest.       Q Will you tell the jury actually how you folks made the arrest  in other words, you came up to one side and then what happened? A When I pulled the car over I instructed Sergeant Ledward to get out first because I was in the middle of the roadway. Q Did you say anything to them prior to pulling them over? A I tooted my horn and I motioned and the driver pulled over. However, he didn't pull over, he stopped right there, and this caused me to stop abruptly. Sgt. Ledward got out of the car, I got out on my side and went around on the passenger side. The driver in the meantime had come out of the car with his hands up in the air. Mr. Goudy was still seated in the passenger side. Q You said the passenger side, you mean the driver got out? A The driver got out of the car. Q With his hands up? A Yes. When I went around the vehicle, the passenger side, Mr. Goudy was still there, and I just happened to look in the back seat and I saw the rifle and the sheath partly exposed. I then opened the door to have Mr. Goudy come out of the car and I saw the pistol sticking out of the package  the butt end. Q Okay. And then as you pulled up alongside, did you have your pistol drawn? A I did. Q Were you waving at them so that they would know  ? A No, not at that point. Q But you did have your weapon drawn when you pulled up. Did Officer Ledward have his drawn also? A I believe so. I am not sure.       Q Were there other policemen on the scene? A Several. Q How did they happen to get there? A I called them by radio. Q You called them as you were following the Barracuda? A. Yes. In my opinion the foregoing testimony of the officers definitely indicates that at the outset, with no probable cause, they had intended to arrest the occupants of the black Barracuda, including the defendant, when the driver was ordered to pull over. Otherwise, why were the three other officers on their automobiles directed to converge to the area where the defendant was stopped? And I would hold that as soon as the driver was ordered to pull over the defendant was under arrest. The situation here is very similar to Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 80 S.Ct. 168, 4 L.Ed.2d 134 (1959), where federal agents waved a suspect's automobile to a stop. The Supreme Court held that the arrest took place when the agents stopped the car. As noted above, this court conceded that until the door of the Barracuda was opened to let defendant out and the butt end of the Luger pistol was seen in open view on the floor there was no probable cause for an arrest. Thus, as the United States Supreme Court has held time and time again such an arrest was illegal and unconstitutional, therefore, the pistol was illegally seized and such evidence should have been suppressed. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 80 S.Ct. 168, 4 L.Ed.2d 134 (1959); Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S.Ct. 367, 92 L.Ed. 436 (1948); Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925).