Opinion ID: 1674873
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Arrest and Probable Cause

Text: The trial judge determined that the officers had probable cause for the arrest and did not attempt to decide precisely when the arrest occurred; whether it was when the stopping took place or later after the knife incident. The trial court further found the confession was voluntary and admitted both the confession and the knife into evidence. The defendant first contends the arrest was illegal because there was a lack of probable cause, and that since the confession and the discovery of the knife were the fruits of the arrest, both should have been suppressed. He cites Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 80 S.Ct. 168, 4 L. Ed.2d 134; Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441; and other cases. The State takes the position that no arrest took place until after the knife incident and that the stopping was authorized under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889; and Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 32 L.Ed.2d 612; that when the defendant attempted to dispose of the knife and deputy Henry recognized it as fitting the description of the rather unusual knife taken in a burglary a couple of weeks earlier, this, taken together with other circumstances known to the officers, gave probable cause for arrest. We believe the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States in Adams v. Williams, supra , and by our own court in State v. Carpenter, 181 Neb. 639, 150 N.W.2d 129, support the position of the State and that the issue may be decided on that basis. We conclude further that probable cause for arrest did exist at the time of the stopping. We will discuss each ground of decision in turn. The discussions will overlap somewhat. In Adams v. Williams, supra , the United States Supreme Court approved an investigative stop and an immediate frisk where a police officer, operating alone in a high crime area, was advised by an informant known to him that a certain individual seated in a car had a weapon in his belt and narcotics on his person or in the car. This, the court held, justified the investigative stop and the frisk which resulted in the seizure of the gun from the belt of the individual in question. This in turn justified the arrest even though in the State of Connecticut it was not unlawful to carry a weapon as described. An immediate search of the auto disclosed another weapon and drugs and this search was held to be valid. Our court in State v. Carpenter, supra , pointed out that every temporary restraint of absolute freedom is not an arrest. In that case there had been a number of burglaries committed in the city of Blair a short time before the arrest and one or more of these had been committed with the use of a pry bar. The defendant and his companion were cruising about the city of Blair about 3 o'clock a.m. The officers followed and the defendant and his companion seemed to be trying to avoid them. The officers continued to follow and the defendant stopped on the blinker signal by the officers. The defendant, who was driving, got out of the car and came back to the police car. One of the officers went forward to the defendant's car and asked the defendant's passenger to get out. He did. As he got out his feet struck some metallic object. This caused the officer to flash his light while the door was open and he observed what he recognized as a pry bar. A closer look, using the flashlight, disclosed additional pry bars sticking out of a bag. They were in plain sight. They were not removed. The officers then asked the defendant and his companion to go to the police station. There an identity check showed they were known burglars. They were then placed under arrest. In the case at hand, we have present a good deal more than in either Williams or Carpenter. A whole series of rape-robberies had been committed in or near the city of Hastings over a period of less than 2 years. The modus operandi of the crimes indicated the probability of a common perpetrator, who had not, up until October 1, 1971, been apprehended. Prowler complaints and burglaries had continued even beyond the last robbery and unsuccessful sexual assault on February 21, 1971. The unusual conduct of the defendant which had been observed by Elliott had been reported to the sheriff's office. It occurred in the neighborhood where the very recent prowler complaints and some burglaries had taken place. Elliott's report was based on personal observation. The reliability of his report was verified by the officer's own observations on October 1, 1971. The description of the car known to have been used by the perpetrator of one of the rape-robberies matched that of the car belonging to the defendant. The officers also knew of the defendant's past record of sexual assaults. If, on October 1, 1971, after Elliott's report was verified by the officers had they not determined they would stop and interrogate him they would have been remiss in their duties. It was not unreasonable especially considering the condition of the weather to ask him to come to the sheriff's office for questioning. This he agreed to do even before Hansel asked to ride with him. We believe there was no arrest up to that point and not thereafter until the discovery of the knife. From that time on it seems clear the officers would have restricted his freedom had he sought to leave. The facts and holdings in the opinion of the Eighth Circuit in United States v. Harflinger, 436 F.2d 928, are applicable. There the court said: The brief detention of a citizen based upon an officer's reasonable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot is permissible for the purpose of limited inquiry in the course of a routine investigation, and any incriminating evidence which comes to that officer's attention during this period of detention may become a reasonable basis for effecting a valid arrest. The facts in that case are in principle close to what we have here suspicious activity and an investigative stop which resulted in the discovery of undoubted probable cause. See, also, State v. Brewer, 190 Neb. 667, 212 N.W.2d 90. In any event, it became clear beyond cavil that when, in addition to the circumstances which we have already discussed, Irwin attempted to dispose of the knife and Henry recognized it as fitting the unique description of the knife taken in the burglary that probable cause for arrest did exist. The knife was not discovered as a result of any search. It was discovered as a result of Irwin's voluntary attempt at concealment, which in itself is indicative of guilty knowledge of some type. At the time Irwin was stopped, probable cause for his arrest existed and the arrest would have been authorized by our statutes. § 29-404.02, R.S.Supp., 1972. In Henry v. United States, supra , the Supreme Court of the United States said probable cause justifying an arrest without warrant exists if the facts and circumstances known to the arresting officer warrants a prudent man in believing an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it. In this case numerous offenses had been committed and probable cause did exist for believing the defendant had committed the rapes and at least one robbery. The facts and circumstances in this case which warrant the conclusion are much stronger than in Henry v. United States, supra , where the Supreme Court of the United States held probable cause did not exist. In State v. Carpenter, supra , our court said: The existence of probable cause must be determined by a practical and not by any technical standard. The facts here are considerably stronger than in Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L. Ed.2d 327, which is frequently cited in the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States and upon which we relied in State v. Rice, 188 Neb. 728, 199 N.W.2d 480.